India's IndusInd Bank will open its first overseas office in Dubai this month to consolidate its service capabilities for its non-resident Indian and high net worth clients.

The move also facilitates the strengthening of its Gulf-based correspondent banking network for mutually-beneficial business opportunities.

IndusInd Bank, in its tenth year of operations, has firmly established itself as a wholesale bank with a balance sheet size of $2.08 billion and foreign exchange business turnover of more than $12.17 billion.

The bank has now extended its operations to the retail segment as well, so as to broad-base its asset portfolio and to attract low-cost deposits.

In this effort, the bank plans to expand its branch network to 100 from the current level of 56. It has established a tie-up with UTI Bank and Corporation Bank for sharing of ATM networks, thus placing around 1,700 ATMs in India at the disposal of its retail clients.

The bank has also moved into new areas such as bullion trading, derivatives operations and commodities business, with the objective of broadening the scope of its non-interest business. The bank is also proposing to open two off-shore banking units in Mumbai within a year.

Announcing the opening of the Dubai representative office, IndusInd Bank Managing Director Bhaskar Ghose pointed out that India now features very clearly on the investment radar-screen of international entities, given the robust growth of the Indian economy and the country's judiciously-liberal advancement towards globalisation, positioning India for a GDP growth rate of 8 per cent per annum in the coming years.

The objective of the bank's presence in Dubai is to service better its Gulf-based NRI clients and to focus on international business opportunities between the Gulf and the Indian region.

"The opening of our OBU will boost opportunities in the private and investment banking areas," he added.