The MOU allows the parties to negotiate the scope and terms of a sale and finalise purchase agreement exclusively with each other.
The bank has not disclosed the terms of the agreement and the proposed acquisition amount of RBS’s Asian Pacific finance business.
CIMB was also in talks with brewer San Miguel Corp for a stake in the Philippines’ Bank of Commerce and expects to conclude discussions in the first quarter this year.
CIMB Group chief executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak was quoted by The Star Online as saying that the group would continue to have an outstanding application for a new banking licence in Vietnam, and was in the process of making a submission for a new banking license in Laos.
"We have a representative office in Myanmar and are re-evaluating our options there, given the interesting developments in the country,” Razak added.
CIMB Group posted a record net profit of RM4.03bn ($1.3bn), representing a 15.1% year-on-year rise, for the year ended 31 December 2011.
In January 2012, RBS had planned to dispose or close its cash equities, mergers advisory, corporate broking and equity capital markets operations, and reduce nearly 3,500 jobs at the investment bank to streamline its global operations.
