Singapore sovereign wealth fund cuts stake in Citigroup below 5 percent

October 10th, 2009 Qatar fund boosts stake in London property companyDUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Qatar's sovereign wealth fund said Saturday it has become the biggest shareholder in the company that owns much of London's Canary Wharf business district, highlighting a renewed appetite by Gulf investors for property in well-established markets. Qatar Holding said it has increased its holding to 24 percent of the ordinary shares of the real estate company, Songbird Estates PLC.

October 5th, 2009 Citi Wealth Management shifts to fee-based modelNEW YORK — Citigroup Inc. said Monday it is switching to a fee-based model in its retail investment business, eliminating commissions for its 600 in-house financial advisers by the end of next year.

September 30th, 2009 Singapore's GIC recovers after last year lossSINGAPORE — Singapore state investment company GIC said Tuesday its investments fell more than 20 percent in the 12 months ending March, but have recovered more than half that loss as global stocks surged in recent months. Government of Singapore Investment Corp., known as GIC, said in an annual report that the loss during its last fiscal year pulled down the fund's 20-year nominal annual rate of return in Singapore dollar terms to 4.4 percent from 5.8 percent.

September 22nd, 2009 Singapore cuts ownership stake in CitigroupNEW YORK — A Singapore sovereign wealth fund cut its stake in Citigroup Inc. to below 5 percent from 9 percent on Tuesday, reducing its ownership to the level planned before a recent debt exchange.

September 14th, 2009 AES shares rise on report of China interestCOLUMBUS, Ohio — Shares of AES Corp. briefly rose to a 52-week high on Monday on a published report that China's investment arm is interested in buying a stake in the U.S.

August 7th, 2009 China fund lost 2.1 pct on global portfolio in '08BEIJING — China's sovereign wealth fund said Friday it lost 2.1 percent last year on its global portfolio and defended its performance as being better than other such funds amid worldwide financial turmoil. The China Investment Corp., launched in 2007 with $200 billion in assets, was the target of criticism at home after early investments in U.S.

July 21st, 2009 Singapore Temasek, new CEO part over strategySINGAPORE — Singapore government investment fund Temasek said Charles W. Goodyear won't take over as chief executive because of differences in strategy, a surprising reversal that leaves the wife of the prime minister in the company's top job.

June 22nd, 2009 Porsche: Bank seeks improved credit bidSTUTTGART, Germany — Car maker Porsche said Monday that a German state-owned bank has asked it to make improvements in its application for euro1.75 billion ($2.4 billion). Stuttgart-based Porsche is trying to alleviate debt it ran up as it increased its stake in larger German auto maker Volkswagen AG, in which it now holds a 51 percent stake.

June 10th, 2009 Citigroup completes agreement with US governmentNEW YORK — Citigroup says it finalized exchange offers with the U.S. government under which the latter will exchange up to $25 billion of Citi preferred securities for interim securities and warrants.

May 4th, 2009 Singapore stocks rise 5.6 percent to 6-month highSINGAPORE — Singapore stocks jumped to a six-month high Monday on growing investor optimism that the worst of the global economic downturn may be over. The Straits Times index rose 108.43, or 5.6 percent, to 2,028.71.

February 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US government Friday announced a deal with Citigroup that will give it control over as much as 36 percent of its common stock and replace a majority of its independent directors. But Indian American CEO Vikram Pandit and Chairman Richard Parsons will retain their positions at one of America's three largest bank holding companies.

February 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's economic team sought to ease fears that US banks are on the verge of either collapse or nationalization, amid reports Monday that the government is considering a large ownership stake in Citigroup Inc. The Treasury, Federal Reserve and other government finance agencies issued a rare joint statement assuring investors that the administration 'stands firmly behind the banking system during this period of financial strain.' A so-called 'stress test' to review the health of 20 major banks is set to begin Wednesday.

February 8th, 2009 KOLKATA - Private equity (PE) firm India Value Fund Advisors will complete raising around $800 million (about Rs.40 billion/Rs.4,000 crore) for the fourth series of its India Value Fund by next month, a partner of the company said here Monday. 'The fund is being raised mostly from overseas investors comprising fund-of-funds backed by financial institutions, endowment funds backed by educational institutions, pension funds, sovereign funds and also HNIs (high net worth individuals) across Asia, the US and Europe,' George Thomas, partner at the PE fund, told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on funding strategies.

January 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In the first step of an expected overhaul of Citigroup by its Indian American chief executive Vikram Pandit, the bruised bank has agreed to sell 51 percent of its brokerage division to Morgan Stanley. Citigroup confirmed speculation Tuesday that it plans to merge its brokerage Smith Barney with that of Morgan Stanley, which will pay $2.7 billion for a 51 percent stake in the joint venture.

January 12th, 2009 NEW YORK - Citigroup is in talks to merge its brokerage unit, Smith Barney, with rival Morgan Stanley, the US bank said in New York Tuesday. No agreement has been reached, Citigroup said in a statement.