Standard Chartered PLC

Guys,

I will mention the main idea of starting this topic before narrating what happened to me.

Main Idea: Dare Not to Open a Account with Standard Chartered Bank of Qatar.

Some 6 months back when the whole world was in financial turmoil, as this situation came to most of expatirates of UAE, I have been shifted from Dubai to Qatar.

My New company has al their transactions with Standard Chartered Bank, hence I was introduced to SCB agent and I opened a current account with them.

I've always been scared of credit cards. i have the tendency to become impulsive on buying stuff. but i really need to have one. it's such a hassle to withdraw money all the time when out of qatar. anyway, what's the best option among the banks here in doha? I searched a little, IBQ seems interesting as well as Standard Chartered bank(though it's more beneficial to UAE).

I always fly to different countries. to use a debit card is not a wise thing to do because of the bank charges. this will be my first credit card if so.
help me pls i'm really lost here. thanks so much! :)

India’s economy has seen a slightly better uptick in the first quarter of financial year 2009-10, signalling economic recovery is underway. The Q1 gross domestic product (GDP) growth stood at 6.1% versus growth of 5.8% in the previous quarter and 7.8% in Q1 of last year.

The Indian economy, which grew at 6.7% last year and clocked 9% plus growth in the three years before, may have bottomed but GDP growth may get impacted ahead due to the poor monsoon.

'Along expected lines'

“The Q1 GDP growth has been in line with expectations. We are of the view that the Indian economy has turned out,” Ajay Mahajan, MD – Financial Markets at UBS, said. “However, agriculture is expected to remain a drag for the second half numbers.”

Did you heard that Standard Chartered Bank has implemented new rules!If you wanna deposit, withdraw money below QAR.10,000/- there is a service charge QAR.50 per transaction IF THE TRANSACTION THRU COUNTER!!, That means they want to reduce the staff!!? Cost cutting?? So NOW we have to depend on their teller machine (ONLY ONE MACHINE IN THEIR MAIN BRANCH and sometime it will not accept some notes!!!) THE SAID BANK IS WORKING FOR THEIR CONVENIENT OR CUSTOMERS CONVENIENT???!!!

Was anybody counting on a single currency for the Gulf?

From Arabian Business

by Soren Billing and Tom Arnold, Wednesday, 20 May 2009

The GCC monetary union is "dead" as a result of a decision by the UAE to pull out of the plan, leading UAE economists pronounced on Wednesday
The UAE's move, which came just three weeks after a decision to base the bloc's central bank in Riyadh, was the result of a clash of egos, according to a Saudi expert, who urged Gulf politicians not to let egos get in the way of rational decision.
Dubai-based economist, Eckart Woertz, said that he was surprised by the decision, adding that the monetary union was “dead” without the UAE’s involvement.

With a heavy heart, we would like to say the name Shafallah is a "hype". I would like to request the good-hearterd expatriates from the "enlightned countries" to have a look what they do.

Shafalla is grown on the support from the Govt. It gets lots of financial aid from and "PUBLICITY" from local press. Getting financial aid from RasGas, QatarGas, Standard CHartered Bank, Exxon Mobil..

THe fees in this Center is 6000 QR. I heard.

There is another school, whcih is silently doing services for the less privliged people. The Resource Room in IDEAL INDIAN SCHOOL. Mainly students are from Pakistan, Bangaldesh, Tunisia, Philipines ,,, The fees are QR. 350

Builders in Qatar are taking advantage of the slowdown in Dubai to scoop up skilled staff that they have previously struggled to attract to the country.

Building, consultancy and engineering firms in Qatar have long struggled to attract key skills because of competition from Dubai, but now hope to take advantage of the redundancies that are sweeping across the emirate.

“There were issues about bringing people here in the past, such as housing and schools, that prevented us from growing,” said Robert Hope, a regional director at WS Atkins, an engineer and design consultancy.

“But I think there’s an opportunity for us now to get quality people in positions and move projects forward.”

Although not unaffected by the global financial crisis, Qatar’s economy is still expected to outperform regional economies this year and expand by 10 per cent, fuelled mainly by increased LNG (liquefied natural gas) exports.

Local banks are being more selective in the projects they finance, but the country is well-placed to fund crucial developments, especially those aimed at affordable housing.

Qatar’s current account surplus was worth about 52 per cent of GDP last year, according to Marios Maratheftis, CK regional head of research at Standard Chartered Bank.

by Angela Giuffrida