In an official statement, the Chinese lender said it has $186 billion in cash in its coffers and has not made any purchase since August 2006 - when it bought Bank of America's Macau and Hong Kong businesses for $1.25 billion. CCB derived 1.7 per cent of its total 2008 revenue from outside mainland China, thereby accounting for the drive to expand to other locations, the bank said.

AIG Finance is a subsidiary of US insurance giant AIG and has over half a million clients, with loans totalling HK$4.8 billion and a retail deposits balance worth HK$1 billion.

The deal has yet to be approved by regulators.