ANZ Group has reached an agreement to sell its 55 per cent stake in Cambodian JV ANZ Royal Bank to J Trust, a Japanese diversified financial holding company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. J Trust has operations in five countries and a market capitalisation of approximately A$1 billion.The deal is part of a wider plan "to simplify the business and operate wholly-owned Institutional businesses in the region," according to a statement issued yesterday giving some details of ANZ's exit from a joint venture that has been in place since November 2004. It is also a business ANZ has been looking to exit since at least 2014 when its then group chief executive, Mike Smith, told a Hong Kong media briefing on the Asian banking sector that "there are a couple of situations there which don't make sense for us anymore." The two he particularly had in mind were ANZ's minority stake in Panin Bank, in Indonesia, and ANZ Royal.ANZ will continue to own its 55 per cent stake in ANZ Royal and manage the business for up to 12 months, working closely with J Trust to ensure a smooth transition of ownership.   The decision to sell the stake, which originally cost US$9.9 million, equates to a loss of about A$30 million, inclusive of transaction costs, taxes and the release of accumulated foreign currency translation reserves. The sale price was not disclosed.The transaction has been approved by the Royal Group - Cambodia's largest conglomerate at the start of the JV - although has yet to gain final regulatory approval from the National Bank of Cambodia and the Ministry of Commerce.ANZ's Institutional Bank retains a presence in 15 different markets in Asia. The group has previously announced the sales of its stakes in Metrobank Card Corporation in the Philippines and Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank in China, as well as its Australian life insurance and superannuation businesses.