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Iraq Business and Investment Summit

September 29th 2010

Ritz-Carlton, Manama, Bahrain

Founding sponsor: Trade Bank of Iraq

Ritz-Carlton Manama Bahrain

Iraq boasts a largely untapped market of 30 million consumers, huge oil reserves, plenty of water and a strategic location. All this, together with improvements in the security situation since 2007, has prompted a number of multinationals and financial investors to take the plunge.

But with violence continuing to flare and Iraq’s private sector still in its infancy, getting the due diligence right in this market is crucial. How can investors confront the challenges of doing business in Iraq and what can the Iraqi authorities do to reassure investors and jump-start the private sector?

• First time presentation of Economist Intelligence Unit white paper on investor perceptions of Iraq
• What will Iraq’s recovery mean for the Middle East?
• How does Iraq compare to other high-risk countries?
• Will Iraq manage to consolidate its democracy?

This high-level, one-day conference will offer a frank assessment from business leaders, Economist Group analysts, and top level Iraqi government speakers from a range of different viewpoints.

• Online:`www.economistconferences.com/iraq
• Call : +961 (0) 1 330209
• Post : Burj Al Ghazal Building, 6th Floor, Office 7, Tabarees Street, Beirut, Lebanon

Need assistance?

• Call : +961 (0)1 330206
• Email : christelleh@alefinternational.com

NB: Delegate fee(s) must be paid in full prior to the event.

Flights of Arabia Airlines to Najaf

The Arabia Airlines operations Director confirmed launching of the first company direct flights to Najaf city from its main headquarters in Sharja / UAE, indicating that Najaf is no longer the only destination for Arabia Airlines in Iraq, the company will lunch two weekly trips to Najaf.

Atia said ” having flights directly to Najf is considered as a big and new accomplishment that Arabia Airlines add to its records, the Iraqi market holds a very big and special potentials as a distinguish  business platform  , also it provides good chances for religious and cultural tourism.”"

He said also ” Arabia Airlines entering this market will add a big supporting role in these fields, the people who travel with us will have a two way chance of traveling to Najf city, with low prices, excellent services and the maximum comfort that the company provides”

Iraq developmen

Iraq launched Sunday its 2010-2014 five-year development plan that involves the implementation of more than 2,700 projects at a total cost of about $186 billion, pan-Arab Al Hayat daily reports Monday citing Abdul-Zahra Al Hindawi, spokesman for the ministry of planning and development cooperation which is in charge of supervising the implementation of the plan.

The Iraqi government’s aim from the plan is to achieve an average annual economic growth of 9.38%, develop the infrastructure, reduce regional differences, provide 3.5 million jobs and diversify the economy of the oil-dependent country, the paper reports.

About $100 billion of the projects’ costs will be financed by the state budget and the remainder will be funded through local and foreign investments, Hindawi told the daily, adding that the plan will mainly focus on the oil and electricity sectors.

Newspaper website: http://international.daralhayat.com/internationalarticle/159609

Emirates Airlines

With Emirates recently announcing services to Baghdad, available from 1st July, the carrier is keen to build up its presence in Iraq, ensuring that customers have easy and convenient access to book their travel with Emirates.
 

Ahmed Khoory, Emirates’ Senior Vice President Gulf, Middle East and Iran said: “We are delighted with the appointment of Al Handal Group in Baghdad. Al Handal have an excellent reputation for delivering consistent and above standard customer relations. They are well regarded within the industry and we are confident that they will represent Emirates to the same standard that our customers have come to expect the world over. “Baghdad is an important market for Emirates and we are pleased to be able to offer our Iraq based customers convenient access via Dubai to the 102 global destinations that Emirates now serves.”
 
Al Handal Group is the exclusive general sales agent for Emirates in Iraq and have been contracted for an extendable term of four years. As Emirates general sales agent in Iraq Al Handal will be able to assist residents of Iraq in purchasing airline tickets.
 
Wade Al Handal, Chairman of Al Handal Group said: “It is a great honour for Al Handal to work with Emirates as their exclusive general sales agent in Iraq. Emirates represents the pinnacle of quality in the aviation industry due to its innovation and drive to succeed. We are confident that we will be able to successfully service Emirates and their passengers and look forward to working together with Emirates.”

