HSBC Group has become the majority shareholder of its Saudi Arabian subsidiary, it was announced on Wednesday.
“HSBC Group has announced today that the transaction to increase its shareholding in HSBC Saudi Arabia to 51 percent from 49 percent by acquiring shares from The Saudi British Bank (SABB) has been completed… SABB remains as the other shareholder in HSBC Saudi Arabia,” the bank said in a press statement.
HSBC has been operating in the kingdom for almost 70 years and in February it was announced that HSBC Holdings plc earned $1.55 billion in profit from the Middle East and North Africa in 2018, almost 8 percent of the $19.89bn in profit it posted globally.
The Middle East figure represents a slight increase from the $1.5bn in MENA profit reported in 2018, which constituted 8.7 percent of HSBC’s total net profit of $17.16bn.
Bloomberg reported in July that HSBC was among the banks hoping to land roles in Saudi Aramco’s IPO in 2020 or 2021.
The kingdom hopes to raise a record $100bn from selling a 5 percent stake in Aramco, which would make it the biggest IPO in history and a windfall for any banks that win a role.
In January, it was also announced that HSBC Holdings Plc banker Rayyan Nagadi had been hired to set up a privatisation unit at the ministry of finance, as the kingdom forges ahead with plans to sell state assets, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
Nagadi, previously head of project and export finance at HSBC Saudi Arabia, will advise the ministry on its privatisation process and will work closely with the National Center for Privatisation, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information hasn’t been made public.
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