ABSA'S bid for Bank Gaborone fails

In a statement, Namibia's central bank said it had block a offer by South Africa's ABSA to gain control of Capricorn Investment Holdings, which has a 72 percent shareholding in Bank Windhoek and a 88 percent stake in Bank Gaborone, citing concern about foreign dominance of its financial industry. The move is a setback for ABSA, which is majority owned by Britain's Barclays.

Bank Gaborone was issued with a banking licence in February 2006, opening its first retail branch in September 2006 while Barclays Bank Botswana has been in the country for over a hundred years now.