Barclays Africa earnings up 10%

Johannesburg - Barclays Africa [JSE:BGA] has reported higher profits as it applied for a Nigerian banking licence and wants to take over the Egypt and Zimbabwe units still ran by its parent company, it said on Tuesday.

Like other companies, banks in SA are setting up operations in sub-Saharan Africa to tap growth from the robust economies there and hedge against stagnating growth at home.

Africa's No 3 lender said it was in talks with its British parent to take over the two African operations left out of a 2013 all-share deal that saw it acquire eight country subsidiaries on the continent.