Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI), established to finance trade and help in the reconstruction of the country, plans to issue about US$7.5 billion in letters of credit (L/Cs) this year according a top official.

The amount is up on the US$6.3 billion of L/Cs issued last year, at the end of which the bank had written credits to the value of US$25 billion since it was established in 2003, president and chairman Hussein al-Uzri says.

Trade and investment

The L/Cs will be offered to importers of foodstuffs and commodities.

The credits will also be available to importers of materials and equipment for power generation and transmission, the oil sector and other infrastructure projects.

More project finance

Amongst the larger deals the bank has been involved in is the 500 megawatt power plant in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil, which will begin operating in March 2008 according to al-Uzri.

The bank wants to "expand from trade finance to more project finance and participate in major projects in the country and be one of the conduits for foreign investment in Iraq," he says.

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