Welcome to the voice on demand podcast by the Middle East Council of Shopping Centers and retailers were with Ghana CEO off icy development and real estate in Erbil, Iraq. Iraq is a growing market for the retail and shopping center industry, one of the countries which have shown an enormous growth in trade and consumer demand last 2017. In fact, one of the biggest South Korean electronics maker, LG Electronics, have even opened its largest overseas brand shop in Iraq. It's an 870 square meter, two story shop located in Erbil. Ella Bells on online fashion retailer has also started shipping massively its inventory in Iraq. So obviously there are so many things happening in this country. And what better way to know the actual facts than from someone who lives and works dedicated? Lee in Iraq is on Thank you very much

for coming to the in Dubai investing us. Thank you, Justin, for this nice conversation. Actually, Iraq is very need. The nature is very nice, uh, containing oil very, very rich with natural resources like oil, like minerals like water, like for agriculture, also on, uh, the population. It's almost now more than 14 million people Iraq need for everything. Henry for everything. Uh, like starting from hospitality brand hospital branding hotels. If one of the brand retails international, like coffee shops are fashion open 15 store in one time in one day in one hour in Iraq will be very, very profitable. So it's a perfect environment. It's highly attractive for investors. It's a perfect environment for, you know

, setting up a business and actually growing your business there. That's incredible. Yes, yeah, you know, you should have hard, hard to take a little bit risk on. After this, you will get from the nation from the old people's that they like to entering new stuff, new brands, new coffee shops, new hypermarkets. There's no engagements without risks anyhow. And, uh, it's all about, you know, getting there first and getting their taking, taking the opportunity, not missing it exactly. Look, if you want high income, you should take a risk. If you didn't take a risk, you will always live in this struggling on in a tough time. And oh, this month I didn't I lose money. I didn't make a profit or good profit. Dubai is very nice for based off business, but

we have to do way, have toe make a steps for new markets, toe open new doors to take new opportunities. Believe me, anyone come first. He will take the whole, uh, plate for him. So this'd is the main point. Anything that anyone he think for Newmarket He should came for Iraq especially. There's three city in Iraq, which is the highly demand. Which cities are this? Erbil, Baghdad and Kirkuk. This is the three city Almost. It's, uh, two million more than two million uh, nation people also Baghdad. It is almost 89 million car cook. It is almost two million Onder built is three million. So, uh, in Kirkuk there is no any

shopping mall way depending on this, we decided toe open our shopping mall student off You have Kirkuk way are building now investing now more off our cook. There were not only shopping mall in the city on we uh Now we're finishing the structure off the shopping mall. We are planning the ground opening for quarter 3 2020. Inshallah, Andi, Also we bring a lot off mark a lot of brands and also car full international. Yes, international brands with the international management. Also maybe with JLL or all C b r E. That's one of them. Yeah, we are very interested. They are very interesting to entering Iraq on with a company like us, because we have long experience in Iraq. Market on we are Thanks for the good one

of the successful Cos group in Iraq. Mm Well, it seems very, very promising. Congratulations for your upcoming opening off Kirkuk Mall, mall of Kirkuk, and I'm sure there are gonna be a lot of a lot of traction for that. What are the latest trends that you see coming form all of Kirkuk that can be offered to the consumers to the to the mall goers coffee shops, which is in all Iraq? I can say there is no one international coffee shop brand for all Iraq, just its original brands. Like we have some Turkish brands. It's named Model, but it's not like a Starbucks Tim Hortons, Caribou, Andi Also don't forget that 35 more than sorry. 45% off the age of the Iraqi nation. It is young nation, so everyone, every smart entrepreneur on businessman should sing in this

range It's very high range off the people he can take very good resources on, uh, for the human resource is Iraq is very rich, by the way. In Erbil City way have mountains, we have snow. We have very nice in the natural resources for the tourism. We have, uh, Carter named Chaklala. He's very nice city for the tourism on, uh, yearly, we have more than one million internal and external visitors to visit the Emmy CSR directory, which lists down all of the malls the region way have recorded about 14 models in Iraq that we need as investors to keep our eye on off course. Kirkuk model is one of those malls owned and developed by how Carry Group and Menara Almaden Managing, leased by Isay Development model of Kirkuk

has, um all sides of 41,500 square meters, 20,000 of G L. A three floors, 90 retail outlets and 1200 car parks Expected on on football is 5,400,000 will be the biggest gathering place in Kirkuk. Indeed, the best location for the best mall in a multi ethnic city with a population of more than 1.4 million. Stay tuned for the next episode. Onley here at the voice of the band retail podcast by the Middle East Council, off shopping centers and retailers.