Emirates Logo

 

 
The new Emirates Office in Baghdad is located in Karadah – Al Saadoon. Al Handal Group was established in 1975 and now covers several regions in the Middle East including; Iraq, Jordan, Syria and the U.A.E. Al Handal Group also has operations in Turkey

Ports in the south of Iraq

MP Wael Abdul Latif called to develop Iraqi ports and to boost their operational capacity thru making use of the Investment programs of International Companies.

MP Abdul Latif said that dealing with the issue of Iraqi ports and working on solving the challenges that face the naval sector constitute an important revenue that contributes in increasing the country’s financial income.

MP Ammar stressed that the ports shall work in order to keep pace with the increase in the logistic activity thru a clear future plan that aims at developing this sector in order to face the quick growth rate in importing and exporting sector.

SniperHill Logo

High-speed fiber optic-based Internet largely did not exist in Iraq. With a war-ravaged telecommunications infrastructure that is obsolete, most users rely upon slow and outdated, personal-rigged satellite systems for Internet.

“We’re thrilled to bring faster, better, unlimited commercial Internet to the deserving Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines forward deployed in Iraq,” said Wallace Davis, President of SniperHill. “Bringing fiber optic services to America’s finest is something we have been working on for a very long time. Nobody thought it could be done, and we couldn’t be happier to be the first,” he added.

FOB Warrior in Kirkuk was the first area in Iraq to have commercial fiber optic Internet, according to Heath Irlbeck, VP of Business Development. “The rest of our sites across Iraq are quickly following suit,” he said. With over 35,000 subscribers per month, SniperHill is the largest Internet Service Provider in the world in an active combat zone. SniperHill began providing Internet in Iraq in 2006 and currently has operations in Northern, Central and Southern Iraq.

“It’s very exciting to offer a better, faster, smarter platform for the men and women in uniform to talk to their loved ones back home with no excuses, as long as they want, whenever they want regardless of where they are stationed,” said Jerry Hartless, CEO of SniperHill.

ABOUT SNIPERHILL

SniperHill Internet Services, LLC is the first choice for personal Internet at 17 US Bases across Iraq. Its customer list includes every branch of the US Armed Forces, DoD, DA and State Department civilians, US military and government contractors, NGOs and high-profile confidential Western clients. Learn more at www.sniperhill.com.

SOURCE SniperHill Internet Services, LLC

Basra Sports City

Sports City.

Construction has already begun at the Basra Sports City complex, which will host the 21st Gulf Cup (Khaleeji 21) in December of 2012.  The focal point of the project is the impressive, 65,000-seat Main Stadium which is surrounded by water and accessible to patrons by bridge.  The 360-acre complex, designed to be one of Iraq’s major sports centers, will also contain a smaller stadium, practice facilities, a training complex, a swim center, and other facilities.

Master plans call for a canal that intersects the complex leading from the sport facilities to a commercial district complete with hotels and commercial space. To complete the development, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Investment Commission are seeking interested and experienced investors/developers to construct hotels, commercial space, and entertainment facilities within the Basra Sports City complex.

Details of the areas available for development according to the master plan are included in the table below.

• 5- Star Hotels

Master development plans call for the construction of two full-service, 5-star hotels on the edge of the Sports City.  Each hotel should have a capacity of no less than 500 people, and have unique, sophisticated architecture.  Approximately 10,000 square meters have been allotted for each hotel development.

• Other Lodging

Over 5,000 square meters has been allotted for the construction of lodging for VIP delegations, visiting sports teams, and student visits.

• Commercial and Retail Space

A total of over 10,000 square meters has been set aside for retail in four commercial malls along the canal between the stadium and the hotel sites.

• Recreation and Entertainment Projects

Space has also been allocated for the construction of various entertainment services including an amphitheatre for concerts and cinema, parks and playgrounds, a bowling alley, dining facilities, an internet café, a pool, and other entertainment areas.

Investment Licenses

Selected investors will be awarded an Investment License for the project.  Among the incentives granted with an Investment License are:

• Exemption from corporation taxes and fees, for a period of 10 to 15 years
• Exemption from import fees for required equipment for a period of 3 years
• The right to employ foreign workers if needed
• The right to repatriate investment and profits

Iraq will next month invite foreign firms to submit bids for the planned construction of a $6 billion port south of Basra, which together with a new rail system will create a regional transport conduit to rival the Suez Canal, officials say.

Iraq is also seeking investors to build 8,000 km (4,970 miles( of new rail line, including a $3 billion railway network around Baghdad.

