Canara Bank sets up base for Gulf operations in Bahrain
Canara Bank has launched a wholesale branch in Bahrain, which is likely to become a stepping stone for the bank's operations in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, it has been announced.
Canara Bank will offer a range of products for Indian corporations and the new branch will also be the base for its expansion plans in the GCC region -- comprising Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman -- a Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) statement said.
Canara Bank, which is majority owned by the government of India, was founded in 1906 and has over 3,400 branches across India, as well as overseas branches in the UK (London & Leicester), Hong Kong and Shanghai. The bank has also a joint venture in Moscow and a representative office at Sharjah, in the UAE.
"I am delighted that Canara Bank has chosen Bahrain as the location from which to access the trillion dollar Gulf market and the wider Middle East," said Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al-Khalifa, the Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB).
The financial services sector has played a vital role in our economic growth over the last four decades and by attracting investment from key emerging economies such as India, we are well placed to continue to achieve long-term, sustainable economic growth," he said.
As a financial centre in the GCC, Bahrain has a leading position in a range of financial sector activities, including fund management, insurance and Islamic finance. Bahrain also has a mature support services sector infrastructure and skilled talent base, both of which have developed around the finance sector. The EDB has the responsibility for helping to attract foreign investment and achieve sustainable economic diversification and development in the Kingdom.
Bahrain's Vision 2030 is designed to support further diversification of the economy -- already the most diversified in the Gulf, with more than 86 per cent of its GDP coming from non-oil sources -- and ultimately elevate national living standards by creating greater opportunities for all Bahrainis.
