By Anshuman Daga

Singapore's Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp has agreed to raise its stake in Bank of Ningbo to 20 percent from 15.34 percent for about S$383 million ($303 million), the latest step in a drive to extend its footprint in China.

The transaction will be funded through OCBC's internal resources and is subject to regulatory approvals in China, as well as by other Bank of Ningbo shareholders, OCBC said in a statement on Tuesday.

The deal is expected to be completed sometime in the third quarter of 2014. It comes just a week after OCBC said it was in exclusive talks to buy Hong Kong's Wing Hang Bank Ltd in a deal that could be worth over $5 billion.

OCBC has been in a partnership with Bank of Ningbo since 2006. It said China's growing importance in terms of trade and the increasing internationalisation of its currency offer OCBC good prospects for developing its business. ($1 = 1.2650 Singapore dollars) (Reporting