Muscat. 22 January 2008: BankMuscat, the nation’s leading bank, is acquiring a majority stake in Saudi Pak Commercial Bank in Pakistan in association with Sinthos Capital, International Finance Corporation, Washington and Nomura International. The consortium has already signed the Share Purchase Agreement with Saudi Pak Investment Company (SAPICO) to buy a 68% stake in the Bank. BankMuscat’s total stake in the Saudi Pak Commercial Bank will be 35%. BankMuscat has obtained the necessary regulatory approvals in Oman to go ahead with this investment. An approval from the State Bank of Pakistan, the country’s banking regulator, is currently awaited.

Commenting on the acquisition, Sheikh AbdulMalik bin Abdullah Al Khalili, Chairman, BankMuscat, said:

"Pakistan and Oman have historically had longstanding economic and social ties. Our entry into the country is therefore both strategically and commercially important to us. We will be pleased to be of service to the local business community in Pakistan and hope this move will further strengthen our ties with members of the community who are well settled across the GCC region. We definitely look forward to contributing significantly to the economic and social development of Pakistan, even as we take another step toward fulfilling our goal of establishing a significant presence in countries that have an abiding interest in Oman and the GCC region."

As per the consortium agreement, Sinthos Capital will manage the Bank. Sinthos Capital is a organization founded by Shaukat Tarin and Sadeq Sayeed. Shaukat Tarin has over 32 years of successful banking experience with Citibank, Habib Bank and Union Bank. He is known for having turned around Union Bank, which was subsequently sold to Standard Chartered Bank’s Pakistan operations. Sadeq Sayeed, on the other hand, is a banker with 25 years of International Investment banking experience in the Arbitrage Trading, Asset Management, and Private Equity.

The Saudi Pak Commercial Bank was set up in the year 2001 and currently services its client base across a network of 50 branches nationwide. As of September 30, 2007, the total assets of the Bank were USD 975 million, with deposits were USD 700 million.

Also speaking on the occasion, AbdulRazak Ali Issa, Chief Executive of BankMuscat said:

"We are very excited about taking our business and services to the country and believe that this new international experience will be of significant value both to the banking industry in Pakistan and to BankMuscat, as it continues to grow into a strong regional bank."

The banking sector in Pakistan has shown significant growth since the onset of banking reforms in 1997. The past 5 years have especially seen increasing interest from leading foreign financial institutions like Standard Chartered, ABN Amro, Temasek and SAMBA, who have made sizeable investments in the sector.

Confirming these developments, Bilal A. Moti, Head of International Operations of BankMuscat said:

"BankMuscat is pursuing a prudent and realistic international expansion strategy. Pakistan is a clear opportunity for domestic and regional business, and is a valuable compliment to our growing international presence. We are committed to applying BankMuscat’s professional standards to our operations in Pakistan, along with the local and international banking expertise coming from our strong consortium and management partners."

With assets worth over USD 9.6 billion, BankMuscat (SAOG) is the largest bank in Oman with strong capabilities in Corporate Banking, Consumer Banking, Investment Banking, Treasury, Private Banking, Project Finance and Asset Management. The Bank serves over 43% of the market through its domestic network of 107 branches and over 260 ATMs nationwide.

Internationally, the Bank has a branch in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, since April 2007; a representative office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for over the past decade; owns a 49% stake of BankMuscat International, Bahrain, since January 2005; and is present in India through a strategic stake in Centurion Bank of Punjab - one of the fastest growing private sector banks in the country - since 2004. To further capitalize on the booming Indian equity markets, the Bank also acquired a 43% stake in Mangal Keshav Group, one of the oldest securities firms in India, early last year. BankMuscat sees its international operations as one of the key growth of the future.

Among many distinguished awards, BankMuscat holds the rare distinction of being voted the ‘Best Bank in Oman’ seven times by Global Finance Inc., seven times by Euromoney and six times by The Banker, FT London. The Bank has also been awarded the People Development Award at Oman Awards for Excellence three years in a row.