TAIPEI - BANK of East Asia has bought into AIG's Taiwanese brokerage unit, making it the first Hong Kong bank to invest in a securities brokerage in Taiwan, the companies said.

The announcement comes days after market sources said several US private equity firms and Taiwanese financial groups were showing interest in buying AIG's Taiwan life insurance unit as the troubled company tries to offload its assets in Asia.

'The deal is worth about NT$200 million (S$8.88 million),' the official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters on Monday.

Bank of East Asia, Hong Kong's fifth-largest lender, said in a statement issued late on Friday that the move would give it a foothold in Taiwan's fast-growing wealth-management business, which is Asia's fourth-largest.

AIG set up its Taiwan securities brokerage in 2007 and was the first foreign financial institution to get a licence to operate in the sector here, Bank of East Asia said in its news release.

By 0200 GMT (10am Singapore time), Bank of East Asia shares were up 0.41 per cent, outperforming the Hang Seng index's 0.2 per cent rise. -- THOMSON REUTERS