ABC Holdings relocates Jo’burg office to Botswana

ABC Holdings (ABCH), the parent company of a number of sub-Saharan Africa banks operating under the BancABC flagship, has announced that it will be relocating its Johannesburg office to Botswana.

In a statement, ABC Holdings said the relocation was as a result of their compliance to a long standing commitment to Botswana authorities.

“This office relocation is to comply with the requirements of the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC). The relocation of the ABCH office to Botswana is a purely administrative matter that will have no impact on any customers of the BancABC operating countries, or on counterparties of ABCH.

“We will continue to deliver uninterrupted service to our customers, and ABCH will continue to meet its obligations to its counterparties and service providers,” it said.

ABCH is registered in Botswana and regulated by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the Bank of Botswana.

The group also has operations in Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique.

At the time of its registration in Botswana, ABCH obtained a Botswana International Financial Services Centre, now known as BITC certification.

As a result of the relocation, the group’s office in Johannesburg would be closed by the end of March 2017.

“As part of this process, senior management roles will be relocated to Botswana. As a result, support roles will be relocated to BancABC operating countries, while some roles will become redundant. Consequently, in accordance with South Africa’s Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act, the company envisages embarking on a retrenchment process,” said ABCH.

It said the relocation of the office in Johannesburg to Botswana would also have a positive effect for BancABC operating countries.

“By relocating the roles in the Johannesburg office to the group’s operating countries, substantially all our employees will be closer to our most important and valuable asset, our customers.

“In addition, this relocation will provide opportunities to create new jobs and further skills development in the BancABC operating countries.”

The group said the closure of the Johannesburg office would also make it more efficient by placing senior management and support roles closer to customers in countries of operation thus enabling more investment and enhancing customer experience.