ARBIL, Iraq, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Britain's Standard Chartered bank will open its first branch in Iraqi Kurdistanearly next month, attracted by financing opportunities for largegovernment infrastructure projects planned in the autonomousregion.
The bank is one of a small number of foreign lenders withoperations in Iraq, which is experiencing rapid oil-fuelledeconomic growth, but also its worst upsurge in violence in atleast five years.
Standard Chartered opened its country head office and firstbranch last November in Baghdad's banking district, on a streetlined with blast walls and patrolled by guards with Kalashnikovrifles.
Kurdistan is relatively peaceful by contrast, and theautonomous region's main cities are full of cranes andconstruction sites.
The bank also plans to open another branch in the southernoil hub of Basra later in 2014.
Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Iraq GavinWishart told Reuters that the business environment in Kurdistanwas "progressive" and described the pace of development as"encouraging".
Security concerns and a complex regulatory and politicalenvironment have put some international firms off doing businessthere. HSBC is trying to exit Iraq by selling its stakein Dar Es Salaam Investment Bank.
"We hope that as the financial services sector develops, wecan be the partner of choice in that area," Britain's Ambassadorto Iraq Simon Collis said at a news conference during his visitto the Kurdish capital Arbil on Thursday.
Iraq's federal government and the Kurdish region are indispute over how to exploit the country's vast hydrocarbonreserves and how share the proceeds.
HSBC Holdings (HSBA)
Standard Chartered (STAN)