Samba Financial Group has completed procedures for the purchase of 68 percent of Crescent Commercial Bank of Pakistan (CresBank) shares, Saudi bank's Chief Executive Officer Eissa Al-Eissa said on Monday.
He said Samba had bought 600 million shares of CresBank with a total value of six billion Pakistani rupees (100 million dollars) and both banks had completed all legal procedures and received necessary approvals, a private television reported.
The move comes as part of the group's efforts to expand its activities and enter into successful investment ventures on long term strategy. "The purchase procedures were completed in record time," said Al-Eissa, attributing it to Samba's long-term experience and support it received from Pakistani authorities, who have welcomed the deal.
Established in 1992, Crescent has 18 branches in five main cities of Pakistan, including Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore. It has a share capital of Rs 2.77 billion by the end of September. Samba is the second largest bank in the Middle East with market capitalisation of 22 billion dollars. The Samba chief attributed his bank's decision to take over CresBank to encouraging investment climate in Pakistan and the country's good economic performance.
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