Royal Bank and Scotland and the Bank of China have combined in a private banking joint venture and are set to open offices in Beijing and Shanghai this month.

The venture will target wealthy Chinese with more than $1 million in investible assets, although the range of products and services will be relatively narrow until further de-regulation by the Chinese authorities.

RBS paid $3.1 billion in 2005 for 10 per cent of the Bank of China, the country's second largest lender.

A recent report from Mercer Oliver Wyman claimed that Chinese households have $2.6 trillion in assets, 76 per cent in the form of deposits.