Riyadh – Mubasher: Al Rajhi Bank on Sunday revealed that it has received preliminary approvals from two central banks for the potential merger of one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries with a Malaysian firm.

The Saudi-listed bank is looking to merge its unit Al Rajhi Banking & Investment Corporation (Malaysia) BHD with Malaysian Industrial Development Finance BHD (MIDF).

“If an agreement is achieved, it will be subject to various conditions, including all relevant regulatory approvals. The merger is not expected to have a material impact on the Bank’s financial statements,” Al Rajhi Bank said in a statement to the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).

The Saudi lender received preliminary approvals from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), the Saudi Central Bank, and Bank Negara Malaysia, the Malaysian Central Bank.

“There are no related parties involved in the proposed merger,” the bank concluded.

Al Rajhi last posted SAR 2.57 billion in net profits, up 13.6% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2018 from SAR 2.27 billion, while for the January-to-September period, the bank achieved SAR 7.52 billion in profits, a rise of 12.8% from SAR 6.67 billion logged in the same period of 2017.

Al Rajhi Bank’s stock last closed Thursday in the green, adding 1.58% to SAR 96.60.