Synergistic Opportunities Exist Between Qatar and India in Infrastructure Development and SME

Doha Bank hosted a Businss meet with the support of the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), Chennai on “Bilateral Opportunities between India, Qatar and Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC)” on 30th September 2015 at Taj Coromandel Ballroom, Chennai. The business meet was attended by Mr. S.G. Prabhakaran, President, Madras Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Rashid bin Ali Al Mansoori, Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Exchange, Mr. Ramkumar Shankar, Deputy Managing Director, Chemplast Sanmar Limited, Dr. R. Seetharaman, Chief Executive Officer, Doha Bank, State of Qatar and Senior Members of Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other leading corporates from the State of Tamilnadu.

Mr.S.G.Prabhakharan, President, MCCI & Chairman, XS Real Group, welcomed the gathering and emphasized the importance of close working connections between Indian companies and joint venture opportunities presented by the GCC countries consequent to the massive expansion taking place in the areas of construction, infrastructure creation i.e. roads / bridges / seaports / tunnels, etc. He also emphasized the role played by Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry during the last 179 years of its history in bridging the needs of corporate business houses in Tamilnadu and the opportunities presented in various markets including GCC countries.

Mr. Rashid bin Ali Al Mansoori, CEO, Qatar Exchange highlighted the opportunities presented to the Indian corporates, especially, small and medium enterprises to be able to establish in the State of Qatar including listing the ventures in Qatar Stock Exchange and also clarified the various simple procedures applicable for such listing in Qatar.

On the Key note Address Dr. R. Seetharaman, CEO of Doha Bank gave insight on global economy. He said “ Global growth in the first half of 2015 was lower than in the second half of 2014, reflecting a further slowdown in emerging economies and a weaker recovery in advanced economies. The Global economy is facing a tussle between forces of recession and deflation. There is a risk that slowdown in emerging economies could affect adversely economic recovery in advanced countries. The deflation risks can also emerge on account of significant fall in oil price and other commodities thereby contribute to global slowdown. The risk of currency war has also emerged on account of Yuan devaluation by Chinese Central Bank. Fed has still kept the options of rate hike in 2015.”

Dr. R. Seetharaman highlighted on Indian economy. He said “ Indian economy is expected to grow by 7.5 percent in 2015- 16. In its recent monetary policy meeting RBI cut repo rate by 50 basis points to 6.75% and kept CRR at 4%. RBI believes that investment is likely to respond more strongly if there is more certainty about the extent of monetary stimulus in the pipeline and hence has front-loaded policy action by a reduction in the policy rate by 50 basis points. The drop in oil price could ease the pressure on India’s current account deficit and fiscal deficit. India had received $30.93 Billion FDI in 2014-15 and is working on measures to make the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy more progressive and increase India’s attractiveness as an investment destination. ”

Dr. R. Seetharaman gave insight on Tamil Nadu. He said “ Tamil Nadu is the fourth largest state of India and is the second largest contributor to India’s GDP. It is a global industrial and manufacturing hub with largest industries and SMEs. Tamil Nadu is one of the leading states in attracting foreign direct investment in India and is also working to futher improve its ease of doing Business.The Vision 2023 of Tamil Nadu has planned US$250bn for infrastructure development and GCC Sovereign investors can look forward to participate in this as part of their global diversification strategy. ”

Dr. R. Seetharaman highlighted on Qatar economy and major bilateral relationships with India. He said “Qatar’s economy is expected to grow by more than 7 percent in 2015.The Construction sector is expected to witness a double digit growth this year and thereby support non- hydrocarbon sector diversification. The bilateral trade between Qatar and India in 2014-15 is close to US$ 16 bn. The overall trade between GCC and India in 2014-15 is over US$ 133bn. Qatar is the largest supplier of LNG to India. There is a large market for Qatar’s LNG, oil and petrochemical sectors in India. In May 2013 Qatar bought a 5% stake in Indian telecom company Bharti Airtel Ltd for $1.26bn. Many Indian Companies such as L&T, Tata Projects, Voltas and Punj Lloyd have been actively participating in the various projects in Qatar.”

Dr. R.Seetharaman gave insight on the current trends in GCC Project Sector. He said “Projects worth more than $170bn are expected to be executed in 2015 in GCC out of which projects worth close to $30bn is expected to be undertaken in Qatar. In Qatar sectors such as Construction, transport and water will witness significant activity this year. Indian companies can look forward to explore opportunities in this segment.”

As a precursor to proposing the vote of thanks, Mr. Ganesan, Head of International Banking highlighted the role of Doha Bank in providing full-fledged banking services for the corporates from Tamilnadu and the bank’s role in channeling bilateral investments between State of Qatar, GCC countries and India and bridging the gap between the investors and industrialists.