SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Government of Singapore Investment Corp. will
explore buying a stake Morgan Stanley (MS) following reports in the Wall
Street Journal that the U.S. investment bank is in merger with Wachovia
Corp. (WV) and other banks.
"We will look at all opportunities if approached," a GIC spokesperson, who
asked not to be named, told Dow Jones Newswires when asked if the sovereign
wealth fund would be interested in buying Morgan Stanley.
But another person familiar with the matter said GIC would only explore
buying a stake in Morgan Stanley, not to acquire it.
"SWFs don't buy entire banks," he said.
GIC, which manages Singapore's foreign exchange reserves, currently holds a
9% stake in UBS AG (UBS) by way of preferred shares it bought in December
for CHF11 billion ($11 billion) when UBS raised equity to shore up losses
linked to the U.S. subprime crisis. GIC also holds a 0.4% stake in UBS
through its holding of common stock.
In January, GIC spent $6.9 billion for preferred stock that can be
converted to about 4% of Citigroup's (C) equity.
GIC's portfolio exceeds $100 billion
-By Costas Paris, Dow Jones Newswires; 65 6415 4153;
[email protected]
explore buying a stake Morgan Stanley (MS) following reports in the Wall
Street Journal that the U.S. investment bank is in merger with Wachovia
Corp. (WV) and other banks.
"We will look at all opportunities if approached," a GIC spokesperson, who
asked not to be named, told Dow Jones Newswires when asked if the sovereign
wealth fund would be interested in buying Morgan Stanley.
But another person familiar with the matter said GIC would only explore
buying a stake in Morgan Stanley, not to acquire it.
"SWFs don't buy entire banks," he said.
GIC, which manages Singapore's foreign exchange reserves, currently holds a
9% stake in UBS AG (UBS) by way of preferred shares it bought in December
for CHF11 billion ($11 billion) when UBS raised equity to shore up losses
linked to the U.S. subprime crisis. GIC also holds a 0.4% stake in UBS
through its holding of common stock.
In January, GIC spent $6.9 billion for preferred stock that can be
converted to about 4% of Citigroup's (C) equity.
GIC's portfolio exceeds $100 billion
-By Costas Paris, Dow Jones Newswires; 65 6415 4153;
[email protected]
:p 
