Company Insights Central Bank of Oman Banking and Finance Central Bank of Oman News Banking and Finance Sohar International Bank and HSBC Oman to merge Sohar International Bank and HSBC Bank Oman have signed a binding merger agreement following talks that started in June 2022. All assets and liabilities of HSBC Bank Oman will be transferred to Sohar International upon the conclusion of the deal. The banks, which did not disclose the deal value, said that upon completion HSBC Oman […] May 31, 2023 Banking and Finance Oman’s Ahli Bank rejects merger offer from Bank Dhofar Oman-based Ahli Bank has rejected a non-binding offer from the sultanate’s second-biggest lender Bank Dhofar for a possible merger. “The Board of Directors has studied the proposal and decided not to accept it,” Ahli Bank said in a bourse filing, without providing a reason for the board’s decision. Bank Dhofar has assets worth $11.2 billion, […] April 12, 2023 Banking and Finance Central bank approves HSBC Oman and Sohar International merger HSBC Bank Oman and Sohar International have received the Central Bank of Oman’s (CBO) approval for their merger proposal, the banks said in separate statements to the Muscat Stock Exchange. The merger is likely to be completed in the second half of 2023 following approvals from regulators and shareholders of the two banks. In previous […] February 6, 2023 Banking and Finance Oman and India study e-linking some payment services The Central Bank of Oman has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with India’s flagship payments processor, National Payments Corporation of India, to study the possibility of linking some payment systems between the two countries, according to Oman’s state news agency. The MoU aims at studying the possibility of connecting the unified payments interface and RuPay Card, […] October 5, 2022 Analysis Banking and Finance Central banks go digital, bit by bit The turmoil in cryptocurrency markets this year has been a wake-up call to investors and regulators, prompting questions about how viable many digital currencies really are. According to CoinMarketCap, the total value of cryptocurrencies has slumped from almost $3 trillion in November 2021 to less than $1 trillion in September this year. But not all […] September 14, 2022 Banking and Finance Oman’s Islamic banking assets rise 9.6% to $16.1bn Total assets of Islamic banks and windows operating in Oman jumped by 9.6 percent year-on-year to OR 6.2 billion ($16.1 billion) in June 2022, Muscat Daily reported, citing Central Bank of Oman data. Islamic banking assets account for 15.9 percent of the country’s total banking system assets. An Islamic ‘window’ when a conventional financial institution […] August 30, 2022 Analysis Banking and Finance How Oman has moved from protests to surplus in a year Last June Oman was facing protests over job layoffs and poor economic conditions as the sultanate suffered from the double shock of the coronavirus pandemic and a slump in oil prices. Just 14 months later Fitch Ratings has upgraded Oman’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating to ‘BB’ from ‘BB-‘, with a stable outlook. Fitch said […] August 16, 2022 Banking and Finance Open all hours: inside the Gulf’s banking revolution The UAE’s first open banking platform is helping fintech and banks bring personalised services to customers, and is accelerating the regional growth of this progressive sector The Gulf has the potential to leapfrog other regions of the world, including Europe, with its adoption of open banking as bricks and mortar branches “slowly disappear”, according to […] May 17, 2022 Posts navigation Previous 1 2
Banking and Finance Sohar International Bank and HSBC Oman to merge Sohar International Bank and HSBC Bank Oman have signed a binding merger agreement following talks that started in June 2022. All assets and liabilities of HSBC Bank Oman will be transferred to Sohar International upon the conclusion of the deal. The banks, which did not disclose the deal value, said that upon completion HSBC Oman […] May 31, 2023
Banking and Finance Oman’s Ahli Bank rejects merger offer from Bank Dhofar Oman-based Ahli Bank has rejected a non-binding offer from the sultanate’s second-biggest lender Bank Dhofar for a possible merger. “The Board of Directors has studied the proposal and decided not to accept it,” Ahli Bank said in a bourse filing, without providing a reason for the board’s decision. Bank Dhofar has assets worth $11.2 billion, […] April 12, 2023
Banking and Finance Central bank approves HSBC Oman and Sohar International merger HSBC Bank Oman and Sohar International have received the Central Bank of Oman’s (CBO) approval for their merger proposal, the banks said in separate statements to the Muscat Stock Exchange. The merger is likely to be completed in the second half of 2023 following approvals from regulators and shareholders of the two banks. In previous […] February 6, 2023
Banking and Finance Oman and India study e-linking some payment services The Central Bank of Oman has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with India’s flagship payments processor, National Payments Corporation of India, to study the possibility of linking some payment systems between the two countries, according to Oman’s state news agency. The MoU aims at studying the possibility of connecting the unified payments interface and RuPay Card, […] October 5, 2022
Analysis Banking and Finance Central banks go digital, bit by bit The turmoil in cryptocurrency markets this year has been a wake-up call to investors and regulators, prompting questions about how viable many digital currencies really are. According to CoinMarketCap, the total value of cryptocurrencies has slumped from almost $3 trillion in November 2021 to less than $1 trillion in September this year. But not all […] September 14, 2022
Banking and Finance Oman’s Islamic banking assets rise 9.6% to $16.1bn Total assets of Islamic banks and windows operating in Oman jumped by 9.6 percent year-on-year to OR 6.2 billion ($16.1 billion) in June 2022, Muscat Daily reported, citing Central Bank of Oman data. Islamic banking assets account for 15.9 percent of the country’s total banking system assets. An Islamic ‘window’ when a conventional financial institution […] August 30, 2022
Analysis Banking and Finance How Oman has moved from protests to surplus in a year Last June Oman was facing protests over job layoffs and poor economic conditions as the sultanate suffered from the double shock of the coronavirus pandemic and a slump in oil prices. Just 14 months later Fitch Ratings has upgraded Oman’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating to ‘BB’ from ‘BB-‘, with a stable outlook. Fitch said […] August 16, 2022
Banking and Finance Open all hours: inside the Gulf’s banking revolution The UAE’s first open banking platform is helping fintech and banks bring personalised services to customers, and is accelerating the regional growth of this progressive sector The Gulf has the potential to leapfrog other regions of the world, including Europe, with its adoption of open banking as bricks and mortar branches “slowly disappear”, according to […] May 17, 2022