ABSA

Contact details :

Absa Group Investor Relations
PO Box 7735, Johannesburg, 2000, South Africa
Tel: 2711-350-4061
Fax: 2711-3506487
e-mail: wilier@absa.co.za
website: www.absa.co.za

· Shanghai / China
Julia Zhu Jin - Chief Representative
ABSA Bank Shanghai Representative Office
Tel: (008621)6249-7050
Fax: (008621)6249-0181
e-mail: juliaabsash@online.sh.cn, absasha@public1.sta.net.cn

http://www.absa.co.za

ABSA Economic perspective Fourth Quarter 2003 & CPI comment

	EP 2004 Q4 Engish Web
	ABSA-C PI 25 Nov 2003

Company background

On 26 January 1991, the largest merger in South Africa banking history brought into being Amalgamated Banks of South Africa Limited, the largest banking group in Africa , with R50 billion in assets.

Mammoth strides have been taken in the 10 years since then . The Group was renamed Absa Group Limited in 1997, and assets have grown to R197 billion in tandem with major initiatives designed to ensure the Group's future. These included building a computer system now rated as one of the best in the world , re-engineering the credit and risk management system and then merging the 300 years of combined brand equity vested in our historic commercial banking brands into the Absa brand . To be globally competitive while fulfilling the financial services needs of a divers South Africa , a further stride was taken on 31 March 2001. On this date , the commercial bank, the Group's largest operating division , was replaced by a number of smaller , focused banking business units serving specific market segment.

While implementing these sometimes testing changes, Absa remained the country's leading provided of personal banking and financial services . It has an established infrastructure and offers the complete range of retail and corporate banking , insurance and financial products and services as well as extensive local and international networks. This enable the Group to interact with its customers via a combination of physical and electronic channels . Each customer is offered a choice of banking and financial products and services- from basic offering for the low-income personal market to customized solutions for the corporate market .

The Group has largely been reinvented over the past 10 years , but our vision and goals of today - to be a customer-focused financial services group in targeted market segments, to be partners in growing South Africa prosperity and to serve all our stakeholders -largely correspond with those we decided to pursue in 1991.

ABSA Shanghai Office has been officially opened in Sep 1995, the objective of this office is to position ABSA Group in the PRC market with optimum penetration. ABSA Shanghai Office intends to:
- bring into full play of our local knowledge and ABSA's expertise and overseas capabilities provide our clients with creative and quality assistance and, where possible, financial services via our offshore outlets.