Commonwealth Bank of Australia said it is willing to increase its stake in Hangzhou City Commercial Bank if permitted, the official Caijing Magazine reported, citing the Australian bank's vice president, Garry Mackrell.

Mackrell told the magazine that if the Chinese government removes the current cap on foreign institutional holdings in a Chinese bank, currently at 20 pct, the Australian bank is 'very interested' in increasing its stake.

Commonwealth Bank has a 19.99 pct stake in the city commercial bank based in eastern China's Zhejiang province. Another 4.99 pct is held by the Asian Development Bank.

Earlier, media reports said the Chinese bank is planning to raise about 5 bln yuan from an initial public offering (IPO) on a domestic stock market next month.