BEIJING, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- China's trust sector expanded steadily in the third quarter of this year, industry data showed.

The outstanding trust asset value came in at 21.07 trillion yuan (about 3.03 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of September, up 3.08 percent from a year earlier, data from the China Trustee Association showed. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the asset value was down 0.17 percent.

In terms of trust investment, 26.33 percent of the money, the largest share of all, went to industrial and commercial enterprises, indicating the sector's continued support for the real economy.

The investment in securities and bonds accounted for 4.31 percent and 21.77 percent, respectively, and the real estate sector received 8.53 percent of the total investment.