TOKYO, NOV 28: Barclays Plc said on Friday that it would immediately close down the equities business of its investment banking subsidiary BZW in Japan.The closure will affect about 100 employees in Japan, reducing the number of Barclays group workers in Japan to around 450, Barclays said in a statement. "Barclays will continue to maintain a significant presence in Japan through Barclays Capital and Barclays Bank Plc," the statement said.Barclays said in October that it was looking to sell the equities, equity capital markets and mergers and acquisition advisory businesses of BZW.This is the third major closure of a financial institution in Japan after the shutdown of Yamaichi Securities and Tokyo City Bank last week.However, BZW Asia said on Friday it was not affected by the immediate closure of BZW's equities business in Japan. "The decision to close the equities operation of BZW Securities Japan has no bearing on BZW Asia," BZW Asia's chairman and chief executive Roger Davis said in a statement."The operations of BZW Japan have always remained quite separate from BZW Asia and have reported directly to the London head office," he said.BZW Asia is owned by Barclays Plc, which has said it is looking for buyers for BZW's businesses in Australasia and Asia-Pacific. Davis said BZW Asia was aiming to reach a deal on the sale of the business by Christmas."Here at BZW Asia we remain focused on finding the appropriate owner for our business with long term vision and commitment to the region. We are aiming to reach an agreement and make an announcement prior to Christmas," he said.BZW Asia has 11 offices in the region, including operations in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. It employs 1,200 people in Asia ex-Japan and has about 500 staff in Hong Kong.Japan was of late hit by a series of financial failures. Yamaichi said on Monday it would close after revelations of hidden debts of 260 billion yen ($ 2.03 billion) partly created through improper "tobashi" deals, in which loss-making portfolios are shifted from client to client with a pledge that the paper losses will be covered.On Wednesday, regional rural bank Tokyo City Bank exacerbated the parlous situation by announcing its closure.
