Mumbai: The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) on Tuesday launched banking operations in India at its Mumbai office, located in the Bandra-Kurla Complex, the new, modern business district in the city.
The India branch will provide wholesale banking services, covering areas of debt origination and distribution, project finance, trade finance and asset finance.
Alex Thursby, Group CEO, NBAD, said, “Setting up in India is an important milestone in NBAD’s expansion across the West-East corridor, and demonstrates the UAE’s strengthening ties with its second largest partner.
“The size of the economy, along with its rapidly growing consumer class, make India a vitally important market to our clients and to NBAD. Indian government and Indian businesses recognise that growth will come from further investment in infrastructure where the level of investment required over the next three years is over $1 trillion (Dh3.67 trillion). NBAD is committed to facilitating the flow of capital into and from India through its network across the West-East corridor.”
The India branch, which will start with a staff of 20, will later expand to 30. It will also have a small analytical team for India, said Thursby. The branch will offer expert advice in each of NBAD’s key industrial sectors: energy, real estate, financial sector, financial sector, transport and aviation. Thursby said project financing would be in areas “that is our speciality — such as energy and ports”.
NBAD, which now has a presence in 18 countries around the world, has been granted a full banking licence by the Reserve Bank of India. The opening of the branch comes as NBAD completed the migration of an Indian corporate loan portfolio worth around $900 million from Royal Bank of Scotland.
Rajeev Pant, Regional CEO for South Asia, NBAD, said, “Local and international banks have an important role to play alongside the Indian government in setting in motion public-private partnerships and reviving stalled projects to meet India’s infrastructural development needs.”
On the strategic rationale for launching in India, Thursby said, “Our on-ground presence will strengthen long-standing relationships with Indian corporates and allow us to extend their reach into not just the UAE but across the entire West-East corridor.
“We are not a big bank in India but have a lot to offer and are optimistic,” he said.
“NBAD is well-positioned to facilitate investment towards infrastructure projects and contribute to India’s future growth potential.”
As part of the launch ceremony, NBAD hosted the fourth Global Financial Market Series event to discuss ‘India on the rise: Funding the infrastructural build’ at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Colaba.
