16 April 2014
Muscat - HSBC Bank Oman announced on Wednesday that it has entered into an agreement to sell its banking business in India to Doha Bank QSC.

"All the employees in the business are expected to transfer to Doha Bank as part of the sale. At December 31, 2013, the business to be sold had two branches and gross assets of R3.5bn (approximately US$57mn)," HSBC Bank Oman said in a disclosure to the MSM.

The bank added that the transaction, which is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, is expected to be completed in the second half of 2014.

HSBC Bank Oman has two branches in India - in Mumbai and Kochi.

Doha Bank had recently bagged the licence to commence banking operations in India and as a precursor to its entry into the Indian market it had hosted knowledge-sharing sessions in Mumbai and Chennai, according to information on the Qatari bank website.

© Muscat Daily 2014