Turkish capital grabs hold of northern Iraq

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

A newly developed shopping mall in Arbil is seen above. Turkish companies active in northern Iraq are involved in many businesses, including retail sectors. AA photo

Nearly one in every two foreign firms in northern Iraq, the autonomous Iraqi region, belongs to Turks, Customs and Trade Minister Hayati Yazıcı has said in response to a parliamentary question from Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputy Altan Tan.

The number of Turkish companies active in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) - which covers cities such as Arbil, Suleymaniyah, Dohuk, Zaho - totaled 1,085 as of October 2012, Yazıcı said. There are 2,241 foreign companies in the region from 78 different countries, so the ratio of Turkish firms stands at 48 percent of this total.

The Turkish companies in northern Iraq are active in construction, trade, electricity, energy, logistics, transportation, tourism, marketing and promotion, food, shopping mall management, consultancy, banking, car rentals, and insurance, Yazıcı said. Unlike companies from many other countries, Turkish firms do not need local partnerships to found businesses in northern Iraq, he added.