BZW to sell Asian unit

BZW to sell Asian unit

HONG KONG (AFP): British-owned investment bank BZW Asia Ltd. will announce this week an agreement to sell its Asian securities arm to Credit Suisse First Boston, a company official said yesterday.

The official announcement of the sale would be made Friday, he said.

The official added that employees had been told the deal with Credit Suisse has been agreed.

The sale is part of the move by Barclay's Bank of Britain, the parent of BZW Asia, to retreat from investment banking worldwide. Credit Suisse Group earlier said its unit Credit Suisse First Boston had agreed to acquire the European equity and investment banking businesses from BZW.