HSBC Bank Oman SAOG (HSBC Oman) and Sohar International Bank SAOG (Sohar International) receives approval from Central Bank of Oman Following discussions which began in June 2022, HSBC Oman and Sohar International have now entered into a binding agreement to take the necessary steps towards a merger by incorporation, whereby upon completion all the assets and liabilities of HSBC Oman would be transferred to Sohar International and HSBC Oman would be dissolved. On 2 February, the merger received approval from the Central Bank of Oman. You can read our statement to the Muscat Stock Exchange here. There is no immediate change for customers. Both banks will remain independent and continue to operate a business as usual service until a merger completes. The merger, which remains subject to approval from other relevant regulatory bodies as well as from the respective shareholders of the two entities at their Extraordinary General Meetings, is expected to complete in the second half of 2023.