Standard Chartered has won a strategic stake in China's Everbright Bank, which plans to raise HK$3 billion in an initial public offering in the first half of the year, according to local press reports.

A Standard Chartered spokesperson declined to comment on the acquisition, according to the Hong Kong-based Standard.

The report did not give the size of the stake, but Chinese rules limit the stake that can be held in a domestic bank by a single foreign investor to 20 per cent.

A partnership with the Beijing-based Everbright would give Standard Chartered, which already has a 19.9 per cent stake in Bohai Bank, wider access to the mainland market, the Standard said.

An earlier report in the official Shanghai Securities News cited a source as saying Everbright is planning to invite Standard Chartered to make a strategic investment.