TEHRAN: The board of Oman’s central bank has granted approval for the country’s largest lender by market value Bank Muscat to open a representative office in Iran, following a meeting on Sunday.
As a result, Bank Muscat could become one of the first foreign financial firms to establish a presence in Iran since nuclear-related sanctions were lifted against the country in January.
The bank did not disclose when the office would open. The approval follows a number of proposed deals between the two countries including an agreement between Oman’s sovereign wealth fund and Iran’s Khodro Industrial Group to study a proposal for a $200m automotive plant in Oman. At a February meeting between Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and Oman’s foreign minister the two discussed cooperation in the development of ports, civil aviation, rail and banking.
A gas pipeline between the two countries with the capacity to carry 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day is also planned to become operational in 2019.