Absa To Open Dubai Office As Gulf Investments In Africa Boom

A unit of South Africas third-largest bank by assets plans to open a representative office in Dubai next year to benefit from growing trade and investment between the Middle East and Africa. 'Were setting up a Dubai office in the first quarter of 2026,' Yasmin Masithela, chief executive officer of Absa Group Ltd.s corporate- and investment-banking unit, said in an interview in Johannesburg. 'Were just waiting for regulatory approval.'
The office will allow the lender to serve its clients on the continent seeking to do business in gulf nations as well as Middle East-based businesses wanting to access African markets.
Absa chose Dubai because of its concentration of clients seeking to invest in African infrastructure, Masithela said.