imported 2024-03-17 17:43:06
Since the establishment of Allai Newroz Telecom in 2007; the company has been playing marvellous national and moral roles towards Iraq, and the Iraqi citizens; as the company has brought a group of Iraqi minds and expertise in engineering and technology, and professionals in other fields of management, commercial science, and finance.
Kyle Long, Director of Communications at American University of Iraq, Sulaimani
There’s a longer history of private education in other parts of Iraq in the south, particularly in Baghdad, but in the Kurdistan region this is something of a novelty. There are about a dozen or more private universities in the Kurdistan region. The American University of Iraq, Sulaimani, was founded in 2007. The university is the only private not-for-profit university in the Kurdistan region (and Iraq, too).
Sabah Milhim Mohi, Chairman of Emerald Bank
Banking is an emerging sector in Iraq and it hasn’t gotten full opportunity yet. Most of Iraqi banks dont have enough capital to make larger investments. Also, majority of Iraqi people dont trust the banking sector – the same applies to the Kurdistan region. Iraqis haven`t yet got accustomed to deposit their money in banks instead of keeping it as cash.
2003 brough a long-desired change of regime in the region and Kurdish entrepreneurs started to build new hotels, develop more tourist attractions and open sport places and restaurants. Tourism is blooming in Kurdistan and it is also a very profitable business. Moreover, the region will be Iraq’s capital for tourism in 2014.
Sarmand Group is a well-known company in the Kurdistan region and its roots go back to 1979. Throughout its existence the Group has been involved in different sectors including construction, industry, trading, and it has cooperated with the Government on diferent construction projects. Sarmand Group has also an animal feed factory along with poultry farms. Its latest involvement is related to the oil sector in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Investing in the agriculture sector is of continuing interest to the KRG, for reasons practical – becoming food self-sufficient- and also for reasons historical and cultural.
“Investors look for some pillars when they make their analysis of an investment climate. One is them is the legal framework. Kurdistan’s investment law was found to be the friendliest law for foreigners, with a high scale of incentives, flexibility in dealing with investors, giving good rights and position to the foreigners and protection measures.”
For the last several years the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq has been attracting a relatively large, continuously growing, amount of investment; including local investment, foreign direct investment, and foreign/local partnerships.
New shopping malls are being built throughout the Kurdistan region and the retail sector in the Iraqi Kurdistan is picking up. The retail market is now capable of accommodating international brands and it can thus compete even with the market in Dubai.
International media generalize the security situation in Iraq and thus they are also spreading negative image of the Kurdistan region which is in reality very stable and secure. Mr. Aziz wishes for more international investors coming to the region to experience the situation on the ground. He claims the best investment opportunities lie in agriculture and oil and gas of Kurdistan.
