Royal Bank of Scotland today said it may sell its £2bn stake in Bank of China.
The news came as firms around the world scrambled to sell stakes in Chinese businesses to help boost their under-pressure balance sheets.
"RBS is currently examining all of its investments as part of the strategic review launched in the final quarter of 2008. This includes our investment in Bank of China," the struggling Edinburgh bank said in a statement.
Bank of China shares also tumbled after Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's foundation sold more than $500 million worth of shares in the lender, becoming the latest investor to cut its investment in China's banking sector.
Bank of China, the mainland's No. 3 lender, fell 8.4 per cent to $1.96 on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The sale comes a day after Bank of America, looking to raise money to cope with economic turmoil, sold a 2.5 per cent stake in China Construction Bank for about $2.8 billion.
Last month, Swiss bank UBS sold its stake in Bank of China in a deal estimated to be worth around $900 million.
RBS said it may follow Li and UBS, but declined to give further details.
Stephen Hester, who took over from Sir Fred Goodwin as RBS chief executive after the government's multi-billion pound bail out, has been in Beijing to discuss the 4.3% stake.
The bank, now state controlled, is under pressure to offload. A sale of the 4.3% stake in BoC would signal be a complete reverse of Sir Fred's strategy of aggressive international expansion.
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