Standard Chartered Opens Branch in Iraq

BBC reports that Standard Chartered has opened a bank branch in, Baghdad.

Opening the branch, Prime Minister Nouri Maliki said the move was an "indicator of trust" in Iraq's economy, adding that the UK had supported Iraq "from the beginning".

The British ambassador to Iraq, Simon Collis, said the UK was dedicated to setting up a "transparent and diversified" financial sector in the country.

The bank will cater for Standard Chartered's global clients in Iraq, working in oil, telecoms and infrastructure, and will also work with the Iraqi government, its ministries and the Iraqi Central Bank in its advisory role.

Another two branches will be opened in Erbil and Basra by 2014.

(Source: BBC)