Updated: 2005-07-29
Royal Bank of Scotland, one of the world's biggest banks, is considering acquiring a stake in Bank of China, one of China's Big Four State-owned banks, published reports said.

But the reports were in conflict as regards to the cost of the deal. The New York Times put the figure at US$2.5 billion, but the Guardian said the deal will cost the Edinburgh-based bank as much as US$5 billion.

The Times story did not specify how big a stake the Royal Bank would get in the China bank, while the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post said that RBS has signed a non-binding agreement to take a 15% stake in the Bank of China, which is valued at $5billion on the basis of other deals struck in China recently.

Whether it being US$2.5 billion or US$5 billion, the investment no doubt would be one of the largest foreign investments ever in a Chinese bank, and the latest in a series of big overseas investments in the sector.

The deal could be announced as early as next week, the reports said.

Some of the world's largest banks are aggressively competing for stakes in some of China's big banks ahead of several initial public offerings expected in the next few years, the Times said. Last month, Bank of America agreed to pay about $3 billion for a 9 percent stake in China Construction Bank.

Goldman Sachs and the German bank Allianz are in talks to invest about $1 billion in China's largest state-owned bank, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, the Times report said.

Swiss firm UBS (Research) announced last month that it was looking at a $500 million investment in the Bank of China as part of a plans to form an investment banking partnership.

Analysts say foreign banks are willing to take a stake in the Chinese banks plagued for years by corruption and mismanagement.because China's economy is booming, raising the prospect of huge profits in the future, according to the Times.