Media Interaction with Dr. R. Seetharaman,CEO of Doha Bank at The Bengal Chamber

10th July, 2015

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‘We want SMEs to come to the Gulf region to set up business, they can borrow at cheaper rates than in India’ – R Seetharaman, CEO of Doha Bank, says at Bengal Chamber interaction

 

Doha ​Bank, which has its ​presence​- ​with a mix of full-fledged branches and ​representative ​offices ​- ​in important global markets, wants to enhance its operations in India.  In this ende​a​vour, the bank has identified selected locations ​- ​including Kolkata ​- ​for building business relationships with local and regional corporates and business houses​,​ and to showcase the potential opportunities that exist in the Gulf Cooperation Countries, especially for the Indian corporates for their investments​, business expansion and growth .  The close interaction with the business companies and corporate customers through this programme will enable the bank to assess and support the local market and the corporate customers for mutual benefit and to evolve the bank’s future expansion and growth strategy.

 

Dr.​ R​. Seetharaman,CEO of Doha Bank sa​id, “ We want the SMEs to come to the ​Gulf state ​to ​set ​up their business so that they can borrow ​at ​far cheaper than the consistent rate that they get here. SMEs are the backbone of the Gulf state now in the changing paces of the financial service and the Gulf.” The rate of interest for the SMEs​ by Doha bank in India is between 6 to 9% .

 

According to Mr. Ambarish Dasgupta, the President-Designate of the Bengal Chamber, “Bengal​,​ or even ​its ​surroundings​,​have a lot of projects in various forms like start-ups or have been incubated in the middle level now,green field and brown field projects,​which require funds. We have been able to divert funds from the private equity, venture capital, high network individuals or angel funding towards this. At ​The Bengal Chamber we are taking the initiative to take Bengal to the global economy level and is therefore holding a series of talks.”

 

Based on the bank’s experience and business potential with the corporates and clients in this part of India, the bank may expand its operations by establishing its branch in Kolkata subject to the approval of RBI, the banking regulator in India​.​

 

If the bank decides to establish its branch in Kolkata and the necessary permission from the RBI is obtained then it will be a full-fledged branch which can undertake the wholesale and retail banking business ​for all the eligible customers with corporate, retail and treasury and foreign exchange products & services and solutions​.