Barclays gets trust stake nod

SHANGHAI: Barclays Bank Plc of the UK has won the approval of the Chinese banking watchdog to acquire a near 20 percent stake in New China Trust & Investment Co, to help spearhead the British bank's expansion in China.

According to a statement from the Chongqing banking regulatory bureau, a branch of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), London-based Barclays obtained the approval last Tuesday to purchase a 19.5 percent stake in New China Trust, one of the oldest trust companies in China.

"We haven't received any written approval from the CBRC yet since our first application to the commission last November," said a New China Trust spokesman, adding Barclays would probably become the company's second or third largest shareholder if the transaction goes through.