Qatar is the “best place” for Indian SMEs to do business, said Doha Bank CEO Dr R Seetharaman.
A significant attraction for Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to do business in the Gulf was ease of getting funds at rates far cheaper that what it costs in India, he said at a knowledge sharing session on “Opportunities in Qatar and GCC“ in Kolkata recently.
“SMEs in India could take advantage of availing cheap credit from Doha Bank as 87% of its lending is guaranteed by the Qatar Government and it is an “A+” rated bank,” he said.
On Qatar economy, Seetharaman said, “Qatar’s economy is expected to grow by more than 7% in 2015. It grew by more than 4% during the first quarter of this year as compared with the same quarter last year. Construction was the leading sector in terms of growth with gross value added growing at more than 11% in the first quarter when compared to same time previous year. The non-mining and quarrying segment had grown by close to 9% in Q1, 2015 when compared to same period previous year on account of diversification. The construction sector is expected to witness a double-digit growth this year, thereby support non-hydrocarbon sector diversification.”
He said GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) imports from India increased by 2% (to $49bn) in 2014-15 when compared to the previous year. GCC exports to India ($84bn) decreased by 17% in 2014-15.
The overall trade to India decreased by 11% to around $133bn in 2014-15 when compared to the previous year. Qatar–India trade was close to $16bn in 2014-15.
About the Brics Bank Seetharaman said, “The 7th BRICS Summit happened last week in which they launched the Brics development bank to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects. They also agreed on a $100bn currency reserve pool to protect emerging economies from currency volatility shocks.
“The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has also been proposed by Chinese recently, members from Asia and European region have evidenced interest in this Bank. Both the Brics bank and AIIB will change the way multilateral banks operate and will regard other international financial institutions such as IMF (International Monetary Fund), World Bank and Asian Development Bank as partners.”
The event was attended among others by P Roy, director-General, Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCCI); Alok Roy, president, BCCI; Firhad Hakim, Bengal’s Minister for Municipal Affairs and Urban Development and Ambarish Dasgupta, president designate, BCCI and partner and head of management consulting and eastern regional leader, KPMG Advisory Services.
The session witnessed participation of senior executives and bankers from major Indian corporates and banks.