ISLAMABAD: Bank Muscat, the leading bank of Muscat, is interested in acquiring a majority stake in Saudi-Pak Commercial Bank in Pakistan in association with Sinthos Capital, International Finance Corporation, Washington and Nomura International.

According to sources the consortium has already signed the share purchase agreement with Saudi-Pak Investment Company (SAPICO) for the purchase of 68 percent stake in the bank.

The Bank Muscat's total stake in the Saudi-Pak Commercial Bank would be 35 percent.

Bank Muscat has obtained the necessary regulatory approvals in Oman to go ahead with this investment, while an approval from the State Bank of Pakistan is currently awaited. Commenting on the acquisition, Bank Muscat Chairman Sheikh Abdul Malik bin Abdullah Al Khalili said, "Pakistan and Oman have historically had long-standing economic and social ties." Our entry into the country is, therefore, both strategically and commercially important for both the countries, he said.

Bank Muscat would be pleased to be of service to the local business community in Pakistan and hope this move would further strengthen our ties with the members of the community who are well-settled across the GCC region, he said.

"We definitely look forward to contributing significantly to the economic and social development of Pakistan, even as we take another step toward fulfilling our goal of establishing a significant presence in countries that have an abiding interest in Oman and the GCC region," he added.

However, according to consortium's agreement, Sinthos Capital would manage the bank.

Sinthos Capital is an organization founded by Shaukat Tarin and Sadeq Sayeed. Shaukat Tarin has over 32 years of successful banking experience with Citibank, Habib Bank and the Union Bank. He is known for having turnedaround the Union Bank, which was subsequently sold to Standard Chartered Bank's Pakistan operations.

Sadeq Sayeed, on the other hand, is a banker with 25 years of International investment banking experience in the arbitrage trading, asset management and private equity. The Saudi Pak Commercial Bank was set up in 2001 and currently services its client base across a network of 50 branches nationwide. As of September 30, 2007, the total assets of the Bank were $ 975 million, with deposits at $ 700 million.

Talking on the occasion, Bank Muscat Chief Executive Abdul Razak Ali Issa said, "We are very excited about taking our business and services to the country and believe that this new international experience would be of significant value both to the banking industry in Pakistan and to Bank Muscat, as it continues to grow into a strong regional bank." Since the onset of banking reforms in 1997 significant growth in banking sector has been observed, he said.

The last five years have especially seen increasing attention from leading foreign financial institutions like Standard Chartered, ABN Amro, Temasek and SAMBA, who have made sizeable investments in the sector, he added.

Confirming the developments, Bilal A Moti, Head of International Operations of Bank Muscat, said, "Bank Muscat is pursuing a prudent and realistic international expansion strategy. Pakistan is a clear opportunity for domestic and regional business and is a valuable compliment to our growing international presence. We are committed to applying Bank Muscat's professional standards to our operations in Pakistan, along with the local and international banking expertise coming from our strong consortium and management partners."