China Takes £1.5bn Stake in Barclays РGraeme Wearden

China Development Bank, a state-owned bank of China, “has become a major shareholder in Barclays, and could soon own 8% of the UK bank.” From Guardian Unlimited:

…Barclays announced this morning that China Development Bank is spending ‚Ǩ2.2bn (¬£1.5bn) on a 3.1% stake. It has also agreed to raise its investment to ‚Ǩ9.8bn if Barclay’s attempt to buy ABN Amro succeeds.

This would be the biggest foreign investment even made by a Chinese company, beating the ¬£1.5bn stake China’s government bought in private equity firm Blackstone in May….[Full Text]

- Read also Shanghai Daily’s coverage “Barclays secures a takeover war chest”