28th January 2009
Srinagar
J&K Bank engages NRKs in Middle East. Dr Drabu urges NRIs from J&K to participate in development of state
In its maiden attempt to reach out to NRIs from J&K state, J&K Bank organized a Non Resident Indian (NRI) Business Summit in Dubai. More than 400 Kashmiri expatriates converged together, for the first time, in such large numbers, which included businessmen, IT professionals, bankers, engineers, doctors and management executives.
Dubai, one of the wealthiest emirates of United Arab Emirates, is known world over as a financial hub in the Middle East having a sizeable presence of top notch financial services companies, investment funds, banks and consultancy firms. The state of art infrastructure coupled with liberal investment policies has made it a hot destination for professionals and corporates. The place holds the distinction of housing Dubai International Financial center (DIFC) which is considered the Mecca of financial sector where the who's who of renowned global players rub shoulders. There are more than 1500 Kashmiri expats in Dubai serving in diverse fields like construction, banking, Insurance, information technology, real estate etc. Besides, a large number of businessmen from Kashmir have their businesses in Dubai dealing in home interiors, Kashmir handicrafts and carpets etc.
In his hour-long presentation, Dr Haseeb Drabu, the chairman of the bank, dwelt upon the strengths of the bank and threw light on the strategies adopted by the bank for sustainable growth in the current economic scenario. He said that the inward looking approach followed by the bank in the recent past has paid good dividends not only to the bank but to the state as well. Resultantly 50% of the bank's business is now in the state of J&K with a bulk of advances coming from small ticket sized advances made to the businessmen, agriculturists, craftsmen and entrepreneurs of J&K. While outlining the vision of the bank, Dr Drabu said that J&K Bank is a bank with local origins, national presence and international service standards. He said the bank sees itself not only as a commercial bank but a development financial institution of the state. While clarifying that the business summit was not essentially a business pitch by the bank to woo NRI depositors, he urged the participants to actively engage themselves in the development of the state economy. Citing the examples of Chinese and Gujarati Diaspora, he appealed the expats from J&K to invest their monies in the state to help it become a sought after investment destination.
Dr Drabu, in his presentation, also dwelt upon the contours of state economy and its social and economic indicators. He said that J&K Bank, the only listed company from the state, is at the forefront of economic reconstruction of the state and is keen to participate in infrastructure development through venture capital financing. He urged the professionals attending the business meet to come forward with their plans and assured them of total financial solutions for their projects.
The participants included a galaxy of success stories from the professional and business fields. These included Mr Mushtaq Vakil of Marina Home interiors, Mr Musadiq Shah of Pride of Kashmir, Niyaz Ahmed Shah of Sultania, Hilal Ahmed of Galerie Hamadan, Mr Mohammad Tariq Reshi of Gousia Group, Mr Tufail Reshi of Al-Fazl Exporters, Mr Irfan Muzammil; Chief Executive officer, HSBC Middle East Securities L.L.C, Mohammad Yahya; Director, Cash Management, Citi Bank, Fiaze Amin Shah of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Santokh Chawla, Jt Managing Director Fun N Food, Heiraa Bhat; Senior Consultant, AIG, Khair Ull Nissa Shah; GM Paras Pvt Ltd, Abdul Hamid; Group Director, Kashmir Arts And Crafts, Dr Munima Habib; Registrar Obs/Gyn, Muzaffar Hamid; Fullerton Financial Holdings, Dr Sameer; Dental Surgeon, Nazir Ahmed Hakak; Senior Legal Officer, ETA Power, Jumsheed Hussain; Dun & Bradstreet, Naveed Ahmed; Doha Bank. Apart from that quite a large number of young professionls who are doing exceedingly well in their respective fields attended the summit.
The Bank's team in the summit included Mr Abdul Majid Mir, Executive Director & CFO, Mr Tafazal Hussain; Chief Strategist, Mr Khursheed Pandit; Vice President Corporate Communication and Mr. Zamir Ahmed, Executive Assistant to the chairman.
Dubai, one of the wealthiest emirates of United Arab Emirates, is known world over as a financial hub in the Middle East having a sizeable presence of top notch financial services companies, investment funds, banks and consultancy firms. The state of art infrastructure coupled with liberal investment policies has made it a hot destination for professionals and corporates. The place holds the distinction of housing Dubai International Financial center (DIFC) which is considered the Mecca of financial sector where the who's who of renowned global players rub shoulders. There are more than 1500 Kashmiri expats in Dubai serving in diverse fields like construction, banking, Insurance, information technology, real estate etc. Besides, a large number of businessmen from Kashmir have their businesses in Dubai dealing in home interiors, Kashmir handicrafts and carpets etc.
In his hour-long presentation, Dr Haseeb Drabu, the chairman of the bank, dwelt upon the strengths of the bank and threw light on the strategies adopted by the bank for sustainable growth in the current economic scenario. He said that the inward looking approach followed by the bank in the recent past has paid good dividends not only to the bank but to the state as well. Resultantly 50% of the bank's business is now in the state of J&K with a bulk of advances coming from small ticket sized advances made to the businessmen, agriculturists, craftsmen and entrepreneurs of J&K. While outlining the vision of the bank, Dr Drabu said that J&K Bank is a bank with local origins, national presence and international service standards. He said the bank sees itself not only as a commercial bank but a development financial institution of the state. While clarifying that the business summit was not essentially a business pitch by the bank to woo NRI depositors, he urged the participants to actively engage themselves in the development of the state economy. Citing the examples of Chinese and Gujarati Diaspora, he appealed the expats from J&K to invest their monies in the state to help it become a sought after investment destination.
Dr Drabu, in his presentation, also dwelt upon the contours of state economy and its social and economic indicators. He said that J&K Bank, the only listed company from the state, is at the forefront of economic reconstruction of the state and is keen to participate in infrastructure development through venture capital financing. He urged the professionals attending the business meet to come forward with their plans and assured them of total financial solutions for their projects.
The participants included a galaxy of success stories from the professional and business fields. These included Mr Mushtaq Vakil of Marina Home interiors, Mr Musadiq Shah of Pride of Kashmir, Niyaz Ahmed Shah of Sultania, Hilal Ahmed of Galerie Hamadan, Mr Mohammad Tariq Reshi of Gousia Group, Mr Tufail Reshi of Al-Fazl Exporters, Mr Irfan Muzammil; Chief Executive officer, HSBC Middle East Securities L.L.C, Mohammad Yahya; Director, Cash Management, Citi Bank, Fiaze Amin Shah of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Santokh Chawla, Jt Managing Director Fun N Food, Heiraa Bhat; Senior Consultant, AIG, Khair Ull Nissa Shah; GM Paras Pvt Ltd, Abdul Hamid; Group Director, Kashmir Arts And Crafts, Dr Munima Habib; Registrar Obs/Gyn, Muzaffar Hamid; Fullerton Financial Holdings, Dr Sameer; Dental Surgeon, Nazir Ahmed Hakak; Senior Legal Officer, ETA Power, Jumsheed Hussain; Dun & Bradstreet, Naveed Ahmed; Doha Bank. Apart from that quite a large number of young professionls who are doing exceedingly well in their respective fields attended the summit.
The Bank's team in the summit included Mr Abdul Majid Mir, Executive Director & CFO, Mr Tafazal Hussain; Chief Strategist, Mr Khursheed Pandit; Vice President Corporate Communication and Mr. Zamir Ahmed, Executive Assistant to the chairman.