Muscat – The shareholders of Sohar International Bank and HSBC Bank Oman on Tuesday approved the proposed merger between the two banks. The two banks held their respective extraordinary general meetings (EGMs) of shareholders on Tuesday.

In a disclosure to the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX), Sohar International said that the bank’s EGM approved the merger by incorporation which would lead to HSBC Oman being merged with and into Sohar International.

HSBC Oman, in a separate disclosure to the MSX, said, ‘The shareholders of HSBC Oman approved the dissolution of the bank and the proposed merger of it with Sohar International through a merger by incorporation, whereby HSBC Oman will merge into Sohar International Bank with Sohar International as the surviving entity.’

The bank’s shareholders also authorised the board of directors to do all ‘such acts, deeds, matters and things, which are necessary in order to complete the merger’.

The respective boards of directors of Sohar International and HSBC Oman recently approved the proposed merger between the two banks. The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) also approved the proposed merger between two banks in February this year.

As per the Tuesday’s disclosures, HSBC Oman and Sohar International are targeting completion of the merger to take place tentatively on August 17, 2023.

‘This timeline remains subject to all formal steps and actions being completed without any delays on account of factors beyond the control of both banks,’ the banks said.

In November 2022, Sohar International and HSBC Oman entered into a binding merger agreement, under which the two banks agreed to take necessary steps to implement the merger by incorporation. The merger discussions between two banks initially started in June 2022.

As per the binding agreement, all the assets and liabilities of HSBC Oman will be transferred to Sohar International and HSBC Oman will be dissolved upon completion of the merger.

Total assets of Sohar International stood at RO4.632bn as of March 31, 2023, while HSBC Oman’s total assets were at RO2.435bn at the end of the first quarter, according to banks’ financial reports.