Barclays exits Africa after selling off stake in Absa Bank

 Barclays, a British multinational universal bank has sold its entire remaining 7.4% holding in South African lender Absa, completing its exit from the continent after more than 90 years.

Barclays announced on Thursday that it had raised around £538 million (R10.69 billion) from the sale of more than 63 million shares in the business.

The British banking giant made the exist six years after announcing the plan. The bank announced it would sell Absa in 2016, as part of a strategy revamp to focus more on the United States and Britain under then-Chief Executive Jes Staley.