Doha Bank will seek permission of the Reserve Bank of India to set up an Indian subsidiary diversify into the world’s fastest growing economy and fully tap the potential for remittances between Qatar and India. R. Seetharaman, CEO of the bank, said the bank will apply with the Qatar Central Bank in the next two months and subsequently start putting together an application to open a local subsidiary with the Reserve Bank of India. The bank will also examine the prospects of building a branch network in India, he added. He said in the first phase the bank plans to be present in 12 locations followed by six locations in the second phase and another six locations following that. The first phase will start in the next three years, he said. Doha Bank has three branches in India currently. It added two branches in 2015 after acquiring HSBC Bank Oman’s India business. So far, State Bank of Mauritius and Singapore’s DBS Bank are the only two foreign banks that have publicly expressed willingness to open local units after RBI announced final guidelines for foreign banks wanting to open.
