KARACHI: Pakistan central bank has granted approval to the Saudi National Bank (SNB), the immediate parent company of Samba Bank Pakistan (SBL), to start the sell-off process of SBL and undertake due-diligence, a bank notification said on Tuesday.
SNB in September this year announced that it was considering all its strategic options in relation to its shareholding in Samba Pakistan Limited, including potential mergers, acquisitions, divestment and/or restructuring as part of a strategic review. Subsequently, SNB announced that it had decided to divest SBL.
“The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has granted approval to Saudi National Bank (SNB) and its Advisers, team, to undertake Due-diligence of SBL, subject to compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations,” a notification sent to the Pakistan stock exchange by SBL on Tuesday said.
SBL is a subsidiary of SNB, formally SAMBA Financial Group (SFG), which holds 84.51 percent shares of the bank as of September 30, 2021.
SNB will commence an orderly and well-managed divestment of SBL subject to final board evaluation of the offers received, the bank has informed its shareholders, saying it had appointed advisers to assist the SBL management with the process and as necessary, provide consultancy to the management of the Bank on engagements with regulators in Pakistan.
TSBL, which has a network of 43 branches located in 14 major cities across the country, will be offered for sale to potential buyers after the evaluation of the bank’s assets and liabilities.
SFG, from Saudi Arabia, entered into a legally binding merger agreement with The National Commercial Bank (NCB) of Saudi Arabia in October 2020, according to a financial report of Samba Bank. As per the agreement, SGF was merged into NCB with effect from April 2021 in accordance with the applicable laws of the kingdom and NCB was renamed the Saudi National Bank (SNB) from the effective date of merger.
Consequent to the merger, all assets and liabilities of SFG, including its shareholding in the Bank, stood vested in SNB by operation of law and SFG ceased to exist from the effective date of merger. State Bank of Pakistan had given its in-principle approval for SNB as the sponsor of the bank.
Saudi National Bank gets approval to start Samba Bank Pakistan sell-off process
https://arab.news/bqjky
Saudi National Bank gets approval to start Samba Bank Pakistan sell-off process
- Pakistan’s central bank grants approval to Saudi National Bank to undertake due-diligence of Samba Bank
- SNB, formally SAMBA Financial Group, holds majority 84.51 percent stakes in Samba Bank Pakistan
Pakistan, global crypto exchange discuss modernizing digital payments, creating job prospects
- Pakistani officials, Binance team discuss coordination between Islamabad, local banks and global exchanges
- Pakistan has attempted to tap into growing crypto market to curb illicit transactions, improve oversight
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s finance officials and the team of a global cryptocurrency exchange on Friday held discussions aimed at modernizing the country’s digital payments system and building local talent pipelines to meet rising demand for blockchain and Web3 skills, the finance ministry said.
The development took place during a high-level meeting between Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Chairman Bilal bin Saqib, domestic bank presidents and a Binance team led by Global CEO Richard Teng. The meeting was held to advance work on Pakistan’s National Digital Asset Framework, a regulatory setup to govern Pakistan’s digital assets.
Pakistan has been moving to regulate its fast-growing crypto and digital assets market by bringing virtual asset service providers (VASPs) under a formal licensing regime. Officials say the push is aimed at curbing illicit transactions, improving oversight, and encouraging innovation in blockchain-based financial services.
“Participants reviewed opportunities to modernize Pakistan’s digital payments landscape, noting that blockchain-based systems could significantly reduce costs from the country’s $38 billion annual remittance flows,” the finance ministry said in a statement.
“Discussions also emphasized building local talent pipelines to meet rising global demand for blockchain and Web3 skills, creating high-value employment prospects for Pakistani youth.”
Blockchain is a type of digital database that is shared, transparent and tamper-resistant. Instead of being stored on one computer, the data is kept on a distributed network of computers, making it very hard to alter or hack.
Web3 refers to the next generation of the Internet built using blockchain, focusing on giving users more control over their data, identity and digital assets rather than big tech companies controlling it.
Participants of the meeting also discussed sovereign debt tokenization, which is the process of converting a country’s debt such as government bonds, into digital tokens on a blockchain, the ministry said.
Aurangzeb called for close coordination between the government, domestic banks and global exchanges to modernize Pakistan’s payment landscape.
Participants of the meeting also discussed considering a “time-bound amnesty” to encourage users to move assets onto regulated platforms, stressing the need for stronger verifications and a risk-mitigation system.
Pakistan has attempted in recent months to tap into the country’s growing crypto market, crack down on money laundering and terror financing, and promote responsible innovation — a move analysts say could bring an estimated $25 billion in virtual assets into the tax net.
In September, Islamabad invited international crypto exchanges and other VASPs to apply for licenses to operate in the country, a step aimed at formalizing and regulating its fast-growing digital market.
