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

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China's financial institutions came in at $3.47 billion in the April-June period, while $2.59 billion of investment flowed out, resulting in an $881 million net inflow, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

The country's financial institutions made a net overseas investment of $2.13 billion during the period.

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

China has rolled out a number of measures to significantly broaden market access since the beginning of 2018, the year that marks the 40th anniversary of the country's reform and opening-up policy.

In late June, China unveiled a shortened negative list for foreign investment, in which, it cut the number of items on the list to 48 from 63 in the previous version and detailed 22 opening-up measures in several sectors.