Doha Bank ready to finance Korea builders

Doha Bank Group CEO R. Seetharaman speaks during an economic seminar for Korean companies at the Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Doha Bank

Doha Bank Group CEO Raghavan Seetharaman said that the bank will step up efforts to finance Korean builders seeking to get the upper hand in the Arabian Gulf region where huge business chances are awaiting them.

In an interview with The Korea Times Thursday, the head of the third-largest Qatari lender by assets said that Korean construction firms have been invited to the six countries around the Arabian Gulf _ Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman and Bahrain _ where huge business chances were waiting for them.

“Korean companies are the best in the world in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects. And the Gulf countries want to develop infrastructures, such as roads, railways and airports among others. So, there are a lot of opportunities for them,” said Seetharaman.

Last week, Seetharaman visited Seoul to host a seminar for Korean companies interested in investing in the region under the title “Changing Global Dynamics and Opportunities for South Korea in GCC Countries.” The Qatari banker said scores of big companies, including Samsung and Hyundai, participated in the event held at the Lotte Hotel, Seoul.

He said that the Gulf and Korea are enjoying very strong economic partnerships, whose bilateral trade volume reached $122 billion last year. The relationships are expected to further build up in the coming days as demand for Korean construction companies in the region will grow, according to the Doha Bank CEO.

To keep pace with the increasing business cooperation, Doha Bank opened an office in Seoul four years ago, and its business is growing fast by providing financial services to local corporations and lenders.

Seetharaman said that Doha can serve Korean businesspeople with its broad networks in the region, which cover not only Qatar, but also other countries in the area. “We are a Qatari bank which has operations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait. We can finance them in those countries.”

He said the bank already has many Korean companies as its clients and hopes that it could attract more _ both big and small.
The veteran banker encouraged more Korean firms to come to the area, where they could a low 10 percent corporate tax rate. Thanks to this benefit and other business chances, he said many key Korean players, including state-run electricity company KEPCO, are building power plants, establishing express highways and investing in oil wells. <The Korea Times/Kim Jae-won>