Sohar International Bank, Oman’s second-biggest bank by assets, has expressed an interest in buying smaller rival Ahli Bank as it seeks to compete with its bigger competitor, Bank Muscat, and others.
Sohar International has sent a letter of intent to Ahli, one of the smaller banks in the country. Ahli, which was set up in 2007, has not responded publicly on the move.
This would be Sohar International’s second acquisition in less than two years, which – if it goes through – would boost the bank’s assets to more than OR11 billion ($30 billion) from about OR7.4 billion now.
In August 2023, Sohar International took over HSBC Bank Oman.
“This is obviously another consolidation Sohar International is planning,” Issa Al Khanjari, head of corporate loans at Muscat Finance, told AGBI. “It has ambitions to acquire a bigger market share and compete with the big three in the banking sector.”
After Sohar International, National Bank of Oman and Bank Dhofar are the next biggest banks by assets.
Banks in Oman recorded a 15 percent year-on-year rise in profits in 2024 to OR522.6 million.
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