Absa opens Dubai office to expand Africa-Middle East banking links

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Absa opens Dubai office

Highlights

Absa opened a Dubai office with a category 4 license from the Dubai Financial Services Authority to facilitate Africa-Gulf investment and credit arrangements.
Absa seeks to diversify earnings beyond its main profit centers, planning to convert its Nigeria office into a merchant bank and expand into Uganda and Angola.
Gulf countries have invested over $100 billion in Africa since 2014, with UAE-sub-Saharan Africa trade up more than 30% and Saudi-African trade up twelvefold.

Dubai expansion supports cross-border deal flow

As reported by Moneyweb, the new Dubai office is aimed at serving Africa-based clients seeking to do business in Gulf nations, while also helping Middle East-based firms access opportunities across the continent. Absa said its category 4 license from the Dubai Financial Services Authority allows the branch to arrange investment deals, advise on financial products, and arrange and advise on credit.

Cheryl Buss, chief executive officer of Absa International, said the strategy is focused on supporting trade and investment as global capital flows into Africa. She said sovereign wealth funds and companies in agriculture, minerals, energy, infrastructure and logistics are among the groups driving interest in the region.

The office adds to Absa's international network, which already includes corridors in the UK and U.S. and a non-banking unit opened in China in 2024. With the Dubai presence, the lender joins Investec, Standard Bank and Nedbank in establishing an office in the emirate.

Broader push to diversify earnings

Absa is expanding outside its main profit centers as it looks to reduce reliance on South Africa, Kenya and Ghana, which account for more than 80% of profit in the six months through June. The bank is also planning to convert its representative office in Nigeria into a merchant bank and is exploring a representative office in Angola.

The wider growth plan includes buying Standard Chartered Plc's wealth and retail-banking unit in Uganda in 2025 and increasing its stake in its Kenya business to 72%, short of the 85% target it had set. Absa is also broadening its wealth offerings in Mozambique, Kenya and Mauritius, while combining the operations of its two banks in Tanzania to streamline its presence in the East African market.

The expansion comes as trade links between the Gulf and Africa continue to deepen. The World Economic Forum says Gulf countries have invested more than $100 billion in Africa since 2014, while trade between the United Arab Emirates and sub-Saharan Africa has increased by more than 30% and trade between Saudi Arabia and the region has risen twelvefold over the same period.

In our earlier report on how geopolitical tensions are reshaping global trade, we noted that repeated conflicts and tariff shocks are pushing companies to redesign supply chains and shipping routes for greater resilience, even at higher cost. We also highlighted expectations that these adjustments could outlast the conflicts themselves, accelerating regional trade patterns and keeping the outlook uncertain despite forecasts for renewed trade growth.

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