LONDON, Jan 23: Iraq’s Minister for Industries and Minerals Fauzi Hariri, who is here negotiating a deal with the Corus Steel for rehabilitating his country’s steel mill, believes that the cycle of violence in Iraq “will come to an and when that happens Iraq’s economy will rebound very quickly and, therefore, it is business as usual in my ministry.”
Addressing a press conference here on Monday at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Mr. Hariri said that his government had decided to adopt free market economy to make the most of the ongoing globalisation.
“In this connection we have plans to privatise the 230 or so factories now under the state control, but before we do that we would like to make them profitable,” he added.He said the shares of the companies to be privatised would first be offered to the workers and then to the 15 governorates (provinces).
He said the money for running these factories before they are privatised would come from both the budget as well as from private sources by way of loans and equity.
He said the major industrial sectors in his country comprised construction, engineering, petrochemicals, food and drugs, textiles and research and development.
All these sectors according to him were self contained and interdependent and “that was why they had sustained even during the sanctions.”
He said he was in the US last week discussing with multinational companies and experts in the fields of Iraq’s interest, “we discussed possibilities of joint ventures and also investment in ventures that would bridge the technological gaps from which Iraq is suffering at present.”
Answering a question he said the US investors were certainly nervous about investing in the war ravaged country, but “they also see the potential of profits if they invest today.”
He said there were only two places in Iraq--Baghdad and Anmbar-- where there is violence. “Most other places are relatively peaceful with occasional disturbances.”
He thought a good chunk of the $700 billion of oil related income, with which the Middle East and Gulf countries are awash at present, would certainly flow to Iraq as the margin of profit in the country is perhaps the highest in the world today “and the reason for that is well known, but if you invest today when things are bad you will reap millions when things get better in the country.”
He said his factories were at the moment running at 30 per cent capacity and making around $200 million annually, “this is commendable considering that most of these factories have been severely damaged by the war and also face shortages of power and fuel as do the people of Iraq generally.”
He said at the moment the 16 cement factories in Iraq were producing 3 million tons of the commodity, “we want to increase this production to 15 million tons, which would still satisfy only half of the annual demand from the construction industry.”
According to him the Iraqi textile industry, which employees about 20,000 people is making about $25 million annually and “its main customers at present are the ministries of defence and interior which need material in increasing quantities to make uniforms.”
He said Turkey, Egypt and the UAE had shown keen interest in investing in Iraq, “but at the moment they too seem to be exploring, waiting and watching.”
Answering a question he said, his government has no plans to sell oil fields and wells, “ we may sell refineries but not oil fields because at the moment we need a lot of financial resources and oil incomes would largely satisfy this demand.”