The number of trust investment companies in China has declined to 59 after years of crackdown by the China Banking Regulatory Commission on illegal or authorized business done by such firms, the regulatory agency said Tuesday.

The remaining firms have growing businesses, it said.

By the end of last September the trust firms had 76.8 billion yuan (9.3 billion US dollars) in combined assets including 30.2 billion yuan (3.65 billion dollars) in debts and 46.6 billion yuan (5.7 billion dollars) in equity. Their capital strength has improved, the commission said in a report.

The firms managed 212.3 billion yuan (25.6 billion dollars) in trusted properties and some of them saw business expand at a recovery basis, it said.

Recently, the commission issued an order demanding the trust investment companies disclose their information in a transparent and timely manner, in an effort to help them streamline operations and protect investors.