Doha Bank, a leading commercial bank in the GCC region, with branches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, opened its first representative office in Sharjah this week.

The addition of the Sharjah office is part of the bank’s plan for the UAE, where the bank offers key services such as instant online remittances to over 13 countries as well as a full portfolio of trade and corporate financial solutions.  

Dr R Seetharaman, CEO, said: “The UAE is one of the biggest collective trade destinations in the region through Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. Because of a consistently improving global financial marketplace, customers and corporate clients are seeking more support from financial partners to enable them to participate in local economic development.

“The trends in Sharjah are slightly different from the rest of the UAE and even without as much hydrocarbon-based trade, the emirate has remained sustainable, led by a business friendly approach to commercial licensing which has built a very strong import and re-export platform, particularly in the industrial sector and including trade with other emirates.”

Sharjah’s economic policy makes it attractive for industrial and commercial companies. Today, with a share of 48 per cent of the UAE’s total industrial revenue, Sharjah ranks first among the seven emirates in this sector. Sharjah is also seen as a cost-effective option, with official data suggesting industrial investment costs 35 per cent lower than in other emirates.

Dr Seetharaman said: “Doha Bank is in the UAE offering key advisory services across the spectrum of the partnership with clients to address everything from changes in demand and trade volumes of goods and services, to understanding the risks associated with currency fluctuations and the varying costs of project fundamentals.”

The bank’s strategy in the UAE is focused on new-age channels and providing access to services around the clock. For the corporate client it offers Tadbeer, which is at the top of its category in liquidity management solutions and it offers a strong network of alternative channels for the retail customer.
 
Dr Seetharaman said the bank aims to establish its presence in the UAE’s biggest emirates but does not intend to be increase the branches, as transaction volumes across branch networks have changed only marginally in the past five years. We expect this to remain flat in the future. Whereas, the use of modern alternative channels has grown significantly and is even preferred by most clients and customers.

Doha Bank’s cash management solutions also include an innovative service called ‘SecureDoc’ which is a door-to-door document and cheque collection service that will accept cheques, including post-dated cheques, for deposit into the client’s account. Similarly, the bank’s ‘SecureCash’ collection service helps large volume cash businesses such as retail stores with a door-to-door collection service for all cash deposits.

These two collection services are currently available in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with plans to extend the service in the future to Sharjah, on receipt of regulatory approval. - TradeArabia News Service