Monday, 1 September 2003 - MVT68/2003 

Australian Participation in Trade Bank of Iraq Consortium

Trade Minister Mark Vaile today welcomed news that a consortium of international banks including ANZ Bank has been selected to provide services to the newly established Trade Bank of Iraq.

The new Trade Bank has been set up by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq as part of efforts to assist Iraq’s rehabilitation and resumption of normal trade flows, specifically by issuing and confirming letters of credit.  It is expected to begin operations next month.

To assist the establishment of the Trade Bank, international banks were invited by the CPA to participate in bids to provide financial and training services in the first year of operations. The winning consortium is led by JP Morgan Chase and includes ANZ Bank, which will provide letter of credit services for the Australasian region and globally for Australian companies that require support.

“This is an excellent outcome for ANZ, and shows the value of Australian companies linking up in strategic alliances with US firms in order to bid for contracts to assist in Iraq’s rehabilitation,”Mr Vaile said.

As part of Australia's ongoing support for the rehabilitation of Iraq, the Government provided one of several senior technical advisors to assist the selection panel in their assessment of the consortia.

“The establishment of the Trade Bank of Iraq will assist in ensuring that trade can continue to flow to Iraq following the end of the UN Oil-For-Food program in November. Its establishment will also be important for Australian exporters seeking to sell goods and services to Iraq.

Contact:  Matthew Doman  02 6277 7420