Barclays lines up Chinese partnership to raise ABN-Amro bid

China Development Bank will hold up to 8% of Barclay’s equity if its strategic partnership helps win the ABN-Amro bid – and there is more Sino-stakebuilding to come as the People’s Republic seeks higher returns for its trillion dollar foreign reserves.

Barclays Bank is raising its offer for Dutch rival ABN-Amro to £45.4b (EUR67.5bn), around 37% in cash, with the help of a £6.7bn injection from the China Development Bank. The Singapore government’s Temasek fund will make a parallel contribution of around £2.3bn.

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