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China's private investment funds amounted to 11.76 trillion yuan (about $1.85 trillion) at the end of last month, up by 660 billion yuan in January, data from the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC) showed.

The sector picked up speed from a 100-billion-yuan increase in the previous month.

Funds for securities expanded to 2.61 trillion yuan as of January, up by 320 billion yuan from the previous month, while those for private equities and venture capital stood at nearly 7.09 trillion yuan, AMAC data showed.

By the end of January, the number of private fund managers climbed to 22,883, up by 437 from the end of 2017, despite total employees in the sector shrinking 33,700 year on year to 238,300 as of December 2017.

In November last year, draft guidelines unified rules covering asset management products issued by all types of financial institutions, requiring them to set leverage ceilings.