Comprehensive evaluation of the foreign direct investment (FDI) opportunities in Iraq: the Karbala Cement Manufacturing Company as a case study

This paper explores the benefits of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Karbala Cement Manufacturing Company (KCMC) as a case study. The benefits of FDI by the French company LAFARGE were measured by conducting a comparison before and after investment. To do so, information held in archival records and documents before and after the LAFARGE investment were reviewed, analysed and triangulated with the secondary literature. The findings show a remarkable growth in production after the rehabilitation of the first and second production lines following the LAFARGE investment, together with a significant decrease in costs, with KCMC benefitting from economies of scale. In addition, sales increased notably, with a considerable increase in the areas of market location, plus three new types of cement and a ready mixed concrete were added to the product portfolio to strengthen market position. This research contributes to the literature published on the benefits of investment into companies in developing countries such as Iraq. The practical contribution of this study is the increased awareness of the potential improvement of not only the cement industry in Iraq, but the lessening of oil dependency for the country, and the potential increased revenues for the government.