Feb 9 (Reuters) - Singapore's DBS Group DBSM.SI said on Monday it has acquired an additional stake in Shenzhen Rural Commercial Bank (SRCB), bringing its total shareholding in the Chinese lender to 19.90% from 19.40%.

DBS Bank, a unit of DBS Group, acquired 52.2 million shares of Shenzhen Rural at 5.94 yuan per share for 310 million yuan ($44.78 million), the company said in a statement.

DBS first acquired a 13% stake in Shenzhen Rural in October 2021 and raised it to 16.69% in January 2024.

In January last year, DBS acquired a further shareholding in the company for 1.60 billion yuan bringing its total stake to 19.40%.

Earlier in the day, DBS posted a 10% drop in fourth-quarter earnings weighed down by a lower net interest margin and maintained its expectation that net profit this year will dip slightly from 2025.

($1 = 6.9226 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by John Biju in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

((John.Biju@thomsonreuters.com;))