9th May 2014 09:39
LONDON (Alliance News) - HSBC Holdings PLC Friday said it has agreed to sell its banking business in Pakistan to Meezan Bank Ltd, as the global banking giant continues to scale back in areas it considers to be non-core to its strategy.
The deal, which requires regulatory and shareholder approval, is expected to complete during the second-half of 2014. No financial details were disclosed. The banking business is held by HSBC's indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary, HSBC Bank Middle East Ltd.
The agreement to sell the business, which is made up of 10 branches and has about USD455.0 million in gross assets, comes after a previous attempt to sell the business to JS Bank Ltd fell through last October when it failed to receive approval from regulators, something still required for the deal announced Friday.
In February, HSBC disclosed that talks were taking place with Meezan, a local Islamic bank, concerning a potential sale of the banking business in Pakistan.
Substantially all of the business's employees will be offered positions with Meezan when the deal is completed, HSBC said.
HSBC shares were Friday quoted at 593.14 pence, down 0.1%.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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