CRDB BANK ESTABLISHES INDIA DESK

Dar es Salaam. CRDB Bank on Wednesday unveiled its India Desk as it seeks to get a chunk of the ever increasing business ties between Tanzania and the Indian sub-continent. The Desk is a result of a partnership between Tanzania’s largest bank in terms of asset size and two of India’s largest banks – State Bank of India and ICICI Bank.

“With this partnership, we have created a banking synergy that will ease frustrations that traders from the two countries currently face in the process of making financial transactions,” CRDB Managing Director Charles Kimei said in Dar es Salaam at an event graced by Indian High Commissioner to Tanzania, Shri Debnath Shaw.

With an asset base of Sh4 trillion, deposits of Sh3 trillion and loans worth Sh2 trillion, Dr Kimei – a seasoned economist who has worked in the financial sector for over 30 years – believes the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) listed Bank has what it takes to satisfy the financial needs of India’s business community in the country. Similarly, the State Bank of India and ICICI Bank jointly have over 17,000 branches all over India and a combined asset size of over $600 billion. 

With the Desk, businesspeople transacting between India and Tanzania, will now not necessarily be required to change their money into United States dollar. Traders in Tanzania and Burundi - where CRDB also operates - will pay for their merchandise in India directly in the Shilling and the money gets to the supplier in form of the Indian Rupee thereby saving on risks associated with exchange rate variations.

According to CRDB data, over 60,000 people of Indian origin reside and own businesses in various parts of Tanzania. India is the third largest source of Foreign Direct Investment in Tanzania after China and the United Kingdom. Over 400 Indian companies have invested over $2 billion in various businesses in Tanzania.

 Mr Debnath Shaw hailed the move, saying it will truly cement existing trade, investment and diplomatic relations between the two friendly nations that share many things in common, including the Indian Ocean. CRDB’s India Desk will be manned Hindi and Gujarat Relationship Managers.