|
Barclays seeks to raise 4 billion pounds from Asia
2008-06-15
LONDON (AFP) - British bank Barclays was close to raising 4 billion pounds (5 billion euros, 7.8 billion dollars) from several large Asian sovereign investment funds, according to a report in The Sunday Times. The paper, which did not cite its source, said Barclays needed the cash injection because of strains from the global credit crunch and was expected to release an official statement on Monday. A spokeswoman for the bank declined to comment on the story. The Sunday Times said that Barclays was in talks with about six investment groups and would probably select three of these. They included state-linked China Development Bank and Singapore investment firm Temasek Holdings, which had bought large Barclays stakes last year, it added. The paper also said the fundraising could be completed in the next two weeks, citing an unnamed advisor acting on behalf of a sovereign wealth fund. Barclays would become the latest British bank to seek additional funding amid the ongoing worldwide squeeze on credit. Shareholders at HBOS, Britain's biggest home loan provider, vote later this month on plans for a rights issue totalling 7.9 billion dollars (5.0 billion euros). Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) said last week that its record-breaking 24-billion-dollar rights issue had received a take-up rate of more than 95 percent. Many of the world's leading banks have suffered major losses related to the collapsed US subprime or high-risk housing sector, and the subsequent tightening of lending conditions. Last year, meanwhile, China's CDB and Temasek of Singapore had bought large stakes in Barclays as the bank sought to strengthen its takeover bid for Dutch giant ABN Amro. However, RBS won the battle for ABN Amro with a bid worth 100 billion dollars that was also backed by Belgian-Dutch group Fortis and Spain's Banco Santander.
| 
