Financial Corp. proposes to acquire Global Financial Securities

Muscat: A proposal to acquire Global Financial Securities, a subsidiary of Global Financial Investment, was mooted by the Financial Corporation Co on Sunday.
“The proposal is subject to both parties agreeing to the terms of the arrangement and obtaining the necessary approvals from the respective shareholders and regulators,” the Financial Corporation said in a disclosure statement posted on MSM website.
Global Financial Securities is a brokerage firm on the Muscat Securities Market and an acquisition of another brokerage firm is expected to strengthen the position of the company.
Global Financial Investment in a separate statement said that the proposal from the Financial Corporation would be presented to its board in the next meeting.
Meanwhile, shares of Global Financial Investment moved up by 3.57 per cent to 145 baisas, amid 7.66 million shares changing hand on the Muscat Securities Market. The company’s share was also the most active in terms of traded volumes on the bourse on Sunday.
The market regulator Capital Market Authority (CMA), way back in 2011, was encouraging merger of brokerage firms to make these institutions financially strong entities at a time the traded volumes were low and to achieve economies of scale.
The incentives for merging firms in 2011 included exemption from licensing fees, annual subscription and the fees for carrying out the activities for three years. Also, merging firms were exempted from paying stock market’s share in the trading commission for one year from the date of merger.