DIC denies Citigroup asked for funds
Dubai International Capital (DIC), the investment arm of the Dubai government, yesterday denied expressing an opinion on Citigroup Inc’s financial condition, and said it has not been approached by the US banking giant for investment.
In a statement emailed to Khaleej Times in response to recent media reports quoting comments by its chief executive about the struggling Citigroup, DIC said it “has never expressed an opinion on the investment merits or financial condition of Citi.”
The clarification come in the wake of media reports that quoted Sameer Al Ansari, chief executive officer of DIC, as saying it would take ‘a lot more money’ to rescue Citigroup —which is reeling under the burden of subprime mortgage write-downs - despite investments pumped by Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed.
The DIC statement added: “We have not been privy to any non-public information about the Company, neither has Citi approached Dubai International Capital for a capital raise. Dubai International Capital maintains an ongoing relationship with Citi and has substantial respect for the Company.”
Ansari was quoted on Tuesday in reports that “it will take a lot more than that (investments by Gulf groups) to rescue Citi and other financial institutions.”
Citigroup fell 4.3 per cent that day to its lowest in nine years after Ansari’s comments and analysts at Merrill Lynch & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predicted a first-quarter loss on further writedowns.
Citigroup received $7.5 billion from Abu Dhabi last year, after record mortgage losses wiped out almost half the company’s market value. In January, it said it was getting another $14.5 billion from investors, including the governments of Singapore and Kuwait. Abu Dhabi will become Citigroup’s biggest shareholder when the securities it agreed to buy in November convert into as many as 235.6 million shares from 2010.
Citigroup has raised more than $26 billion over the past three months from sovereign investors in the Middle East and Asia, as well as from the public. The capital raising was forced by more than $20 billion in credit-related losses and a $9.83 billion net loss in the fourth quarter, after the bank badly overextended itself ahead of the credit crunch.
DIC, established in 2004, is focused on both private equity and public equity, and manages an international portfolio of diverse assets that provide its stakeholders with value growth, diversification, and strategic investments. Assets under management total over $12 billion. Source
In a statement emailed to Khaleej Times in response to recent media reports quoting comments by its chief executive about the struggling Citigroup, DIC said it “has never expressed an opinion on the investment merits or financial condition of Citi.”
The clarification come in the wake of media reports that quoted Sameer Al Ansari, chief executive officer of DIC, as saying it would take ‘a lot more money’ to rescue Citigroup —which is reeling under the burden of subprime mortgage write-downs - despite investments pumped by Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed.
The DIC statement added: “We have not been privy to any non-public information about the Company, neither has Citi approached Dubai International Capital for a capital raise. Dubai International Capital maintains an ongoing relationship with Citi and has substantial respect for the Company.”
Ansari was quoted on Tuesday in reports that “it will take a lot more than that (investments by Gulf groups) to rescue Citi and other financial institutions.”
Citigroup fell 4.3 per cent that day to its lowest in nine years after Ansari’s comments and analysts at Merrill Lynch & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predicted a first-quarter loss on further writedowns.
Citigroup received $7.5 billion from Abu Dhabi last year, after record mortgage losses wiped out almost half the company’s market value. In January, it said it was getting another $14.5 billion from investors, including the governments of Singapore and Kuwait. Abu Dhabi will become Citigroup’s biggest shareholder when the securities it agreed to buy in November convert into as many as 235.6 million shares from 2010.
Citigroup has raised more than $26 billion over the past three months from sovereign investors in the Middle East and Asia, as well as from the public. The capital raising was forced by more than $20 billion in credit-related losses and a $9.83 billion net loss in the fourth quarter, after the bank badly overextended itself ahead of the credit crunch.
DIC, established in 2004, is focused on both private equity and public equity, and manages an international portfolio of diverse assets that provide its stakeholders with value growth, diversification, and strategic investments. Assets under management total over $12 billion. Source
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