Royal Bank of Scotland is awaiting regulatory approval to set up a joint venture securities brokerage in China, the bank said Monday.

The British bank has already found a partner to run the joint venture, said Charles Li, head of the Royal Bank of Scotland (China) Co, yesterday in Shanghai.

He declined to give more details until the regulatory go-ahead is confirmed.

The bank is still in the process of disposing its retail and small- and medium-sized enterprise business in China as its main focus in the country is wholesale banking, Li said.

The disposal is expected to be completed within months. The bank has already disposed its retail and SME businesses in Asian-Pacific markets, including India, Pakistan and Malaysia. China is the last Asian-Pacific market for the bank to sell its retail banking business, which came with its purchase of ABN Amro.

RBS, one of the underwriters of the Agricultural Bank of China's initial public offering in Hong Kong, is recruiting staff across every product line in wholesale banking in China where it also focuses on investment banking.

Royal Bank of Scotland (China) Co is the Shanghai-based local incorporation of the British bank in China.

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