Riyadh – Mubasher: HSBC Holding’s Saudi Arabia subsidiary offered to acquire Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc’s (RBS) local venture, on the back of the kingdom's ambitious plans to transform its economy.

“For HSBC, this is in line with their broader strategy - the opportunities in Saudi Arabia are humongous and they’re not the only ones to realize that,” Aarthi Chandrasekaran, vice president at Shuaa Capital, told Bloomberg News.

Both HSBC and RBS reached an initial agreement concerning the potential merger.

HSBC affiliate Saudi British Bank (SABB) seeks to buy RBS-backed Alawwal Bank in a $5 billion stock deal.

“This would increase HSBC’s exposure to the Saudi market, which should reflect positively on its pipeline in the kingdom, particularly when it comes to government projects,” Monsef Morsy, head of financial analysis at CI Capital in Cairo, said. 

On Wednesday, 16 May, Alawwal Bank, which is 40 % owned by RBS, and SABB reached a preliminary, non-binding agreement on the share exchange ratio, according to Alawwal’s statement to the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).