KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has granted United Bank Limited (UBL) permission to conduct due diligence on the acquisition of Telenor Microfinance Bank, according to a bourse filing on Tuesday.
“The SBP had granted in-principle approval to UBL to commence Telenor Microfinance Bank Limited (TMB) due diligence for proposed acquisition of 55% sponsor shares in TMB, currently held by Telenor Pakistan BV (operating under the Easypaisa brand name), subject to compliance with the applicable laws, rules, and regulations,” UBL informed the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).
TMB is Pakistan’s first scheduled microfinance bank, aiming to function as a fintech and promote financial inclusion by enabling all Pakistanis to adopt easy and safe digital financial solutions via its main digital payments platform, Easypaisa.
Telenor Microfinance Bank is a joint venture between Telenor Group, the major telecoms business in Scandinavia and Asia with 174 million subscribers, and Ant Group, the operator of the world’s top payment and lifestyle platform Alipay and an affiliate of Alibaba Group.
Telenor Microfinance Bank, originally known as Tameer Microfinance Bank, is a Pakistani microfinance institution headquartered in Karachi. Nadeem Hussain started Tameer Microfinance Bank in 2006, which was eventually bought by Telenor Pakistan.
