Mubasher: Doha Bank on Wednesday announced the inauguration of Chennai Branch in India, increasing its branches in the Asian country to three.

The branch’s soft launch was held in February 2018, according to the bank’s filing to the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE).

The “opening of our third branch in Chennai highlights the importance of India in our International expansion strategy,” Seetharaman, CEO of Doha Bank, commented.

The new branch aims at helping the Qatari lender reach out to a wider segment of customers in the metropolitan city of Chennai, Seetharaman added.

Doha Bank's other two branches are located in the Indian cities of Mumbai and Kochi.

Doha Bank’s profits rose 5.3% to QAR 1.11 billion during the full-year  2017, compared to QAR 1.05 billion a year earlier.

Moreover, the bank’s ordinary general assembly approved distributing a cash dividend of QAR 3 per share for 2017, equaling 30% of the share’s nominal value, according to the statement.

By 11:00 am Qatar time, Doha Bank’s stock decreased 1.77% at QAR 26.03.