India’s Canara Bank opens in Sharjah

India’s Canara Bank opens in Sharjah

India’s third largest bank with an net worth of $4 billion and more than 37 million clients, the Sharjah branch is Canara’s first Middle East representative office.

June 21, 2010 9:53 by Rasha Reslan

India’s Canara Bank opened its first Middle East office branch in Sharjah on Sunday, the Khaleej Times reported today. Canara has India’s third largest domestic operations, with an estimated five percent of the domestic market share, and more than 3,000 branches and 37 million clients throughout the country.

Majority owned by the Indian government, the bank has reportedly applied for a license to operate in Bahrain, and has expressed interest in Qatar. Branches in Abu Dhabi and Dubai are “already in the pipeline,” the Khaleej Times said.

Bank spokesmen cite the government’s majority ownership in the bank as a “big guarantee” for would-be clients, and also point to Canara’s strong record of corporate social responsibility in India.

“This representative office will help provide information on how to do business in India,” a bank spokesman explained, adding that Canara is committed to providing would-be entrepreneurs with information concerning opportunities and financial facilities to starting business in India.