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Friday, 18 December - Thursday, 24 December 2015 ISSUE 610
SINCE 2001
£1.00 B R I TA I N ’ S N O . 1 A F R I C A N N E W S PA P E R Plans to transform Nigeria usurped by health care across Angola as top African London unveiled oil producer
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BARCLAYS CONSIDERS SCALING BACK AFRICA OPS By Alan Oakley
In a move that could break an almost 100-year history with the world’s second-largest and second-most-populous continent, Barclays plc could consider selling some or all of its banking operations in Africa, according to a report in the Financial Times this week.
The bank’s newly appointed chief executive, Jes Staley, is reportedly looking at how its large Africa business fits strategically with the rest of the group. Mr Staley’s review comes after investor confidence in South Africa was shaken by President Jacob Zuma’s decision to change his finance minister three times in less than a week at a time when the economy is under severe stress. The rand crashed to all-time lows against leading currencies last week. While it partly recovered this week after Mr Zuma reversed his appointment of a relatively unknown MP as finance minister, it is still down 25 per cent against the pound over the past year. The devaluation of the South African rand against the British pound has
American Jes Staley succeeds Antony Jenkins as Barclays’ chief executive
reduced the recent contribution of the African business to the overall banking group’s profits. For 2014, Barclay’s
earned a return on equity of 9.3% from its African operations which was lower than its target of 11%.
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