UAE-based bank Emirates NBD on Monday announced an additional $100 million investment in its India operations, adding two more branches in Chennai and Gurugram.

The lender, which has the largest presence in the Middle East, has so far invested $300 million in three tranches over the past five years of its operations in India, said its group head of international and group strategy, Neeraj Makin PTI.

Sharad Agarwal, Country Chief Executive for India, said its current presence is not as a wholly owned subsidiary, which is preferred by RBI for foreign lender units, adding that its focus is on the corporate and commercial segment rather than the retail side .

Makin said it may add 2-3 more branches, including one in Kolkata, over the next 18 months and will definitely inject more capital when that happens.

Agarwal said its total balance sheet currently stands at Rs 5,500 crore, which includes a loan book of Rs 3,000 crore and an investment book of Rs 1,500 crore. By FY24 the total balance sheet is expected to grow to US$1 billion (Rs8,000 crore) with a loan book of Rs 5,500 crore and a banking book of Rs 2,500 crore.

On the liability side, it depends heavily on the 3.5 million-strong Indian diaspora in the UAE and remittances originating from there, he noted.

Makin said Emirates NBD is targeting the banking opportunities arising from growing India-UAE trade and also along other corridors such as India-Saudi Arabia, India-Turkey and other pockets where it has a presence .

Agarwal added that given the situation in the country due to issues like high inflation, no other lender is willing to take a risk for Turkey at the moment, but added that Emirates NBD supports Indian exporters.

On the investment side, it is currently engaged in commercial paper and is also considering corporate bonds, Agrawal said.

Makin said the bank has an acquisition side as it took over BNP Paribas’ activities to enter Egypt, but added that there are currently no such plans for India.

Singaporean bank DBS’ acquisition of domestic private lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank was “watched with interest” by Emirates NBD, Makin noted.

Emirates NBD toyed with the idea of ​​operating as a wholly owned subsidiary – something DBS did before the takeover – but backed away from it because of challenges such as mandatory listing and other difficulties, he said.

The bank does not have a proprietary development center in India but has contracted an IT service provider here to boost its global operations, Makin said, adding that it has created hundreds of jobs locally.