Speculation continues about the future ownership of Barclays' private banking businesses in Asia.

Barclays remained tight-lipped yesterday amid new reports of its alleged moves to sell its private banking businesses in Singapore and Hong Kong.

According to Bloomberg, the UK-listed bank's wealth units in these financial centres are valued at a combined $400 million, and have attracted bids from Asian players including Nomura Holdings, NMR and United Overseas Bank. Other banks such as Singapore-headquartered DBS Group, Julius Baer and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation are also rumoured to be in the fray to acquire Barclays’ Asia wealth management unit, the report said.

When asked by WealthBriefingAsia about the matter, Barclays declined to comment.

Speculation has swirled around the future of the Asian business as the bank - which reported 2015 results recently - seeks to bolster its profits and focus booking centres in markets where it aims to achieve a critical mass of business. The bank is moving to down-sell its business links to Africa, a region in which it has been present for decades.

The newswire report said Barclays will not be selling its India or Japan private banking operations.

The second round of offers is expected by mid-March, following the submission of non-binding bids in early 2016, the report added.