Foreign banks in Iraq soon
06 November 2006 (Bahrain Tribune)
The central bank of Iraq is considering licensing several foreign banks to operate within the country, mostly in the region of Kurdistan, Sinan Al Shabibi, the bank's governor, said yesterday.
"There have been some applications to operate in northern region of Kurdistan, but their eyes are on Baghdad eventually," Al Shabibi told Zawya Dow Jones in an interview.
Al Shabibi said that the bank is considering several Turkish and Lebanese banks, but declined to disclose the names of the banks.
The Iraqi government licensed six foreign banks in 2004, including the National Bank of Kuwait, Arab Banking Corp., HSBC and Standard Chartered.
However, only Arab Banking Corp. operates a fully-fledged branch in the country as the rest chose to enter Iraq via a local partner.
"Because of the security situation, most join forces with local banks. There are a lot of banks that have expressed their interest Iraq, but they are waiting for the right time," said Al Shabibi.
The country also has six state-owned banks, the biggest of which are Rafidain and al Rasheed.
Al Shabibi hopes that Iraq's banking sector will be strengthened as it opens up to foreign banks, as they bring capital, modern banking systems, technology and management.
The government is also pushing for 25 private banks to merge.
"Our idea is to have some kind of minimum capital for banks, at least 20 billion Iraqi dinars. Some of the very small banks which do not have the capacity will have to merge, otherwise they will have to raise the capital alone," he said.
The central bank wants private banks to participate more in the country's economic activities, and for the country to be less dependent on the Trade Bank of Iraq, which is financed by a consortium of foreign lenders such as Citigroup and JP Morgan. It provides financing services Iraqi banks are unable to offer.
"We would like the government's import activities to be more diversified. We want all banks to participate. This is our policy for the future. The Trade Bank is doing fine, but we don't want to have to be completely dependent on that," he said.
Al Shabibi said the central bank is currently succeeding in its fight against inflation.
"We are using the interest rate and we sell our own bills to skim liquidity. The inflation rate now is 51 per cent, down from 70 per cent previously. Whether it will continue to go down, we will have to see," he said.
Foreign banks in Iraq soon | Iraq Updates
Al-Babtain IPO opens for subscription
06 November 2006 (AME Info FZ LLC)
Al-Babtain Power & Telecommunication Company said that its Initial Public Offering (IPO) will open today, Saturday, November 4, 2006.
The ten-day IPO will remain open for subscription till Monday November 13, 2006.
Each share is priced at SAR 40. The minimum number of shares that an individual investor can subscribe is 10 shares and a maximum of 25000 shares. The minimum subscription amount is SAR 400 and maximum subscription amount is SAR 1,000,000.
The subscription forms are available at the branches of 11 'receiving banks', namely: The Saudi British Bank (SABB), Banque Saudi Fransi, The National Commercial Bank, Saudi Hollandi Bank, Bank Al Bilad, The Saudi Investment Bank, Bank Al Jazira, Arab National Bank, Riyad Bank, Samba Financial Group and Al Rajhi Banking & Investment Corporation. Investors can also apply through the internet, phones or ATMs at any of the receiving banks.
The share capital of -Babtain Power & Telecommunication Company is SAR 270 million (US$72 million) consisting of 27 million shares with a nominal value of SAR 10 each. The IPO comprises 8.1 million shares - representing 30% of its share capital. HSBC is the financial adviser and lead manager for the IPO and SABB is the sole underwriter of the IPO and also a selling agent.
On the eve of the IPO the Company also outlined its growth potential in the Middle East & North Africa power sector which makes it one of Al-Babtain's main target markets.
Mr. Mohammad Al-Babtain, Chairman, Al-Babtain Power & Telecommunication Company, outlined the Company's sectoral growth potential. He said:'We are focused on two vertical sectors: Power & Telecom. In Power, to meet the expected 6% growth in regional demand over the next 5 years, the total installed capacity will have to increase by about 80,000 MW.'
The Gulf Electricity Interconnection Grid and the Arab Electricity Interconnection Grid that will link Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey as well as North African Grid that will link Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco will require significant distribution towers. Al-Babtain is uniquely positioned to benefit from these projects since we have operations in both Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
He added, 'Within our home market Saudi Arabia, the development of electricity sector is a crucial element in the Kingdom's economic growth. Saudi Arabia has one of the world's highest per capita consumption of electricity. Add to that the ambitious industrialization plans and the needs of a growing population. Saudi Arabia will have to expand its Power generation capacity and develop its transmission and distribution networks at a faster rate. This presents a wide opportunity for Al-Babtain's products and services.'
