The merger of 32 exchange companies and institutions is the largest merger in the history of the General Authority for Competition in terms of the number of companies and not in terms of the value of the transaction, out of 73 exchange companies in Saudi Arabia.

Talalal Al-Haqeel, head of the merger examination unit at the General Authority for Competition, confirmed that the merger of 32 exchange companies and institutions is the largest merger in the history <The Authority announced yesterday that it has no objection to the completion of the process of economic concentration among 32 exchange companies and institutions, explaining that the type of concentration is the merger of all companies under one entity.

Haqeel explained that banking companies and institutions represent 34 percent of the banking market, while the establishments concerned with the merger constitute only 17 percent, and traditional banks represent 45 percent of the banking market, while hotels represent 3 percent.
According to Al-Hakeel, after studying the currency exchange market (buying and selling foreign currencies) very carefully, the authority concluded that the merger between the 32 exchange companies will not lead to the creation of a new entity capable of raising prices or limiting products.Al-Haqeel revealed that the authority is currently studying other economic concentration requests, as it received 156 requests during the current year, while it issued 61 letters of no objection to merger.
He said that many of these companies were affected by the Corona pandemic, including 19 institutions in the Mecca region, nine institutions in Medina, one in the Riyadh region and the same in the Eastern Province.

Haqeel said that the authority is currently studying other economic concentration requests, as it received 156 requests during the current year. He pointed out that these mergers, according to the statements of the companies, allow them to open branches in any region in Saudi Arabia, even in malls, to keep pace with tourism, for example, but not limited to it.

The “competition” explained that the market for buying and selling currency is characterized by high transparency and changing exchange rates according to the state of the global market, and therefore it is difficult for dominant establishments in it to raise prices.

Many of these companies are affected by the Corona pandemic.

The Commission also carefully examined the efficiency element, and concluded that the merger would lead to increased economies of scale and reduced variable costs depending on the state of the global market, and therefore the merger may contribute to investment in innovation and product development.

The Commission also carefully examined the efficiency element, and concluded that the merger would lead to increased economies of scale and reduced variable costs depending on the state of the global market. Competition said that in the competitive assessment of any merger or acquisition application, it ensures that the new entity is not in a dominant position in the market, and the authority considers structural or regulatory barriers to entry in the sector when analyzing the sector, and accordingly informs the sector regulator if it finds barriers in the sector.

The Competition Authority also considers structural or regulatory barriers to entry in the sector when analyzing the sector, and accordingly informs the sector regulator if it finds barriers in the sector.