Bank of Baroda keen to open branch in Doha

Dubai, Jun 14: Bank of Baroda (BoB), one of the major Indian public sector banks, is in talks with the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) to open a branch in Doha.

BoB Chairman and Managing Director Anil K Khandelwal, who met QCB Governor Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud bin Abdulaziz al-Thani yesterday, said he was optimistic of a presence in Qatar in the 2006-07 financial year.

''Nevertheless, I cannot tell you now whether it will be a full-fledged branch or not,'' The Peninsula quoted the BoB Chairman as saying.

BoB, which has six full-fledged branches in the UAE and three in Oman, has been in this region since 1974.

''Obviously, we know this region much better than any other Indian bank,'' Mr Khandelwal, who was on a one-day visit to Qatar, said.

Major Indian companies, which have their presence in Qatar, like ONGC Videsh, L&T and Essar, are BoB clients.

If there is a delay in getting a licence for a full-fledged branch, Mr Khandelwal said, ''BoB will consider either tying up with a local bank or operating through the Qatar Financial Centre.'' Besides Qatar, BoB was also looking at Bahrain and Kuwait. ''We are also in the queue for Saudi Arabia, though State Bank of India (SBI) recently began operations in the kingdom,'' he said.

UNI