Trade Bank of Iraq is looking to expand abroad

[Pastor Tommy]

Basra (Iraq) (Reuters) – The chairman of the Trade Bank of Iraq Hussein Azri said that the bank planned to expand overseas and double the number of branches in Iraq next year to take advantage of the expected oil boom.

Azri said that the state-run bank, which also looked forward to financing deals in the energy sector with the implementation of plans to increase oil production in Iraq, a member of OPEC, through a series of agreements with major oil companies and with rebuilding the economy.

He said during an interview with Reuters on Thursday on the sidelines of a conference of oil and gas in the city of Basra’s oil industry hub in the south of the country that businesses thrive.

He added that the bank is expected to be able to cover the whole of Iraq, its services by the end of next year as well as the opening of three branches outside Iraq.

The Bank plans which has 15 branches in Iraq is the opening of eight or nine other local branches in the next year and the opening of three branches in Beirut, London and Istanbul to satisfy the appetite of investors who are looking to Iraq.

Iraq has signed a series of agreements with international oil companies in the past year to enhance the production capacity of crude to the power level of Saudi Arabia, which is 12 million barrels per day from about 2.5 million barrels per day at the moment.

The country plans, which lacks electricity also increase power generation capacity to build new plants and add new engines to the existing stations.

Iraq has big plans to set up infrastructure to export oil to keep pace with the expected increase in crude production but it is lack of funding after years of war, sanctions and poor conditions that devastated its economy.

Azri said that the Trade Bank of Iraq will help the government to finance some projects of infrastructure in the oil and electricity sectors.

He said the bank within the pavilion which is surrounded by wings of other companies such as Schlumberger and Weatherford and TPAO of Turkey and Malaysia’s Petronas, which won contracts in Iraq’s oil sector, “as we see in novels on the short, the security situation did not deter investors from coming here.”

He added that the oil companies began to march and service companies come in now, which will attract hotels, restaurants, residential and office complexes.

Azri said that the bank expected a rise in net profit to about 25 percent in 2010 thanks to the banking activities of companies and private banking.

The net profit $ 305 million last year.

Azri said that the bank was targeting a 20 percent increase in net profit in 2010, but he believes that the increase will exceed this and reach to about 25 percent which is good.

He added that the bank started its investment banking and corporate activities in the current year and that he expected revenue growth.

Azri said that the bank plans to increase its capital to one billion dollars from 427 million dollars.

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