COLOMBO:Doha Bank one of the largest commercial banks in Qatar inaugurated its Representative Office in Sri Lanka on 7 June, aiming to boost trade and investment between the two countries with plans to attract more Qatari companies to its latest location. It is the first Middle Eastern bank to set up an office in Sri Lanka.
At a media briefing, bank executives outlined ambitious plans to encourage engagement between Sri Lanka and Qatari companies with special attention to the aviation, food security and shipping sectors. The bank also expects to organise a business delegation from Qatar to explore investment opportunities in Sri Lanka.
Doha Bank CEO R.Seetharaman, said: “Sri Lankan investments are the most liberalised market space. This is a bigger opportunity which we want to showcase to Qatari companies. We want Qatari investors to set up a joint venture and investment partnership here.”
Doha Bank has one of the largest international networks of the Qatari Banks through its branches in the UAE and Kuwait and three in India in Mumbai, Chennai and Kochi and with Representative Offices in the UK, Germany,Turkey, Singapore, South Korea, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, South Africa,Bangladesh and the latest Representative Office in Sri Lanka.
The Representative Office is to support and liaison with existing contacts between Doha Bank and Sri Lankan banks. The office will act as a liaison with the financial institutions and analyse Sri Lankan market trends while ascertaining information relating to banking and financial institutions in Sri Lanka and the general economic situation of the country for the head office of the bank and the customers who deal with relations in Sri Lanka to enhance their business ties.
“Food security is a major concern and with the opportunities we have here we want to invite food supplying companies from Sri Lanka to Qatar. We also want to look at maritime opportunities. In the aviation sector there is no better position geographically than Sri Lanka. An aviation hub is what we want to generate. Tourism and aviation are interconnected. The Qatar Tourism Authority and Qatar Airways want to bring this joint venture and partnership to invest here,” he said.
He added that Doha Bank also focused on investing in energy and infrastructure while there were significant opportunities in the education sector.
Sri Lanka Ambassador in Qatar, ASP Liyanage, said:“From the Gulf region this is the very first bank coming to Sri Lanka. Qatar is a state that can help the development of our country. The representative office that we launched today I think within a short period of time will render an enormous service to the country. Doha Bank will join hands with local financial institutions in serving to develop Sri Lanka.”
Ambassador Liyanage said that he was happy he too could play a major role to facilitate the opening of the Doha Bank in Colombo. He said that he also negotiated for the LULU group in the Gulf to open in Sri Lanka and soon they will launch a major farmer fruit and vegetable buyback programme.
As part of the inauguration celebrations Doha Bank hosted a knowledge sharing session in the evening on “Qatar- Sri Lanka Bilateral Opportunities” at Shangri – La Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Among the participants at this event were Sri Lankan Ambassador to Qatar, A.S.P.Liyanage, Minister of Finance and Mass Media, Mangala Samaraweera, and Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Indrajit Coomaraswamy.
At this session, Doha Bank CEO Seetharaman highlighted the growing Qatar – Sri Lanka bilateral relationship.
“There has been a surge in diplomatic relationships between Qatar and Sri Lanka in the last three years. Sri Lanka has enjoyed close ties with Qatar, with over 140,000 Sri Lankans in Qatar. There are 210 Sri Lankan companies established in partnership with the Qatari side. Sri Lanka’s imports from Qatar have primarily been polymers of ethylene while Sri Lanka’s exports to Qatar were bananas followed by food preparations, tea, and vegetables. Sri Lanka can support Qatar in the food sector,” he said.
“Lulu Group has already started resourcing a number of food products from Sri Lanka for its hypermarkets in Qatar. Sri Lankan companies are looking to take part in Qatari projects and establish joint ventures in various sectors. Bilateral relationships can be explored in segments such as Fruits and Vegetables, Spices, Cereals, Rice, Boat Building, Fabrics, Construction Services, Garments and Information technology. Qatari corporates can also explore opportunities in Sri Lanka‘s infrastructure and energy sector.”
“Sri Lanka is strategic in terms of location – it is a great advantage to be a business hub. But for Sri Lanka to create an aviation hub, an investment partnership is required. Gulf’s airlines are quite strong financially and if an opportunity is created for an aviation hub in the Indian Ocean through Sri Lanka, it will be a great opportunity for Qatar,” he told The Sunday Observer.
Doha Bank was incorporated in March 1979 as a Qatari public shareholding company under Emiri Decree and operates under a banking license issued by the Qatar Central Bank. The management of the bank believes that financial institutions in Sri Lanka will be better served with the opening of their office in Colombo.
