Barclays confident on ABN, but share price key

British bank Barclays Plc said it was still confident of succeeding with its takeover bid for Dutch rival ABN AMRO, but acknowledged that much will depend on its share price in the next two months.

"Am I confident about our ability to win the ABN AMRO merger? Yes I am, but I recognize there is a significant dependency on where our stock is trading at the relevant time," Barclays Chief Executive John Varley told reporters on a conference call accompanying its results.

Read more in Financial Express

ABN Amro buyer will get strong India base

Dutch banking giant ABN Amro, the target of intense takeover speculation, would give the winner enhanced presence in a range of financial sectors such as retail banking, mutual funds and brokerage services in India, the world's second fastest growing economy.

Even as UK's third largest bank Barclays Plc said in a statement it will make an announcement tomorrow on reports about its interest in ABN Amro, industry observers say that India could be one of the key reasons behind a possible bid.

Barclays CEO John Varley said at an analysts conference last month he was looking for "aggressive" growth and would consider acquisitions to enter the emerging markets.

Read more at Business Standard

Foreign banks can list in India from May 2009: RBI

HSBC, Citibank, ABN Amro and other foreign banks have the option of listing in India from May 2009. But this comes with a rider - they have to convert themselves into fully owned subsidiary foreign banks operate as branches in india, reports CNBC-TV18.This was stated by RBI Deputy Governor V Leeladhar in Washington. Leeladhar said that as per a two-phase roadmap released for foreign banks in consistence with WTO commitments, the RBI in the first phase between March 2005-09 had allowed them to operate through branches or set up 100 per cent wholly-owned
subsidiaries (WOS).

During this phase, permission for acquisition of shareholding in Indian private sector banks by eligible foreign banks will be limited to banks identified by RBI for restructuring.

They will also be allowed to list and dilute their stake after completion of a minimum prescribed period of operation. However, at least 26% of the paid-up capital of the subsidiary of the foreign bank should be held by resident
Indians at all times, he said.

Finally, foreign banks will be permitted to enter into M&As with any private sector bank, subject to the overall investment limit of 74 per cent.

However, foreign banks are not keen on listing in India as they are not eager for a fully owned subsidiary. They see no additional benefits from this.