Qatar's Doha Bank opens office in Dhaka

Qatar's third largest lender Doha Bank opened its representative office in Dhaka yesterday to better serve customers with dealings in Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

"We have identified that Bangladesh is one of the key emerging countries in South Asia and establishing a presence there will provide Doha Bank with business opportunities," said R Seetharaman, chief executive officer of Doha Bank, at a programme at Westin Dhaka hotel.  

Setting up a base in Dhaka will help Doha Bank better understand the local market and serve the customers accordingly, he said.

A closer interaction on a personal level through the office will also boost bilateral trade.

Doha Bank's Bangladesh office will complement the services of its global network to support and enhance bilateral trade and services to customers who have dealings with Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait and India, where the bank has full-fledged operations, Seetharaman said.

The immediate operating strategy will be to attract the support of key Bangladeshi banks by affording them trade finance support, undertaking risk sharing and participating in syndication loans, and establishing Nostro account relationships in GCC currencies and Indian rupee.

Incorporated in 1979, Doha Bank is the third largest bank by assets in Qatar, with a market share of approximately 7.1 percent and assets totalling 84.5 billion Qatar rial ($23.21 billion).

It has one of the largest international networks among the Qatari banks, with branches in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and India.

It has representative offices in the UK, Germany, Turkey, Singapore, China, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, the UAE, Canada and South Africa.