KARACHI (Haris Zamir): HSBC has decided to sell its operations in Pakistan to JS Bank Limited as part of its global restructuring and revamping plans to close down operations that have small asset bases, said HSBC London, said HSBC London in an email to The News.
According to the email, the bank was in talks with several unnamed companies to sell its Pakistan business. Banking circles said that HSBC has agreed to sell its Pakistan operations comprising 10 branches to JS Bank Limited. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed by the last quarter of 2012.
Banking industry sources said that the value of the transaction will become clearer once the share price is disclosed. But they said that given that the Royal Bank of Scotland was sold for 80 million dollars and that HSBC has a small network, the price would be less.
While the price has not yet been disclosed by either the buyer or the seller, industry experts believe the transaction amount will range between $50 million and $65 million. The bank has almost 300,000 customers.
Besides JS Bank, KASB Finance and Isbank of Turkey had also indicated interest in buying stakes in HSBC’s Pakistan operations Earlier, the HSBC had said that as of June 30, the bank’s Pakistan business had gross assets worth about $635 million (496 million euros). HSBC is Europe’s biggest bank by assets and was founded in Hong Kong. Despite being headquartered in London, the bank sees Asia as its main market.