UPDATE 1-Hambro-led group eyes part of Latvia's Parex

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RIGA, March 3 (Reuters) - A group of international investors led by the British head of a Russian gold mine company, Peter Hambro, wants to buy part of failed Latvian bank Parex, which the state nationalised, the investor group said on Wednesday.

The rescue of Parex, formerly the second-largest bank in Latvia, was one of the reasons the Baltic state needed a 7.5 billion euro ($10.1 billion) rescue from the International Monetary Fund, European Union and other lenders in late 2008.

"I think acquiring part of Parex is a very interesting investment in Latvia's current economic situation," Hambro, chairman of Russian gold mining company Petropavlovsk Plc, (POG.L) said in a statement.

The investor grouping, called VMHY Group, has submitted a proposal to the state privatization agency.

The agency confirmed it had a non-binding offer, which it would look at with Nomura, hired by the government to draught a restructuring and sell-off plan for Parex.

The investor group said it would like to take over the clients and investments of the bank's private capital management division in the Baltic states and CIS, as well as the Parex Asset Management subsidiary and Parex's private banking and asset management bank AP Anlage und Privatbank in Switzerland.

Parex Asset Management manages about 500 million euros.

Gene Zolotarev, head of investment company Maximus and former chairman of Parex Asset Management, said a rule of thumb was that investors paid 2 percent of the sum under management, meaning Parex Asset Management could cost some 10 million euros.

However, Zolotarev noted the uncertainties around Parex.

"The biggest challenge is going to be winning back investors' trust," Zolotarev said, referring to the fact that the state slapped tight restrictions on Parex, leaving more than 300 million lats ($577.2 million) in frozen deposits.

Girts Rungainis, of investment management company Prudentia, said the value of the deal could range from millions to tens of millions. "This proposal shows that there is interest and it might cause interest from other potential investors," he said.

Petropavlovsk Plc is the third-largest gold producer in Russia and is listed on the LSE Main Market.

Parex's biggest shareholder is the government with 73.4 percent. A total of 22.4 percent was bought by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). (Reporting by Aija Braslina; Editing by David Holmes)