JP Morgan is looking to sell its Asia-headquartered unit that invests in mid-size companies as part of a disposal of non-essential assets, media reports said, citing unnamed sources.

The business is the Global Special Opportunities Group, headquartered in Hong Kong with a staff of around 35 people.

The US-listed bank has already moved to pull out of certain areas including private equity, student lending, physical commodities and dealings with hundreds of foreign correspondent banks in areas such as foreign exchange dealing.

The Wall Street Journal, in one of the reports on the issue following the initial report by the Financial Times, said it was not known how much is seeking for the Global Special Opportunities Group, which has roughly $2 billion in assets and is headed by Chris Nicholas in Hong Kong.

The publication said private equity firms are expected to be among the interested bidders.