Foreign investors poured $313 billion into emerging market portfolios last year, according to data from the Institute of International Finance, a 13% drop from total inflows in 2019 as global markets absorbed the economic shock of the COVID-19 pandemic. The December figures show that EM securities attracted $45.9 billion, of which $29.3 billion went to equities. This total included $13.2 billion into Chinese equities alone. Bonds and other debt attracted $16.6 billion from non-residents last month, the IIF said. The IIF called the yearly reading “impressive... considering that the COVID-19 shock meant one of the deepest and most violent outflow episodes on record.” This year saw both the largest monthly inflow and outflow on records kept by IIF, with November seeing upwards of $75 billion inflows while March recorded a near $90 billion outflow. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by David Gregorio)