New Dawn for Foreign Investment in Iraq; Al Mansour selects
March 26,2010
The Al-Mansour State Company for Construction has invited Sanna Al Kassir to enter into a JV seeking international investment and specialist partners who can bring technical skills and construction knowledge to the country.
The Al-Mansour State Company for Construction is one of the public sector companies related to the Ministry of Housing and Construction. The Company is specialized in executing Public Buildings, Industrial Buildings, Grain Silos, Factories, and Housing Complexes by using both the conventional method & the pre-cast concrete method.
Website: http://www.almansourco.moch.gov.iq/
Iraq has always been considered a difficult market for foreign companies to operate, and the regulations and logistic difficulties have been substantial barriers. The Al-Mansour State Company for Construction has realized these challenges faced by foreign investors and have sought SAK to bridge the gap in communications with foreign firms. SAK CEO Hultz relayed, "The open and frank manner in which, the CEO/Director General of The Al-Mansour State Company, Shukran KH Ali Abbosh has engaged in these negotiations is a significant indicator that Al Mansour and the Ministry of Construction and Housing are committed to working with SAK and its partners to eliminate the difficulties of the past." The goal of the JV is to seek International Companies that have the knowledge base and financial capacity to improve Iraq's quality of construction standards to equal those of its neighboring countries.
SAK confirms they will not be the execution company executing construction phase of the projects, but are actively seeking those skilled foreign firms with an experienced portfolio who have intentions to enter the Iraq market. CEO Hultz stated, "500,000 thousand houses is a tall order. It is not possible to complete this through the efforts of one investment group or one Construction Company, we will need broader options."
Iraq needs many components to come together if the government is to succeed in meeting the needs of its people. Director General Shukran KH Ali Abbosh freely admits, "Iraq is in desperate need of new technologies, more modern equipment, higher quality materials, and the technical expertise to properly implement them." This JV and the broader partnerships that will develop will create a synergy that will expedite the infusion of the technologies, equipment and materials. Director General Abbosh spoke of how the direct involvement of foreign construction companies will firmly root the technology exchange that will take place. He looks forward to the partnership with SAK and showed a strong desire to engage in discussions with interested parties.
SAK currently has Chinese, Saudi, and Emirati partners who are eager to enter the Iraqi construction market. Each of these partners brings 20 to 50 years of active experience in the field of residential and commercial construction. In addition to their skills as construction enterprises, they bring significant financial facilities to the table allowing SAK and its partners to leverage its efforts to initiate a significant number of the expected housing starts. Part of these financial facilities is the ability to underwrite initial construction mortgages to the perspective home owners which will then convert to long term mortgage instruments with reasonable rates. "Yet with all of this experience, we will still need more partnerships to succeed in Al Mansour's mission for the full number of starts planned for the next ten years," Hultz stated.
Sanna Al Kassir General Trading Company, in conjunction with its partners, operates offices in Australia, Canada, China, Dubai, Jordan, Lebanon, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the United States and has maintained an active full time presence in Iraq since early 2005.
March 26,2010
The Al-Mansour State Company for Construction has invited Sanna Al Kassir to enter into a JV seeking international investment and specialist partners who can bring technical skills and construction knowledge to the country.
The Al-Mansour State Company for Construction is one of the public sector companies related to the Ministry of Housing and Construction. The Company is specialized in executing Public Buildings, Industrial Buildings, Grain Silos, Factories, and Housing Complexes by using both the conventional method & the pre-cast concrete method.
Website: http://www.almansourco.moch.gov.iq/
Iraq has always been considered a difficult market for foreign companies to operate, and the regulations and logistic difficulties have been substantial barriers. The Al-Mansour State Company for Construction has realized these challenges faced by foreign investors and have sought SAK to bridge the gap in communications with foreign firms. SAK CEO Hultz relayed, "The open and frank manner in which, the CEO/Director General of The Al-Mansour State Company, Shukran KH Ali Abbosh has engaged in these negotiations is a significant indicator that Al Mansour and the Ministry of Construction and Housing are committed to working with SAK and its partners to eliminate the difficulties of the past." The goal of the JV is to seek International Companies that have the knowledge base and financial capacity to improve Iraq's quality of construction standards to equal those of its neighboring countries.
SAK confirms they will not be the execution company executing construction phase of the projects, but are actively seeking those skilled foreign firms with an experienced portfolio who have intentions to enter the Iraq market. CEO Hultz stated, "500,000 thousand houses is a tall order. It is not possible to complete this through the efforts of one investment group or one Construction Company, we will need broader options."
Iraq needs many components to come together if the government is to succeed in meeting the needs of its people. Director General Shukran KH Ali Abbosh freely admits, "Iraq is in desperate need of new technologies, more modern equipment, higher quality materials, and the technical expertise to properly implement them." This JV and the broader partnerships that will develop will create a synergy that will expedite the infusion of the technologies, equipment and materials. Director General Abbosh spoke of how the direct involvement of foreign construction companies will firmly root the technology exchange that will take place. He looks forward to the partnership with SAK and showed a strong desire to engage in discussions with interested parties.
SAK currently has Chinese, Saudi, and Emirati partners who are eager to enter the Iraqi construction market. Each of these partners brings 20 to 50 years of active experience in the field of residential and commercial construction. In addition to their skills as construction enterprises, they bring significant financial facilities to the table allowing SAK and its partners to leverage its efforts to initiate a significant number of the expected housing starts. Part of these financial facilities is the ability to underwrite initial construction mortgages to the perspective home owners which will then convert to long term mortgage instruments with reasonable rates. "Yet with all of this experience, we will still need more partnerships to succeed in Al Mansour's mission for the full number of starts planned for the next ten years," Hultz stated.
Sanna Al Kassir General Trading Company, in conjunction with its partners, operates offices in Australia, Canada, China, Dubai, Jordan, Lebanon, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the United States and has maintained an active full time presence in Iraq since early 2005.