BBVA says to raise stakes in CITIC, CIFH

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish bank BBVA said on Tuesday it had agreed to raise its stakes in Chinese bank CITIC and its Hong Kong-listed international arm CIFH for about 800 million euros ($1.25 billion).

In a statement, BBVA said it would raise its stake in CITIC

to about 10.07 percent from 5 percent and its stake in CITIC International Financial Holdings Ltd to 30 percent from 15 percent.

The deal is dependent on CITIC agreeing to delist CIFH.

BBVA also has an option to raise its stake in CITIC to up to 15 percent in the next two years, it said.

(Reporting by Jane Barrett; Editing by Joe Ortiz)