BEIJING - China will raise the investment quota for Singapore under the renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (RQFII) plan to 100 billion yuan ($15.7 billion), the central bank announced Tuesday.

Previously, the volume was set at 50 billion yuan.

The RQFII mechanism, which was launched in December 2011 to widen investment channels for overseas yuan funds on the Chinese mainland, allows qualified investors to invest yuan-based funds in the mainland securities market within a permitted quota.

The decision is part of deepening financial cooperation between the two countries, which will offer diversified investment products for Singaporean investors while pushing China's capital market to open wider, the central bank said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Singapore earlier this month. A number of wide-ranging agreements were reached during the trip to improve financial cooperation.