BEIJING - China's financial institutions, including banks, insurers and securities firms, saw net investment inflows from overseas investors in 2017, data from the nation's foreign exchange regulator showed.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China's financial institutions came in at $11.37 billion last year, while $8.35 billion of investment flowed out, resulting in $3 billion of net inflow, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

The country's financial institutions made a net investment of $2.8 billion overseas last year.

The SAFE has been publishing data on a quarterly basis since 2012 to increase the transparency of foreign exchange statistics.

Earlier official data showed foreign direct investment in non-financial sectors rose 7.9 percent to 878 billion yuan ($140 billion) in 2017.