Barclays views China as key market

Jul. 2, 2009 (China Knowledge) - Britain's Barclays, which is 3.1% held by China Development Bank, hopes to see profits from business in Asia, especially China, begin to contribute as much as 20% of its total profits, whereas last year Asian markets contributed 12%, said the financial service group's chief executive, in Shanghai on Wednesday, the Shanghai Daily reported.

Varley said that business in Asia contributed only 5% of the company's total profit in the years from 2004 to 2007.

Barclays, which has submitted its application for a license to do RMB business in China, has a strong sense of commitment to the country, especially to the city of Shanghai, which aims to become a global financial center by 2020, said Varley to Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng, adding that the British company was glad to play a role in helping Shanghai achieve that goal.

However, the London-based company has no plans to buy into any Chinese brokerages.