Standard Chartered to open first branch in Iraqi Kurdistan

[Butifldrm]

 

Feb 06 2014

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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)

((isabel.coles@thomsonreuters.com)(+964 790 191 7024)(Reuters Messaging: isabel.coles.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

http://www.zawya.com/story/Standard_Chartered_to_open_first_branch_in_Iraqi_Kurdistan-TR20140206nL5N0LB20V2/

Edited February 6, 2014 by Butifldrm

[ronscarpa]

Thanks Butifldrm this is good news and a step forward for their International Banking and Business relations (+1)..!    

[Djorgie]

I don't know... I guess I have mixed feelings about all of these forien banks moving into Iraq.

 

On one hand it could be a good thing and the fact that they are actually opening up their banks in places that are being blown to smitherines on a daily basis tells me that they feel the risk is worth the gain... and so, there must be a massive gain to be made in other words or else they wouldn't be taking this kind of a risk.

 

On the other it could mean that Iraq has no intentions of making significant changes with their currency any time soon so, maybe the U.S. banks and now this British bank moving in may just mean they are there because they plan to deal mostly in the dollar and that means more dollars for them.

 

Who knows what the real plan is? I do wish they would get HCL done though.

[Tubbs]

B   M

 

Intern tional

[MyLadiesDaddy]

If these banks were there for the dollar only then ask yourself, how can Iraq become

a profitable endeavor if it can't enhance their economy? Nothing would change.

No this is something far greater than that.

[sandfly]

TURN THE MONEY LOOSE

[Djorgie]

LGD,

 

Point taken.

 

Makes sense... but the thing is that NOTHING else pertaining to this whole RV idea does lol.

 

We never know what they are thinking and why they do some of the crazy things they have done.

 

Like I said, I know the banks are there to make money because that's what banks do. Guess we'll just have to wait and see what plays out in the next scene.