Doha Bank to open two more branches in India
Date
5/17/2016 1:20:11 PM
(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Dr R Seetharaman, Chief Executive Officer, Doha Bank
By Sachin Kumar
DOHA: Doha Bank will strengthen its presence in India by opening two more branches soon. The bank is expecting to open the first branch by mid this year while it is planning to relocate the second branch. Doha Bank had acquired these two branches from HSBC Bank Oman in 2014.
“We have one branch in India and another two are coming up. One branch will come up in Kochi in Kerala which we will inaugurate around July-August,” Dr R Seetharaman, Chief Executive Officer, Doha Bank, told The Peninsula on the sidelines of the bank’s Ordinary General Assembly held recently. “The second branch is in Mumbai. We might request for relocating because we already have a big branch in Mumbai,” he added.
Doha Bank commenced Indian operations last year by opening its first branch in Mumbai - India’s financial capital.
“Relocation of the second branch depends on regulators. We have not given our preference for location yet and are working on it. Our India operations are doing well. Our model is not to compete with Indian banks, (but with) GCC banks operating in India,” said Seetharaman.
The bank had exposure of over $2bn in India in 2015 which it wants to increase to $5bn in next three years.
Doha Bank has grown around three percent in the three months of current year, matching overall credit growth in the country. “Qatar GDP itself is growing over 3 percent. So the credit expansion, as a whole for system, will be between 6-7 percent,” he said. “Banks’ credit has grown in the first three months, all banks put together, by around 3 percent and we have grown in a very similar synchronised form,” he added.
Last week, Doha Bank got shareholders approval to raise up to $5bn through Certificate of Deposits (CDs) and Commercial Papers (CPs). The bank plans to issue CDs worth $3bn and CPs worth $2bn to meet its liquidity requirements.
“Oil prices are recovering now, which is going to stimulate the economy. Liquidity has been a challenge because of the deflection in oil prices. Each bank and institution is making their own arrangements,” he said.
The Peninsula