Saudi Arabian investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has said he will increase his stake back to 5% in beleaguered banking giant Citigroup as a sign of confidence. Yesterday, the shares of Citigroup plunged 23% to a 13 year low. Currently the Prince holds less than 4% stake in the firm, reports Wall Street Journal. Citigroup has till now raised $50 billion in capital, half of which has come from the bailout programme.
Asian soveriegn wealth funds, both from Middle East and Singapore, have pumped in billions of dollars in the banking giant. The bank, which is led by Vikram Pandit, has taken a number of steps to shore up its balance sheet. Just earlier this week Citigroup announced its plans to cut 52,000 jobs by early next year, in addition to the 23,000 it has already cut this year. It has also sold several of its assets worldwide.
