General Electric Wins Iraq Power-generation Contract, Beating Siemens: FT

(RTTNews) - General Electric (GE) has won a major contract to supply power to Iraq, beating German rival Siemens AG (SIEGY.PK, SMAWF), after the Trump administration intervened, FT reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal reportedly is worth $15 billion.

In recent weeks, Munich-based Siemens was reported to be close to securing a contract to supply 11 gigawatts of power-generation equipment to Iraq.

But, towards the final stage of the deal, the Trump administration put pressure on the Iraqi government, reminding Baghdad that 7,000 Americans had died since the 2003 invasion to oust Saddam Hussein, the report said.

GE is now expected to take a substantial share of the sale. The contract win is expected to boost the plunging profits of GE's troubled power division. Earlier this month, it was reported that the company would take a non-cash write down of up to $23 billion in the third quarter.

The US and Iraqi governments have already signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding regarding their cooperation on oil and gas production and power generation.

In pre-market activity on the NYSE, GE shares were trading at $12.16, up 0.50%.