BEIJING - Total assets managed by Chinese trust companies reached 18.2 trillion yuan ($2.6 trillion) at the end of the Q3, latest data from the China Trustee Association showed.

Volume was up 16.3 percent from the same period last year.

Total business revenues for the trust sector stood at 23.4 billion yuan in the Q3, down 15.7 percent due to retreating investment revenues.

Their profits grew 14.4 percent to 17.9 billion yuan.

The non-performing asset ratio went down, to 0.78 percent from the 0.8 percent seen at the end of the Q2.

Yin Xingmin of Fudan University trust research center, attributed the performance to China's unexpected economic strength during the period.

China's GDP expanded 6.7 percent year on year in the third quarter, holding steady with the second quarter and within the government target range of 6.5 to 7 percent for 2016.