BARCLAYS Plc intends combining the majority of its operations in Africa with Absa, the UK-based financial services giant has said.
‘The proposed combination of the majority of the Barclays Africa business with Absa is the next logical step in delivering our ‘One Africa’ strategy, which Barclays Plc announced last,’ Maria Ramos, chief executive of the Absa Group and Barclays Africa, said in a statement yesterday. Barclays is the majority shareholder of Absa.The move will affect Barclays interests in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and the Indian Ocean.Barclays is currently also negotiating with Capricorn Investments Holdings (CIH), the holding company of Bank Windhoek, to buy 49,9 per cent of the shares in the Namibian bank.Absa in May applied to the Bank of Namibia (BoN) to buy a 55,3 per cent stake in CIH, eyeing 49,9% of the interest in Bank Windhoek. It was Absa’s second shot at Bank Windhoek, after the BoN in 2010 refused its application for a majority shareholding in CIH.This time around the BoN, however, gave permission to Barclays Plc, and not Absa, to clinch the deal.By the time of going to press yesterday, The Namibian hadn’t received feedback from Absa yet on whether Bank Windhoek would be included in the One Africa strategy should the Barclays deal locally be successful.In her statement, Ramos said Barclays is ‘tremendously excited by the opportunities for growth in Africa’.’We are wholeheartedly committed to our businesses across Africa and this proposed combination will help us to leverage the significant potential of these businesses. It will provide a platform for further growth that we firmly believe will be to the benefit of our colleagues, our customers and clients, our shareholders and the communities in which we operate,’ Ramos said.She said the regional offices for Absa Africa and Barclays Africa have already been consolidated and that a global product strategy for banking across the continent has been introduced. The proposed combination of the business will mirror the managerial and operational structure already put in place, she said.Barclays will remain the majority shareholder in the combined African operations. The proposed combination will have to approved by the boards of Absa and Barclays, as well as regulators in the various countries.’There can be no certainty that these discussions will lead to a combination,’ Ramos’ statement said. The combination, if successful, is not expected to be completed until 2013, it said.