Constructing a new port and expanding the country’s existing 2,000 km (1,200 miles) of railway is part of a drive to modernize public infrastructure and kick-start Iraq’s economy now that major new oil contracts have been signed.

“This port will be considered the 10th most important in the world because it will connect the Gulf with northern Europe,” Transport Minister Amer Abdul-Jabbar told Reuters on Sunday.

The port, to be built on the Gulf south of the city of Basra, would enable the world’s biggest ships to dock in Iraq, he said, as it will have a depth of 17 meters (55 feet.

Goods, once unloaded at the new port, would then be loaded onto the new railway system and reach Europe overland more quickly than ships might reach Egypt’s Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.

“This will change the road map for world transport policy … This dry channel would be a shorter, cheaper and safer alternative,” Abdul-Jabbar said.

The port, to be called ‘Grand Faw’, will be constructed in two three-year stages. It will include 7,000 meters (23,000 feet) of dock ready to receive container ships. The dock for general cargo would be 3,500 meters (11,500 feet).

Iraq Highway by sheytanelkebir

From the Eye On Iraq: The transportation sector is, unquestionably, one of the most fundamental services to Iraq’s population. With over 29 million people needing to get around on a daily basis, it represents a massive opportunity for investment and growth – not least as it is one area that has suffered from the twin effects of government neglect, placing it at the foot of the region’s transport systems in terms of development and modernization, and the ongoing security situation.

But the country has a long history of integrated transport provision. In 1869, it became one of the first Middle Eastern countries to have a rail carriage pulled by horses, and then was home to the region’s first railroad, the Baghdad-Byzantine Berlin route, which was constructed in 1911 and connected Iraq with neighboring countries.

As for domestic land transport, Iraq operated fleets of modern tourist buses since the 1930s, and was the first  and only Arab country to operate the single and double-decker buses, built by the famous British Leyland, which were operating until the collapse of Saddam’s regime.

Iraqi Railway

Reasons for deterioration

The quality and performance of the sector started to deteriorate by the early 1970s, when the Baath regime started importing old, cheap transport vehicles and, despite high oil prices for much of the decade, deprived the infrastructure of the necessary investment.

This lead to rapid deterioration and regression of most of the road and rail network. Means of transport failed to keep pace with either modern international developments or the burgeoning population. In addition, the repeated wars the country has been plunged exhausted the economy to the extent that the government was not able to provide the most basic services to the citizens. Imports, other than military hardware, were kept to a minimum, and were related to transport were ordered by officials or committees who lacked necessary qualifications or experience – and were riddled with self-interest and corruption – to make the right choices for the nation. To make things even worse, the international sanctions imposed on Iraq after its Kuwait invasion in 1991 had a devastating effect on the economy and all services.

More recently, the pervasive chaos which followed the 2003 US-led invasion (the looting, ransacking, and destroying of all government properties) and all the installations that accompanied it, have left what remained of Iraq’s transport infrastructure in ruins. This makes it, sadly, the most backward country in the region in terms of travel, with its transportation sector in the worst situation in its history.

Iraq Old Transport

Foreign investment in 2009 and beyond

The Ministry of Transportation, like all the other ministries, started a campaign to rebuild and develop the transport infrastructure of the country. It is encouraging foreign investors to enter the Iraqi market, and many international companies have responded to their invitation by bidding for various projects all over the country. The transport sector is now a major arena for international competition.

A press release by the Transport Ministry said that 55 investment contracts have been completed since the beginning of 2009, composing of operational deals andinvestment plans. Looking ahead, Minister of Transport Amer Ismaiel met a group of Italian companies along with Iraqi private investors, to discuss developing the Fao port in Basra, which will be built in two stages, the first of which will cost around 2 billion Euros. In his press briefing, Ismaiel reaffirmed “the importance of this strategic project, which will boost the national economy in general, and the transportation sector in particular, and provides thousands of jobs to Iraqi youth.” The minister also added that “not only Iraq will benefit from this project, but the whole world will, as it will connect Iraqi and Gulf ports with the Mediterranean”.

The ministry also signed a contract with an unnamed South Korean company to provide 39 buses to be used for domestic transport inside Baghdad, which suffers from insufficient public transport vehicles and outdated private buses. Another contract was signed by the General Company for Passengers Transportation with Hyundai, also South Korean, to provide 130 tourist buses. The deal was signed when the company’s director, Osama al-Sadr, visited the Hyundai factories in Seoul last month.