Al-Babtain's sales and distribution channels in Saudi Arabia include direct sales to Government and Quasi-Government parties in addition to sales to reputable local and international contractors.
In Telecom, the Saudi GSM network is expanding further as Saudi Telecom Company (STC) announced the possibility of awarding third mobile telephone license during the first quarter of 2007. In addition, both UAE and Egypt have announced that a second and third mobile telephone licence respectively will be issued in the near future, thus offering Al-Babtain, and its subsidiary Al-Babtain LeBlanc, significant growth opportunities.
Al-Babtain IPO opens for subscription | Iraq Updates
Nissan COO updates region on Value-Up
06 November 2006 (AME Info FZ LLC)
Toshiyuki Shiga, Nissan Motor Co.'s Chief Operating Officer visited Dubai today as part of Nissan's global update on the Value-Up plan.
Shiga explained the key points of Value-Up to the attendees, which include a goal of 4.2 million units in global sales by fiscal year 2008, the highest operating profit margin for a global automaker for each of the three years of the plan and a 20% return on invested capital.
The Middle East is a strategic and important market for Nissan's global growth plans, which has seen a sharp expansion rise and is currently on track to reach the targets set by Carlos Ghosn, Nissan's President and CEO, just over a year ago.
"We have set a number of ambitious plans for ourselves. After successfully completing the Nissan Revival Plan and Nissan 180, it was a natural move for us to set the bar even higher for the third of our plans' said Shiga. 'The plan involves four key breakthroughs: making Infiniti a globally recognized luxury brand, building and reinforcing the LCV (Light Commercial Vehicle) Nissan business, developing new supply sources, specifically in Europe and Asia, as well as expanding our geographical presence, of which the Middle East region is key.'
Under Value-Up, the Middle East territory comprises 26 countries, covering MENA, Maghreb and CIS countries, where Nissan has set three main pillars for the business in the region. 'We have a vision for creating value beyond the customer's expectations' explained Shiga. 'Our objective is to sell a total of 170,000 units sales by end of Fiscal Year 08, all while maintaining the highest level of customer satisfaction. We can achieve this by applying the three main pillars of our business: the Nissan Power Brand strategy, the Infiniti strategy and the Business Enhancement Strategy.'
As a testament to Nissan Value-Up objectives Nissan commits to achieve over 50% growth over the Nissan 180 sales achievement in the region.
'To help our growth in the region, Nissan will be introducing 13 new vehicles during the Value-Up period, some of which have already appeared in the region and, such as the all-new Nissan Pathfinder and Nissan Sunny' said Shiga. 'Alongside the lineup expansion, we aim to be a trusted, familiar and special brand, providing top level customer service to accompany our distinctive product lineup.'
In total, Nissan and Infiniti will launch 19 new vehicles under Value-Up period. From the Nissan line-up, the all-new Pathfinder and Sunny have already been launched and have experienced immense sales success across all markets.
For Infiniti we have a challenging target of achieving over 7000 units by 2008. These goals are already well on the way, with Infiniti becoming the fastest growing automotive luxury brand in the region. The Infiniti M, will soon be launched in the region. Infiniti will also concurrently have other initiatives like the implementation of TOE (Total Ownership Experience), IREDI (Infiniti Retail Environment Design Initiative) dedicated shopping.
Geographical expansion will also play a key part in Value-Up, with Nissan gearing up to enter a host of new markets by FY08. 'We are planning on entering several new markets, including Iraq and Libya. We will also be expanding further into Maghreb countries, namely Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.' added Shiga. 'We have already begun this expansion with the latest inaugurated showroom in Algeria in July 2006; by FY08 there will be a total of 28 new customer touch points across this area.'
'This is a key market for Nissan and Infiniti - it is one of the fastest growing markets globally and offers immense potential on many fronts.' remarked Shiga. 'It is only natural for us, as one of the major global automotive manufacturers, to put so much effort into expanding in this region. There are limitless possibilities for us, and we aim to benefit all of our customers throughout the duration of Value-Up, something I believe we have clearly been able to accomplish.'
Nissan COO updates region on Value-Up | Iraq Updates
Can pay raises curb inflation?
The Iraqi economy at present is subject to inflation pressures negatively affecting average Iraqi citizens by continually undermining their purchasing powers, said a commentary by as-Sabah daily.
Noozz.com | IRAQ