Of note is a 16% stake acquired in Blue Financial Services (Blue) a micro-finance institution operating in 12 African countries. Blue, currently dual listed on the ALTX of the JSE and on the Botswana Stock Exchange, has plans to further list in Kenya, Namibia and Zambia.
Since Absa is yet to fully consolidate its operations after the acquisition of Barclay’s Sub-Saharan businesses into the Absa brand, the newly acquired stake in Blue provides an important consideration on the strategic course Absa will adopt. Adan Mohammed (the Barclays Kenya CEO) is on record having noted the necessity for BBK to change its strategic course perhaps by shedding its high-street image. I think the Blue buy-in provides an important inflection point for the Absa/Barclays African strategy.
With Barclays Plc having earlier sought capital injections from the middle-East and the stocks recent woes amidst the continuing crisis, is it likely that capital will be transferred to the parent co. from its subsidiaries in emerging markets ie. through extraordinary dividend repatriations leaving the subsidiaries in more precarious balance sheet positions?
Of course that may be a shortsighted move but drastic times call for drastic measures.
Besides, who’s bothered about Basel treaties in frontier markets when the big boys/girls in the West are worried about avoiding government capital injections?
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