Royal Bank of Scotland rejected a higher offer from a Chinese bank for its aviation arm over concerns about the ability of the state-owned institution to close on the deal, say people familiar with the transaction.

RBS sold the division to Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group for $7.3bn two weeks ago. China Development Bank had offered $240m more for RBS Aviation Capital, the world’s seventh-largest leasing company. The rejection coincided with widespread speculation about the extent to which the Chinese might take advantage of the distress of the European banks and buy assets in Europe and Asia.

RBS was deterred, at least partly, by concerns that the deal could fall foul of Chinese regulatory authorities, and that the CDB did not pay repeated visits to RBS Aviation Capital headquarters, said the people familiar with the matter. “The Chinese did not show up,” said one.