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Iraq fails to attract domestic capital

Due to the deteriorating security situation as well as underdeveloped financial and banking apparatuses, Iraqi capital has been migrating outside the country.
An employee of the Standard Chartered bank enters the bank in Baghdad, December 1, 2013. British lender Standard Chartered  launched banking operations in Iraq on Wednesday, saying it hoped to benefit from large infrastructure projects in a country trying to rebuild after years of conflict.  REUTERS/Ahmed Saad    (IRAQ - Tags - Tags: BUSINESS) - RTX15ZHF
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BAGHDAD — Iraq is not attracting domestic capital belonging to its citizens. Inadequate economic and investment policies in addition to widespread corruption have contributed to a new migration of Iraqi capital. This time, capital is going to Georgia, which provides much assistance for those who want to invest in the country.

The head of the Federation of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce, Jaafar al-Hamdani, a businessman and investor, told Al-Monitor that Iraqi capital — valued at billions of dollars — has began moving toward other countries such as states of the [former] Soviet Union, including Georgia, which is now attracting a lot of capital from Iraq.

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