BRED Banque Populaire, a French bank, will spend 200 million yuan (US$29 million) buying a stake in China's Changsha Commercial Bank, the Hunan Provincial Banking Association said.

The two banks signed a strategic partnership agreement in June, according to a statement on the association's Website. BRED was chosen out of more than 20 overseas financial institutions that have expressed an interest in a tie-up with Changsha Commercial, which is based in Changsha, provincial capital of Hunan Province, according to the statement.