NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The Royal Bank of Scotland could take a stake in the Bank of China, one of that country's largest banks, according to published reports Thursday.

The Wall Street Journal and New York Times both reported Thursday that RBS is considering a $2.5 billion investment in the Chinese bank. The Journal said the deal would give RBS, the world's No. 6 bank based on market capitalization, a 10 percent stake in the Chinese bank.

The paper reported that the deal could be announced as early as next week.

Swiss firm UBS (Research) announced last month that it was looking at a $500 million investment in the Bank of China as part of a plans to form an investment banking partnership.

The Times reported that some of the world's largest financial firms are aggressively competing for stakes in some of China's big banks ahead of initial public offerings expected in the next few years. The paper said U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs (Research) and Allianz of Germany are in talks to invest about $1 billion in China's largest state-owned bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

In June Bank of America (Research) announced it had paid $3 billion for a 9 percent stake in the China Construction Bank as well as an option of increasing its stake in future years.

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