Qatar’s Doha Bank plans to acquire the Indian assets of HSBC Bank Oman SOAG. The board of Doha Bank has authorized the purchase of the assets. In December 2012, the operations of HSBC Oman were merged with Bank of Oman in Oman, and HSBC since then holds 51% in the merged entity. Doha Bank is seeking to increase profits from overseas operations to as much as 30% of net income by next year, up from 10% in 2013. HSBC Bank Oman, an affiliate of HSBC Holding, had said in April that it had approved the sale of its Indian business to Doha Bank. The bank had said that the transaction, which is subject to shareholders’ and regulatory approvals, is expected to be completed during the last quarter of 2014. The bank has two branches in the country. There’s no precedent for the RBI transferring bank branch licences to a prospective buyer in the course of a portfolio sale.
