ANZ has announced that it is investing an additional RMB832 million ($125 million) on the Bank of Tianjin, as part of capital raising efforts to support the latter's growth plans.

BoT is looking to raise a total of RMB4.2 billion ($633 million) and has opened the investment table to both existing and new shareholders. ANZ's added investment means that it will maintain its current 20 per cent stake in the Chinese firm.

"Our partnership with BoT provides access to the mass retail and small-to-medium sized business banking markets in the Bohai Economic Region, which is the economic powerhouse of North China and a priority investment area for the Chinese government," Alex Thursby, chief executive for Asia Pacific, Europe and America, said in a statement.

Tianjin is the major port of the Bohai region and has strong trade and investment links with Korea, Japan, and other ASEAN countries. ANZ first established a partnership with BoT in 2006 with  A$159 million ($157 million) investment, making it the second largest shareholder after the Tianjin Government itself. BoT now has about 4,000 employees and 8 million clients across various asset products.