In another area, the Mayor of Baghdad, Saber al-Issawi, announced that the long-delayed Baghdad underground project is still ongoing. In his press conference, the mayor claimed that “17 international companies expressed their wish to participate in this project, but Baghdad Governorate selected only seven to bid for the $3 billion project”. He also said that “the underground, the first in Iraq, will consist of two lines of 20km, which will ease the cumbersome traffic jams from which Baghdad streets and commuters are suffering.” The seven companies will have until January 2010 to submit their bids and a technical committee will be formed to review and select the winners, the mayor added.

Away from the roads, German Duetsche Bahn intends to participate in building the Iraqi railroad system. A delegation visited the country last month and held talks with Rafi Abbas, Director General of the state-owned General Company for Railway, who stressed on “the necessity of rehabilitating all railroad networks in Iraq for its importance in the revitalising the economy.” He also added, “The ministry is taking steps in rehabilitating the western network to a modern one which will connect all cities in western Iraq, and Iraq with the neighboring countries.”

Recently, an Iraqi official close to the PM said that the Iraqi government has succeeded in attracting more than $100 billion from foreign investors to execute reconstruction projects in Iraq. PM Nouri al-Maliki said in London’s “Invest Iraq” conference, held on April 30th, that “all circumstances are provided to start investment projects in Iraq by foreign companies, and the Iraqi government will do everything to help and assist these companies in carrying out their projects and protecting them.”

Wedding Island Baghdad

Iraq’s Tourism Board is seeking investors for the Development of Jazirat AI A’ras, also known as Jazirat Janain, a romantic island in the heart of historic Baghdad, on the Tigris River.

The island is wholly owned by the Tourism Board and is ready for immediate development into a multi-use resort and recreational tourist attraction.

The developer will master plan, design, construct, operate, and maintain the island as a private “for-profit” venture, leasing the land from the Tourism Board.

The island is located on the Tigris River, approximately one half kilometer down river from the new Diplomatic Quarter, and across the river from Baghdad University. The island is oval, approximately 2000 meters long and 1100 meters wide, and is adjacent to a man-made recreational lake. It is connected to the International Zone, Karkh District, by an existing causeway on the east end and a major thoroughfare connects the island to both sides of the river on its western end. There is a small dam and recreational lake on the north side of the island.

The City of Baghdad has a depth of history and a cultural legacy that, when applied to the development, can be a basis for attracting and fostering tourism. Baghdad’s hospitality industry lacks world class, five and six star resorts and does not capitalize on Baghdad’s legacy as the “cradle of civilization.” Blending 7,000 years of history and architecture with complimentary modern building techniques and designs will be a challenge to the Master Developer and those sub-developers selected for individual projects.

Jazirat Al-A’ras has a history of being a romantic getaway for newlywed couples to honeymoon and relax. Much of the population of Baghdad remembers the island as having a romantic and rich past. When developed, several of the proposed resorts will become an attractive retreat to the more than seven million residents of Baghdad and a drawing card for the other twenty-one million residents of Iraq, as well as a focal point for international visitors, whether in Baghdad on business or for pleasure.

Each competing Master Developer will submit general arrangement concept drawings as part of their proposal package. At a minimum, the general arrangement concept drawings will include: one six-star hotel; one five star spa/resort; one four star club/resort; one four star resort and conference center; an 18 hole golf course with country club; helicopter landing zone; riverfront park; recreational boating docks; children’s water park; cross-island expressway; thematic shopping bazaar; a site for highly exclusive “build-to-suit” executive residences capable of supporting eight luxury estates and ten executive mini-estates; designated space for infrastructure support; sewage treatment facility; water treatment facility; and power plant, power sub-stations, and power distribution.

The Tourism Board is a self-funded organization. Its operation is dependent upon the receipt of revenue from the lease of land dedicated to tourism and revenue from the operation of tourist related venues. Offerors will compete for the lease of the land by proposing the best use of the island, demonstrated capability and capacity, financial resources, quality of design, and lease fees to be paid to the Tourism Board, during construction and then operation. This is a private for profit venture.

Complete development of the island is expected to take from four to six years, with an estimated cost range between $2.5bn and $4.5bn. Master Developers with the financial capability and capacity, architectural ability, and construction mastery are invited to compete for this unique opportunity.