Basra local official ponders banking development mechanism

BASRA / Aswast al-Iraq: Basra Provincial Council Chairman Jabbar Amin said he discussed on Sunday with local officials the mechanisms to develop the province’s banking sector and proposed projects in this field. “Discussions with the director of al-Rafidain Bank and the Basra Tax Department chief dealt with projects in the city and the financial and banking preparations required before investment companies come to Basra,” Amin told IraqiNews.com news agency. He said that importance attached to the banking and tax sectors reflects the need to vary economic resources and facilitate investors’ work. “Basra has witnessed a banking upsurge after the year 2003, manifested in the opening of several banks with the aim of activating the private sector role in stretching a helping hand in the reconstruction  process,” he added. The oil-rich port city of Basra lies 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. AmR (P)/SR 1