Home
Standard Chartered to open first branch in Iraqi Kurdistan
ARBIL, Iraq, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Britain's Standard Chartered
bank will open its first branch in Iraqi Kurdistan early next month, attracted by financing opportunities for large government infrastructure projects planned in the autonomous region.
The bank is one of a small number of foreign lenders with operations in Iraq, which is experiencing rapid oil-fuelled economic growth, but also its worst upsurge in violence in at least five years.
Standard Chartered opened its country head office and first branch last November in Baghdad's banking district, on a street lined with blast walls and patrolled by guards with Kalashnikov rifles.
Kurdistan is relatively peaceful by contrast, and the autonomous region's main cities are full of cranes and construction sites.
The bank also plans to open another branch in the southern oil hub of Basra later in 2014.
Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Iraq Gavin Wishart told Reuters that the business environment in Kurdistan was "progressive" and described the pace of development as "encouraging".
Security concerns and a complex regulatory and political environment have put some international firms off doing business there. HSBC is trying to exit Iraq by selling its stake in Dar Es Salaam Investment Bank .
"We hope that as the financial services sector develops, we can be the partner of choice in that area," Britain's Ambassador to Iraq Simon Collis said at a news conference during his visit to the Kurdish capital Arbil on Thursday.
Iraq's federal government and the Kurdish region are in dispute over how to exploit the country's vast hydrocarbon reserves and how share the proceeds.
(Reporting by Isabel Coles; Editing by Louise Ireland)
(([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.])(+964 790 191 7024)(Reuters Messaging: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]))
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
ARBIL, Iraq, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Britain's Standard Chartered
bank will open its first branch in Iraqi Kurdistan early next month, attracted by financing opportunities for large government infrastructure projects planned in the autonomous region.
The bank is one of a small number of foreign lenders with operations in Iraq, which is experiencing rapid oil-fuelled economic growth, but also its worst upsurge in violence in at least five years.
Standard Chartered opened its country head office and first branch last November in Baghdad's banking district, on a street lined with blast walls and patrolled by guards with Kalashnikov rifles.
Kurdistan is relatively peaceful by contrast, and the autonomous region's main cities are full of cranes and construction sites.
The bank also plans to open another branch in the southern oil hub of Basra later in 2014.
Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Iraq Gavin Wishart told Reuters that the business environment in Kurdistan was "progressive" and described the pace of development as "encouraging".
Security concerns and a complex regulatory and political environment have put some international firms off doing business there. HSBC is trying to exit Iraq by selling its stake in Dar Es Salaam Investment Bank .
"We hope that as the financial services sector develops, we can be the partner of choice in that area," Britain's Ambassador to Iraq Simon Collis said at a news conference during his visit to the Kurdish capital Arbil on Thursday.
Iraq's federal government and the Kurdish region are in dispute over how to exploit the country's vast hydrocarbon reserves and how share the proceeds.
(Reporting by Isabel Coles; Editing by Louise Ireland)
(([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.])(+964 790 191 7024)(Reuters Messaging: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]))
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
» utube MM&C 4/16/24 IQD Update - Iraq Dinar - America - Activate - Massive Economic Deals -
» Central Bank: Washington praised Iraq's measures to resolve 80% of the financial transfer file
» Voices of Resilience: Al-Sudani’s frankness embarrasses the White House
» Al-Alaq confirms the formation of a committee between Baghdad and Washington regarding sanctions on
» Former MP: The Democrat will not hand over power after the regional elections
» Document/allocation of 20% of the lands of Al-Jawahiri Complex to employees of the Ministry of Defen
» Al-Hakim: Al-Sudani’s visit to Washington was a protocol and missed the two most important files
» Parliamentary Security: The National Security Service law will be voted on by Parliament soon
» Reconstruction and Housing: Zarbatieh residential project completed by 82%
» Al-Sudani reveals an intention to establish Al-Faw refinery with a capacity of 300 thousand barrels
» Government readiness to move the Doura refinery to an alternative location.. What are the conditions
» Al-Sudani’s visit to Washington.. Implications and results
» Association of Iraqi Private Banks: The suspension of some electronic payment services yesterday was
» Parliamentary memorandum.. Two solutions were before the Federal Court instead of removing the compo
» Blue fuel... Iraqi steps towards inexhaustible wealth for a century
» For fear of being "upset"... MPs "evade" signing to host Al-Sudani in Parliament
» Al-Sudani’s statement to convert 40% of Iraq’s exports into derivatives.. What does it have to do wi
» An Iraqi-American partnership to benefit from oil field gas
» The Minister of Commerce announces the distribution of the first payments of farmers’ dues for the 2
» Sudanese to members of the Iraqi community in the American city of Houston: Iraq has regained its he
» Romanski announces loans worth $50 million to support the Iraqi private sector
» Prime Minister: We plan to invest production capacities for export
» “Something happened” in Iran and no one is talking about Iraq and Syria. This is what we have so far
» Al-Sudani asks the American Baker Institute for assistance in preparing studies related to the oil m
» The Interior Ministry denies the occurrence of explosions inside Iraqi territory and diagnoses “the
» Tensions between Najaf and Baghdad over the airport... the rule of law over “military force” and the
» Al-Sudani from Washington: We agreed with Abu Dhabi on joint management of Al-Faw Port
» "Al-Party" talks about the region's elections and reveals the reason for refusing to pay salaries di
» Russia's oil is taking more of the Middle East's shares in the Indian market.. How much has Iraq los
» Early next month.. Traffic confirms that the electronic payment system is working only
» The Service Council accuses state departments of refraining from disbursing bonuses because of the m
» Electricity: The Baghdad street lighting campaign will be completed before the middle of this year
» Oil poses two conditions for moving the Doura refinery to an alternative location
» The Foreign Minister reveals the truth about his resignation and the reason for his departure to Erb
» Progress: Al-Halbousi’s acquittal has become conclusive, and his return to the presidency of Parliam
» Disagreements strike Al-Maliki's coalition over choosing the governor of Diyala
» The Union accuses Türkiye of exploiting the political situation for a ground incursion into Iraq
» The Democratic Party: Barzani is eagerly awaiting the results of Al-Sudani’s visit to Washington
» Frame: Al-Halbousi in the news and his return has become a pipe dream
» A parliamentary request to capitalize on Erdogan’s visit to Baghdad to end the water crisis
» utube 4/18/24 Iraq: Over 14 Agreements Signed Between Iraq and US BREAKING NEWS from Congress.
