Sheikh Fahad bin Mohammad bin Jabor Al Thani (fourth left), Chairman of the Board of Directors; Sheikh Abdul Rehman bin Mohammad bin Jabor Al Thani (left), Managing Director and Dr R Seetharaman (second left), Chief Executive Officer, Doha Bank with othe
Doha Bank, one of the leading lenders in Qatar, has announced its decision to launch a full-fledged banking operation in Singapore.
“Doha Banks is doing business as usual. It is expanding operations in Qatar as well as overseas. After India, now we are working to open a branch in Singapore in the coming days,” Sheikh Abdul Rehman bin Mohammad bin Jabor Al Thani, Managing Director of Doha Bank, told The Peninsula, yesterday.
Speaking to this newspaper on the sidelines of bank’s new branch opening ceremony at the Mall of Qatar, Sheikh Abdul Rehman added: “We are intending to enter any market where we can invest and make profit for the bank’s shareholders.”
He also said that there is no impact of the ongoing economic blockade on the bank’s operations, which require any restructuring of the bank’s businesses.
“We are just reorganising our process and areas of investments,” he said.
Singapore is one of the most developed countries in Asia and the world. The Southeast Asian nation is home to one of the world’s highest percentage of millionaires, with one out of every six households having at least one million US dollars in disposable income.
Dr R Seetharaman, Chief Executive Officer, Doha Bank, said that the bank is already maintaining a representative office in Singapore for over the last 11 years, which was established in 2006.
“We have had long-term plans to convert this (office) into a full-scale operations. We are waiting for regulatory approvals from the authorities concerned in Singapore,” added Dr Seetharaman.
“From our side, we are close to concluding the feasibility study, and working closely with the regulators.”
The CEO, who was also present at the branch opening event, said that the Singapore branch will be fully owned by Doha Bank group and provide all retail banking services.
Doha Bank, which already has operations outside Qatar, including in some GCC countries, recently entered the Indian market with a branch in Mumbai, the financial capital of the Asia’s third largest economy.
Doha Bank further strengthened its presence in India by eventually opening more branches in other cities, including Cochin.
The new branch in the Mall of Qatar, is in line with the bank’s continuing expansion of its domestic branch network. The branch is strategically positioned to service retail customers and will be a hub for catering to the banking needs of all retail outlets and businesses operating in the mall across shopping leisure hospitality or entertainment, which is expected to attract over 20 million footfall per year.
“We are pleased to be celebrating the opening of this key branch in one of the top shopping and entertainment destinations in Doha. Mall of Qatar was a natural choice for Doha Bank and through the opening of this branch, we look forward to providing our customers with a conveniently accessible outlet they can depend on for their banking services on a daily basis,” said Sheikh Fahad.
The new branch, will serve as a convenient, easily accessible service outlet for customers visiting the mall and neighboring areas, offering a full range of banking products and services, including customer service officers, ATM, Cash Deposit Machines and much more.
