Barclays Wealth is to be principal sponsor of Singapore dance company Esplanade’s dance festival up till 2010.

The festival features a mix of international and local productions across dance genres from classical to contemporary.  Barclays Wealth will host private banking clients and prospects at various performances during the duration of the dance festival staged from 9 to 19 October 2008.

This partnership marks Barclays Wealth first foray into arts and cultural sponsorship in Singapore. Barclays is the sponsor of the Singapore Open golf tournament, Asia’s richest national Open with a purse of $5 million.  It is also the largest sports sponsorship in Singapore’s history.

Didier von Daeniken, chief executive, Barclays Wealth Asia Pacific, said: “This is the first time that we are sponsoring the arts in Asia.  We chose Singapore because it is an important private banking hub for Barclays Wealth in the region and it is a signal of our commitment in enhancing our brand visibility in this key market.”