Barclays wants to boost its presence in Africa.

In November, Absa said it was close to striking a deal with Barclays.

But the group said Barclays is still waiting for the approval of South Africa's banking and competition authorities to make a formal offer.

Absa also announced that it expects to see earnings grow by 20-25% in its current financial year.

Strong growth

"Discussions with Barclays are continuing, but shareholders are advised that no agreement has been reached as to any offer being made by Barclays to acquire a majority stake in Absa," Absa said in a statement.

If Barclays buys a stake in Absa it will be one of the largest foreign investments in South Africa in recent years. Absa currently has a market value of about $8.5bn (�4.4bn).

Analysts said Absa's earnings forecast was better than expected.

However, the company warned that headline earnings growth would be trimmed by about four percentage points because of share options for a black economic empowerment transaction and a staff share incentive scheme.