Last checked at 
* Bank to close Asia cash equities business -memo
* Around 1,000 jobs to go worldwide -sources
* Exits investment banking in at least 8 countries -memo
* Exploring sale of precious metals business -memo (Adds detail from internal memo on restructuring in Europe,Middle East and America, share reaction)
By Anshuman Daga and Lawrence White
HONG KONG, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Barclays will cutabout 1,000 jobs in investment banking worldwide and close itscash equities business in Asia as new Chief Executive Jes Staleywields the axe in a bid to reduce costs and boost returns.
The harsher-than-expected cuts are among the most sweepingby an investment bank in recent years and follow similar movesby other European lenders seeking to cut costs in a tough globalenvironment for banks.
Barclays will shut its investment banking businesses incountries including Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, an internal memo seen byReuters showed, with those markets to be covered from financialhub cities in their respective regions.
The axe will also fall across central and eastern Europe,and South America, with offices closing and activity routed backthrough the lender's home base in London.
The memo did not give details on how many jobs will beaffected but people with knowledge of the matter said 1,000positions would be axed, the majority of them in Asia, a regionwhere falling trading volumes and stronger competition fromlocal banks has hit profits.
The latest cull would come in addition to the 19,000 cutsannounced by Staley in his three-year cost reduction plan.
At the end of 2014, Barclays investment bank employed around20,500 people according to its annual report, while the bank asa whole had about 132,300 employees.
Spokesmen for Barclays in Hong Kong and London declined tocomment on the job cuts. By 1058 GMT, shares in Barclays were up0.5 percent, outperforming in a 0.2 percent stronger STOXXEurope 600 Banking index.
Ten of Europe's biggest lenders have announced 130,000 joblosses since June, with bank chief executives pulling back frombusinesses where they lack scale to focus on more profitablemarkets.
The reduction in jobs is also in response to the currentturmoil in global equities and commodities markets, which ismaking it harder for investment banks to make money intraditional business lines. The MSCI all-world country index is trading at its lowest since June 2013.
The cuts were announced to staff in meetings on Thursdayacross the Asia-Pacific region, according to a person withdirect knowledge of the matter. "Asia is bearing the brunt," thesource added, declining to be named as they were not authorisedto speak to the media.
Barclays is also exploring the sale of its global preciousmetals business, the memo said.
While a market-making member of the London Bullion MarketAssociation (LBMA), the bank has been winding down its preciousmetals business for a number of years.
Since 2014 head of spot gold trading Marc Booker, head ofmetals and mining sales Martyn Whitehead, and product managerfor metals Jonathan Spall have all left the bank, leaving justthree people in London, two sources said.
As well as shutting cash equity sales across Central Europe,the Middle East and North Africa, the memo showed, Barclays willclose its Moscow office and all Russian clients with deal withLondon-based staff.
In the Americas, it also plans to end its onshore marketscoverage in Brazil and direct clients to teams in New York andLondon, although it will still handle banking services locally.
Reuters on Jan. 5 reported the cuts in the Asia investmentbanking business and exits from South Korea and Taiwan, asBarclays retreated from peripheral Asian businesses to focus onhubs including Hong Kong and Singapore. (Additional reporting by Xiaowen Bi, Simon Jessop and JanHarvey; Editing by Denny Thomas and Elaine Hardcastle)
