Abhu Dhabi govt sells Barclays shares

Abu Dhabi's state-owned International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) sold securities in Barclays worth £1.25bn on June 4. Demand for the reserve capital notes - similar to preference shares - was three times the amount on offer when they were sold on June 3. Earlier this week, the state-backed IPIC had disposed of 1.3 billion shares in Barclays. The shares were sold on June 2 for about £5bn, according to Credit Suisse Securities, handing IPIC a gain of £1.5bn in just seven months. Last year, Barclays secured a £7bn capital injection which was largely backed by oil-rich investors from Abu Dhabi and Qatar, as it sought to avoid taking government funds in a bid to survive the credit crunch. Abu Dhabi's shock move this week to sell came after Barclays shares had surged by about 50% in value since last October. Meanwhile, reports emerged that Singapore investment firm Temasek Holdings has sold its stake in Barclays at a loss of £500-600mn.