Iraqi Kurdistan
says it’s open for business
novembre 13, 2006
MSBNBC.com – by Michael E.Ross
Semi-autonomous region woos the West with high-profile
ad campaign. While other parts of Iraq remain mired in
unrest, the northern region known as Kurdistan is touting itself
as an oasis and aggressively courting businesses and tourists.
The push for development includes a Western-style
advertising strategy with ads on cable TV, in radio
and magazines, and a new investment law approved by the region's
National Assembly to attract money from foreign investors. The
region's economy already is one of the strongest in the Middle East.
Full-court press:
The U.S. ad campaign, which has a counterpart in Europe, is underwritten
by the Kurdistan Development Corporation, with offices in London,
Berlin and Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan. It emphasizes a region
ready for economic development.
In a TV commercial, people of all ages are seen building a community
— planting trees, driving bulldozers, working in a laboratory
— in images meant to convey a model of modernity, an area
bustling with industry.
“See the promise,” intones the ad's narrator.
“Share the dream,” says a young girl, who walks toward
the viewer bearing a bright, glowing globe.
On a companion Web site, investors and tourists are invited to “a
place where the universities, markets, cafes and fair grounds buzz
with progress and prosperity.”
Bayan Rahman, chairman of the corporation, said the ad campaign's
purpose was “to raise awareness of the Kurdistan region among
the grassroots of America, to make people aware that the Kurdistan
region exists — some people still mix us up with Kyrgyzstan
and Kazahkstan — and that the region is peaceful and stable,
and we are rebuilding.”
“There’s a misperception of what northern Iraq is,”
said Sal Russo, president of the Russo, Marsh & Rogers ad agency,
which created the ads. “This is going to be a long-term project,
to educate Americans to the realities of the region." Business
and tourism:
Under the new investment law, foreign investors have the
same rights as Iraqi investors, with full ownership of their projects.
Companies may transfer profits or income abroad without having
to pay taxes or customs.
The law also gives foreign investors major incentives, including
exemptions from all noncustoms taxes and duties for 10 years.
Imported equipment, machinery, tools, parts and other
expenses are now largely exempt from taxes.
Iraqi Kurdistan also hopes to increase tourism to its historical
attractions — museums, castles, mosques and other architectural
sites, some dating to the 12th century.
“An emerging market”
Several U.S. companies have paid a visit, including Ford, General
Motors, Cummins, Motorola, Federal Express and DaimlerChrysler.
Investors from the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates,
Kuwait and Lebanon, already are in the region. The leading British
trade association, representing engineering, healthcare and oil
production companies, also has visited.
The oil-rich north, the heart of Iraqi Kurdistan, is certainly
an incentive for investment. One Kurdish oil official estimated
the region has reserves of 45 billion barrels of oil, and 100
trillion cubic feet of natural gas. But some U.S. oil companies
have been reluctant to invest in refineries there because of fears
of sabotage or injuries to their workers.
We are interested and they are interested,” Shell Oil Co.
president John Hofmeister said in July, of Shell's investment
in the region, depending on safety for its employees. “We
need those conditions in place to take it to the next level,”
he said. “It's too soon to make a judgment on how close
we are. I suspect we could be a few years away.”
“The Kurdistan region is secure,” Rahman insists.
“It doesn't mean we're immune from terrorist attacks but
in terms of all-out civil war, there's no insurgency, there's
no terrorism.”
“Property prices are going up. People who invested
a few years ago are doing very well,” said Rahman, who is
based in Iraqi Kurdistan. “Today we have five universities
and soon we'll have six. Compare that with 1991, when we had one.”
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