A proposal to acquire Global Financial Securities, a subsidiary of Global Financial Investment, was mooted by the Financial Corporation 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. The market regulator Capital Market Authority (CMA), way back in 2011, encouraged a merger of brokerage firms to make these institutions financially strong entities at a time when traded volumes were low and to achieve economies of scale. The incentives for merging firms in 2011 included exemptions from licencing 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. (Times of Oman)