BEIJING — The scale of China's public offering funds registered mild expansion at the end of September, data from the Asset Management Association of China showed.

The total assets managed by the funds increased by 6.46 billion yuan (about $960.45 million) to 17.805 trillion yuan by the end of September, according to the association.

At the end of last month, a total of 7,644 public offering funds were operated by fund management entities in the country.

China's asset management industry expanded slower in recent years as authorities tightened regulations to contain risks arising from wealth management products.

In 2017, draft guidelines unified rules covering asset management products issued by all types of financial institutions, requiring them to set leverage ceilings.