This followed a stormy extraordinary general meeting in Basel on Wednesday, where about 6,500 shareholders - from former UBS employees to financiers, pension funds and elderly folk - slammed the bank for the estimated 20 billion francs of sub-prime losses it has racked up.

But amid the fury, investors backed a plan by the bank to raise a total of 13 billion Swiss francs from GIC and an unidentified Middle Eastern investor.

The capital injection will be done via issuing notes that can be converted into UBS shares.

The vote also cleared the way for GIC to move ahead to complete the deal.

Mr Gerald Chan, the head of UBS in Singapore, described GIC yesterday as a 'long-term strategic investor, seeking good value, and a company with a clear strategy'.

He said the increased capital from GIC 'will reinforce client confidence in UBS', adding that the infusion of cash was 'an important step in securing the future development of the bank'.

Mr Chan, who was appointed just three weeks ago, said UBS' businesses in the Asia-Pacific, including those based in Singapore, 'had performed well, notwithstanding the global challenges' the group faced.

'Indeed, our wealth management business in the Asia-Pacific has doubled in size in terms of assets under management since 2005, and UBS was the top-earning investment bank in the Asia-Pacific as at end-2007,' he noted.