Barclays sees surge in Africa, Asia cross-border deal flows

[JOHANNESBURG] Barclays has a strong pipeline of deals across its investment and private-banking businesses in Africa as cross-border deal flow picks up and the continent’s largest economy shows signs of recovery, the head of its South African unit said.

The Middle East, India and Singapore are doing additional transactions in the region, and this will likely increase in 2026, Amol Prabhu said in an interview. The British lender recently advised on a transaction where Qatar Investment Authority invested US$500 million in Africa-focused metals and mining firm Ivanhoe Mines.

“We have seen the bridge between Middle East and Africa expanding at a rapid rate, and in 2025 we already saw significant investment by Gulf states into the region,” he said on Tuesday (Nov 25). “Its about diversification of risk and investing in regions that have the potential for yield and growth – if you can show track record, investment will follow.”

Africa is home to some of the fastest-growing economies and population groups globally and will see growth of about 4 per cent this year, outpacing the average of most other regions. While trade tensions and geopolitical risk have picked up since US President Donald Trump came into office, the continent has managed to court investors from other regions.

The continent is managing to pull investment from large Middle Eastern sovereign funds, ultra high net-worth individuals and corporates seeking expansion, said Prabhu. Investors are looking at transactions in the health-care, industrials, metals and mining and technology sectors, he said.

South Africa’s hosting of the Group of 20 leaders’ summit highlighted the continent’s issues on a global stage and opened the way for more frank discussions, said Prabhu.

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On top of that, South Africa’s credit upgrade by S&P Global Ratings, its removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s dirty-money list, slower inflation and the fact that the government of national unity is holding together make it attractive for local and foreign investment, he said.

“There’s a lot of positive data points that are coming through the economy,” he said. BLOOMBERG