Mubasher: Hinduja Group is reportedly exploring acquisition opportunities in two UAE banks.
The Indian firm operating from London has been offered several opportunities to invest in the UAE’s financial services sector, co-chairman Gopichand P. Hinduja told Khaleej Times.
The company is the promoter and the major shareholder of the world's first NRI bank, IndusInd Bank.
"We never know what will follow in your lap. You have to look for synergies, you have to do due diligence. It could be that some of the financial institutions that are not well-managed require strategic strong alliances from groups like ours," Gopichand revealed.
Although the co-chairman did not uncover the names of the UAE banks his company was considering for investments, he did say that there were “myriad opportunities to grow in India and elsewhere,” noting that Hinduja was “just exploring such opportunities" in the UAE.
The London-based multinational Indian conglomerate is also considering moving its headquarters from London to either the UAE or Singapore, the top official said.
"We are primarily concerned about the ease of doing business as well as a stable business environment. In those two areas, the UAE is quite unique. We feel quite at ease in the UAE in particular," Gopichand highlighted.
Hinduja’s planned move comes in the wake of several companies, particularly in the banking and financial services sector, issuing statements that they would move their headquarters from the UK amid Brexit talks.
Hinduja’s business portfolio in the UAE comprises a number of sectors including petrochemicals, finance, and bus and truck manufacturing.
The Indian firm also has a commercial vehicle assembling facility in Ras Al Khaimah under Ashok Leyland.
It is worth noting that Gopichand P. Hinduja and his brother Srichand Hinduja were ranked the richest in Britain with the combined wealth of GBP 16.2 billion ($20.93 billion) in the Sunday Times Rich List 2017.
