BEIJING - Around 1.61 million investors in China opened accounts to trade in stocks on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses in February, industrial data showed.

The figure marked an increase of 79.75 percent from the same period last year, according to the China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited (CSDC).

By the end of February, the number of investors with A-share accounts was over 181 million, CSDC data showed.

The country saw about 18.02 million new investors in its stock market in 2020, according to the CSDC. The amount increased 36.04 percent from 2019 and hit a record high since 2017.