By Tom Walker, Director, Assaye Risk COUNTRY OVERVIEW The Ankara dance with Erbil and Baghdad continued for much of this reporting period as Turkey’s President Erdogan continues to tread a fine balance between multiple regional stakeholders in the hope of neutralizing the al Qaeda (AQ) threat in northern Syria and of maximizing to potential of […]
This week in our Iraq Business News newsetter: 52 senior UK business executives visit Iraq; 27 articles for our readers; 16 new jets for Iraqi Airways; 2 major new contracts; 1 great Iraqi business website -- share it with your friends and colleagues!
Bombardier Aerospace has announced that Iraqi Airways, the national carrier of Iraq, has signed a letter of intent (LOI) to acquire five CS300 mainline jetliners. The LOI includes options on 11 CS300 aircraft. Based on CS300 airliner list price, a firm order would be valued at approximately $387 million US and could increase to $1.26 […]
By John Lee. Hotel management company Rotana has opened its second property in Iraq. The Karbala Rayhaan is a five-star property in the tourist city of Karbala, which attracts more than 12 million visitors a year. Omer Kaddouri, executive vice president and chief operating officer, said: “In 2012 Iraq posted a GDP growth rate of […]
By John Lee. Egypt's Petrojet has won a $100-million tender to design, supply and install the butane pipeline project from Nasiriyah to Khor Al-Zubair in Basra. Company boss Mohamed Shemy [Mohamed Shimy] said the project is to be completed within 18 months. According to a report from Egypt Independent, the company beat competition from Russia, […]
Ten members of the Iraq Britain Business Council's trade and education mission to Iraq met the President of the Kurdistan region, Massoud Barzani, at his residence North of Erbil on Wednesday (November 20th) The members, part of the biggest ever trade delegation to Baghdad and Erbil, were warmly welcomed by the President. The IBBC’s Executive […]
By John Lee. Russia's Gazprom Neft has picked a contractor to drill six production wells in the Badra field in Iraq which it operates. China’s Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas Group Co., Ltd (ZPEC) has won the tender. The contract includes engineering, procurement and drilling of wells. Two rigs will start drilling in March 2014. […]
By John Lee. Oil Review Middle East reports that the Kuwait-based Safwan Petroleum Technologies Company (SPETCO) has said that it is looking to expand its upstream oil and gas services in Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Anish Abraham, the company's manager of OFS/BD, told ORME that its specific attention in terms of marketing and distribution was […]
By John Lee. French-based telecommunications company Orange has said that it expects rapid customer and revenue growth in Iraq, where it took a 20 percent stake in mobile operator Korek two years ago. Marc Rennard (pictured), the company's executive vice president for Africa, the Middle East and Asia, told Reuters: "We have just reached five […]
By John Lee. Lebanese investments in Iraqi Kurdistan account for 10 percent of the total investments in the region, and will exceed $3 billion, reports Aswat Al Iraq. The Chairman of the Lebanese-Kurdish Friendship Association, Ali Adeeb, said that the Lebanese investors were the first to come to the Kurdish region, investing in construction, banking, […]
By John Lee. Local authorities in Basra province have reportedly threatened to break away from the central government and create an autonomous region of their own. The idea was rekindled by MP Wail Abd al-Latif, who told Rudaw: “Efforts toward making Basra an autonomous region is a project and not a trump card against the […]
By John Lee. Aswat al-Iraq reports that an estimated 17.000 tons of dates were exported last month to Asian countries, and the exports are still continuing. Before the Iran-Iraq war, about 500,000 tons of dates are typically exported annually, but damage to the date plantations resulted decreased this figure. (Source: Aswat Al Iraq) (Dates image […]
