Qatar-based Doha Bank opens branch in Chennai

CHENNAI: Qatar-based Doha Bank on Wednesday commenced operations in Chennai branch and is aiming at 10 per cent credit growth, supported by a stronger focus on the corporate and retail segment. 

“The new branch will help the bank tap opportunities in the southern market even as it will offer NRI services, corporate and retail banking, SME financing, treasury services, trade finance, forex services and wealth management solution. We expect to grow around 7-10%, higher than the market growth,” said R Seetharaman, CEO, Doha Bank. From Chennai, the bank can also support the south Indian community working in Qatar, he added.

According to Seetharaman, the bank had relocated one of its two branches in Mumbai to Chennai, its third location after Mumbai and Kochi. The bank got permission from the Reserve Bank of India to open the branch last August. The bilateral trade between India and Qatar is around $ 9 billion and the investment between the two countries is targeted at $5 billion.

Speaking about long-term plans in India, Seetharaman said, “We plan to build a subsidiary which you cannot do with one or two branches. We then want to build retail branch network in both Tier-I and Tier-II cities in India. In the first phase, we plan to be present in nine more locations, taking the total number to 12 locations,” he added.

At present, Doha Bank has about Rs 750 crore of deposits and advances in its Indian book, and with the Chennai expansion, it hopes to grow the lending book to Rs 1,000 crore in the near term.