News: ICICI Bank gets approval for Qatar branch

(RTR 25/04/2007) Mumbai - Second largest bank, ICICI Bank said on Wednesday it had regulatory approval from Qatar to set up a branch in the country.

The Doha branch would be its fourth office in the Gulf region, the bank said in a statement. It has previously said it wanted international assets to account for 25 per cent of its total assets, from current levels of about 18 per cent.

Many Indian banks are eager to establish operations in the Gulf region to tap both the savings of Indians living there, estimated at more than 4 million Indians, and funds from local investors.