HSBC set to buy RBS Asia assets - Indian paper

MUMBAI Dec 9 (Reuters) - HSBC (0005.HK) (HSBA.L) is set to buy the retail and small and medium enterprises businesses of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) in India, China and Malaysia, the Mint newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing an unnamed RBS official in India.

"We have signed a deal to sell our retail and small and medium enterprises business in India, China and Malaysia to HSBC," the paper quoted a senior RBS official as saying.

The paper said the official spoke on condition of anonymity as the proposal did not have regulatory approval yet.

"We have sent the India proposal to the Reserve Bank of India for approval," the official told the paper.

The report did not include any value of the deal.

It said HSBC India declined to comment. RBS told the paper it was in ongoing discussions and would make appropriate announcements in due course.

In late October, RBS' Asia-Pacific CEO told Reuters that HSBC might be in the lead to acquire the assets, and hoped to wrap up a sale soon. [ID:nHKG297143]

Earlier in October, sources had said the retail and commercial banking divisions in China, India and Malaysia were worth a "few hundred million" dollars. [ID:nHKG374146] (Reporting by John Mair; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)