King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has advised Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS) on the sale of its assets in Malaysia to CTBC Financial Holding Co,. one of Taiwan's leading financial holding companies.

CTBC Financial has agreed to purchase a 100 percent stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland Berhad, a subsidiary of RBS for US$188 million. The acquisition will be completed through CTBC Financial’s two subsidiaries, the banking flagship CTBC Bank and its insurance arm Taiwan Life Insurance.

It will be the first acquisition by a Taiwanese financial institution attempting to obtain a license to operate a banking subsidiary in Malaysia.

The KWM team was led by partners Lee Horan and Scott Farrell, supported by senior associate Claire Warren and solicitor Jennifer Cheung.

The same KWM team previously advised RBS on the sale of their Australian portfolio assets to China Construction Bank in June 2015, as well as the sale of their China-offshore portfolio assets in September 2015.

Commenting on the deal, Lee Horan said, “We are delighted to continue our relationship with RBS by supporting them on another important cross border transaction. We drew on our expertise across the firm from tax to IP and derivatives along with working closely with our UK office to ensure a successful outcome for our client.”