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Soneri Bank eyes RBS Pakistan
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KARACHI: Soneri Bank Limited (SBL) said Monday it is interested in buying the Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) Pakistan operations. MCB Bank had agreed last August to buy virtually all of RBS Pakistan shares for about $87 million, but the deal collapsed last month after MCB failed to get regulatory approval from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
"SBL will be seeking approval of the State Bank of Pakistan to proceed with the due diligence of RBS Pakistan," SBL said in a statement to the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE). Soneri has a market value of around $72 million and, according to its website, operates 154 branches nationwide. Last week, Egypt's No1 bank EFG-Hermes expressed interest in buying RBS Pakistan, and Faysal Bank last month also expressed interest.
The planned Pakistan sale of RBS is part of moves by part-nationalised RBS to sell assets globally as it tries to exit some three dozen countries and focus on its mainly British core businesses. Before MCB Bank agreed the now-lapsed deal, Egypt's Orascom Telecom Holdings and Rojhan Capital were also among those to express interest in acquiring RBS Pakistan.-Reuters
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