A Russian thinktank has predicted that China will be the fourth biggest buyer of weapons from Russia between 2013 and 2016, falling from the second place it held during the 2005 to 2013 period, according to a China Times. The Center for Analysis of World Arms Trade stated in a report released on Dec. 13 […]
Author Archive | Matthew Gayle
Iraq Closes Border With Syria
Prim Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government ordered the Iraq border with Syria closed on Tuesday to aid a massive military operation hunting for al-Qaeda and militant hideouts in the western desert of Iraq. Iraq’s Prime Minister Maliki has been a strong supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and reports suggested that his government was facilitating the transfer […]
BIS To Accept Additional Deposits From Iraq
The Central Bank of Iraq announced on Sunday that it has received a memo from the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) in Basel Switzerland announcing that it will accept more deposits from Iraq. “This procedure will contribute in increasing Iraq’s money revenues after keeping it in a very secure location,” the Central Bank explained. The […]
Iraq’s Cihan Bank To Open UAE Branch
Cihan Bank, a leading private sector Islamic bank from Iraq, is planning to set up a representative office in the UAE and has plans to enter into tie-up with leading UAE banks, according to reports from Gulf News. “Currently, we have an office in Dubai,” Gulf News quoted Nawzad Yahya Bajger, vice chairman of Cihan. […]
Journalists Killed In Militant Attack On TV Station
Five people, including a new anchor, were killed in a suicide bombing on Monday after armed militants stormed a TV complex in Tikrit, Iraq, according to CNN. A car bomb exploded outside the Salaheddin TV station, and the local offices of al Iraqiya state TV in Tikrit. The militants stormed the offices, and a suicide […]
Dana Begins Arbitration Proceedings On Kurdish Contract
By Matthew Gayle. According to Iraq Oil Report, the consortium managing the only producing natural gas field in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region is taking the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to court, alleging overdue payments that are likely to total over $2 billion. Dana Gas, a United Arab Emirates fuel producer, began arbitration proceedings in London on rights […]
Iraq Begins Receiving Russia Arms Shipments
By Matthew Gayle. According to UPI, Iraqi officials are saying that the military has started taking delivery of Russian arms as part of a landmark $4.3 billion contract signed in October 2012. The officials have not specified which systems have arrived in Iraq or when, but UPI’s sources say it’s understood they include 10 fully […]
Ukraine Offers Lowest Bid For Iraq Wheat Tender
By Matthew Gayle. Ukrainian wheat was offered at the lowest price of $326 a tonne c&f free out (ciffo) in a tender from Iraq’s state grain board to purchase at least 50,000 tonnes, European traders said on Monday. The offer was for 50,000 tonnes. A separate offer for 50,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat was made […]
Iraq’s Dysfunctional Elite
By Harith Hasan for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Last month, demonstrators in the southern Iraqi cities of Nassiriya and Basra organized nightly rallies to protest the government’s failure to provide enough electricity for households during the notoriously hot summer. With temperatures exceeding 113 degrees Fahrenheit during July […]
Anbar Completes Highway to Saudi Arabia
Anbar province recently announced its completion of a 12 billion Iraqi dinar ($10.3 million) highway project linking western Iraq to Saudi Arabia. Anbar province spokesman Mohammed Fathi Hantoush explained that the highway, called the Land Pilgrimage Road, is 230 kilometres long and links central Anbar to the Saudi border at Arar border crossing. Hantoush added […]
Marathon Expects Kurdish Oil Production by 2015
On Thursday, Marathon Oil Corp. said it expects to start producing oil from its operations in the Kurdish region of Iraq within the next two years. The company posted an 8.4 percent increase in net income for the second quarter of 2013, according to its quarterly report. According to UPI, the company said it is planning […]
PetroChina to Join Exxon on West Qurna Oilfield
China’s largest energy firm, PetroChina, will join ExxonMobil in developing Iraq’s giant West Qurna oilfield and is in talks with Lukoil to buy into a second project at the field, according to the South China Morning Post. China is already the top foreign player in Iraq’s southern oilfields, and a deal at West Qurna would boost […]