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According to the Financial Times, the aim of the move is to increase the bank's core equity Tier One capital ratio to 6.3 per cent - above its target of 5.25.
Currently, it lies at around five per cent, one of the lowest of the European banks.
Shares are expected to be bought by existing shareholders such as China Development Bank and the Singapore investment group Temasek.
New investors in Barclays are the Qatari prime ministers company Challenger, the Qatar Investment Authority and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation from Japan.
Barclays chief executive, John Varley, said: "Through our capital raising today we strengthen our capital base and give ourselves additional resources to pursue our strategy of growth through earnings diversification."
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