Iraq Seeks $2 Billion Loan for Boeing Jets With Citi as Adviser

Iraq will seek $2 billion in financing for some of the 40 jetliners it has on order from Boeing Co. (BA:US) as the Middle Eastern country recovering from years of warfare taps U.S. export credit for the first time.

A committee drawn from Iraq’s transport and finance ministries, Central Bank and Iraqi Airways, which will use the planes, will be formed tomorrow to negotiate the funding, Deputy Transport Minister Bangen Rekani said in a telephone interview.

Citigroup Inc. (C:US) will be invited next week to advise on the plan, Rekani said, with Iraq having relied on its status as the world’s fourth-largest oil exporter to fund the bulk of a Boeing deal worth $5 billion at current list prices. The Gulf nation ordered 30 737-800s in 2008, followed by 10 787-8 long-haul Dreamliners in 2009 and a single 777 in 2012, with three planes delivered to date and two more due in the next few weeks.