» Al-Sudani urges the US corporation Honeywell to help finish the Basra refinery
» Al-Sudani Meets with Representatives of Western Media Outlets in Washington
» Chairman of the Investment Authority signs the United Nations Convention on International Mediation
» PM: We will sign a contract to establish the Al-Faw refinery with a Chinese company
» PM arrives in Houston as part of his visit to USA
» Militia Man & Crew 4/18/24 Bush signed it and all presidents implemented it. Iraq’s funds have been
» Iraq is close to launching the electronic signature
» The Basra government discusses with an international oil company the implementation of social benefi
» The Prime Minister confirms to an American company: Gas projects in Iraq are a priority for the gove
» The Minister of Planning discusses with the World Bank mechanisms for scheduling external loans
» Oil sets the twenty-seventh of this month as the date for opening contracts for the fifth complement
» “Electronic begging”...professionalism and fabrication of stories” generates millions of dinars dail
» Al-Sudani calls on the American company Hanwell to contribute to the completion of the Basra refiner
» An American company expresses its willingness to establish LED lighting production lines in Iraq
» Including Iraq.. Iran announces the possibility of exporting 300 megawatts of “renewable electricity
» Political forces present two options to find an alternative to Al-Halbousi
» Parliament is awaiting the arrival of the budget schedules and the government is studying higher spe
» The International Monetary Fund adjusts its expectations for the development of the world’s economie
» A representative talks about the difficulty of finalizing the file of “electing the Speaker of Parli
» Work on preparing a law for diplomatic passports
» A female representative accuses the Ministry of Immigration of corruption
» Minister: Solving the Kurdistan salaries problem is the beginning of addressing other disputes betwe
» About 270 million dollars were sold by the Central Bank of Iraq in the currency auction
» The volume of trade exchange between Jordan and Iraq will exceed 800 million dinars in 2023
» Iraq signs memorandums of understanding with American companies in the fields of electricity, oil an
» The American company that manufactures the F16 expresses its readiness to implement the terms of con
» The volume of expected Qatari investments for the Iraq Fund for Development exceeds $3.5 billion
» Decrease in dollar prices in Baghdad and Erbil
» The President of the Region brings together the Kurdish parties to resolve the election file
» Al-Sudani receives in Washington the Chairman of JPMorgan
» Transport is starting to transform its ports into smart ones
» Sudanese reveals the volume of exchange with America
» "Al-Eqtisad News" publishes the memorandums of understanding signed between the Iraqi delegation and
» Al-Sudani urges an American company to contribute to establishing a chemical materials factory
» Iraq stresses the importance of Lockheed Martin's commitment to opening military aircraft maintenanc
» Iraq is on the verge of a “water disaster” by 2035
» Great satisfaction and optimism with the results of Sudanese’s visit to Washington
» Transport is beginning to adopt a plan to transform its ports into smart ones
» Completed 8,000 loan transactions at the Housing Bank
» Prime Minister: We plan to invest production capacities for export
» Transformation and partnership...a new horizon in Iraqi-American relations
» What is new in the economic dimension of the Washington visit?
» Two letters to the future
» National interests first
» Iraqi-American rapprochement...a national necessity
» Al-Sudani’s visit to Washington and the course of Iraqi-American relations
» Sudanese carries security, economic and development files to Washington
» Armament and military development... features of a sustainable partnership
» Analysts: Sudanese's visit to Washington will achieve excellent results in the future
» Iraqi-American relations...the legacy of the past and the aspirations of partnership
» Sudanese and external necessities
» The Strategic Framework Agreement... 7 important provisions
» Joint statement of the Iraqi-American discussions
» Supreme Coordinating Committee: Iraq's role is vital to the security and prosperity of the region
» Towards an effective bilateral economic relationship between Baghdad and Washington
» She saw it as a new, different chapter in Iraqi-American relations... Al-Sudani’s visit to Washingto
» Al-Sudani’s visit to Washington.. Implications and results