Doha Bank eyes India exposure at $5 billion in three years

Even as it looks to ramp up its presence in the country in terms of branches, Doha Bank is expecting its exposure in India to grow from current $ 2.4 billion to $ 5 billion in 2-3 years, its group CEO, R Seetharaman said.

"We are looking at real estate, contract manufacturing, infrastructure creation, trade, corporate houses and services to tap potential clients from India. Qatar and other economies in the region have huge potential in these sectors. We want to take Indian entrepreneurs to Gulf states for investments," he said.

The bank has three branches in the country at Mumbai and Kochi and is also planning a subsidiary in India to scale up its operations here.

"Our current exposure in India is around $ 2.4 billion which we expect to grow to $ 5 billion in next 2-3 years. Several states like Maharashtra, Kerala and Gujarat are our focus. There are seven million Indians in Gulf states and hence, we want to concentrate on NRIs to start with," Seetharaman said.

"Qatar and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economies are involved in non-hydro carbon diversification which will give immense opportunities for the Indian Corporates to explore in infrastructure development in the region. India is also a growing economy and hence the bilateral trade and investments between India and GCC are also expected to surge in future. Doha Bank would like to provide a glimpse on these trends and look forward to synergize on the cross border relationships between India and GCC for the benefit of both blocs," he added.