By John Lee. the Basra Iron & Steel Company (BISCO) has reportedly put its new rebar mill investment on hold due to regional political issues. A decision on further progress is expected to be taken after talks with the Basra Investment Commission (BIC) later in September. ArabSteel reports that BISCO, an investment by Isa Unal, […]
The World Happiness Report 2013, published by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UNSDSN), reports that Iraqis are the 105th happiest nation worldwide, out of 156 countries surveyed. The country scored lower than neighbouring Kuwait (32nd), Saudi Arabia (33rd), Jordan (74th), Turkey (77th) and Iraq (115th). Denmark headed the table, with Togo in last place. […]
By Tom Walker, Director, Assaye Risk COUNTRY OVERVIEW Levels of violence remained constant this week as Sunni insurgents continue to pressurize and attack the Shia majority. Unsurprisingly, the violence predominated in and around Baghdad but was also seen in the smaller satellite towns to the south and north of the capital. Late in the week […]
By John Lee. Iraq Business News is growing. Less than six months ago, the list of subscribers to our free weekly newsletter hit 15,000 — last week we topped 18,000! To put it another way, every working day twenty-five new readers join the ranks of the best-informed business minds in Iraq. Many of these join on […]
By John Lee. Oil minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi [Elaibi] (pictured) told Reuters on Wednesday that Baghdad signed a deal with BP "about 10 days ago" to revive the northern Kirkuk oilfield. The agreement allows BP to negotiate access to significant reserves in the north in return for helping Baghdad arrest a huge decline in output […]
By John Lee. The head of Kuwait-based telecommunications company Zain Group has described Iraq as a "promising country" where he expects further growth. In an interview with Arabic TV business channel CNBC Arabiya, CEO Scott Gegenheimer (pictured) said: "Zain Iraq is a critical part of the Group representing 40% of our revenues and 31% of […]
By John Lee. Oil minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi [Elaibi] told Reuters on Wednesday that the Majnoon oilfield was expected to start a 10-day test production phase on 20th September, after which the field was expected to ramp up towards full production. The Shell-operated field is expected to add 175,000 bpd of capacity in the initial […]
By John Lee. A source at Mosul Airport has told Reuters: "Security forces closed Mosul airport without giving any reason. All flights are cancelled. "To begin with [the authorities] said there was information about a hijacked plane, and then they said it was closed for maintenance purposes, but there are no maintenance works." The closure […]
The U.S. Department of State warns U.S. citizens against all but essential travel to Iraq.Due to heightened safety and security risks and the ongoing threat of terrorist activities throughout Iraq, the U.S. government remains highly concerned about the danger to U.S. citizens, whether visiting or residing in Iraq, and to U.S. facilities and businesses. Threats […]
By Mark DeWeaver. So far this has been a bad year for shareholders of Dar Es Salaam Bank (BDSI). Adjusting for July’s 23.2% rights and 18.5% bonus issues, the shares are down 36% year-to-date (as of September 10). This compares to a ytd return of -5% for the ISX index and +6% for Rabee Securities […]
By John Lee. Shares in Gulf Keystone Petroleum surged more than 25 percent when trading re-commenced at lunchtime on Tuesday, following a court finding in the company's favour. A summary of the English Commercial Court in London's decision was given in court this morning following the trial of the claims asserted by Excalibur Ventures LLC […]
UAE-based Gulf Precast has signed a contract to build 65 precast schools in various locations in Central Iraq. The design of the schools and their boundary walls has already been finalised. While the initial part of the production is under way in the UAE, Gulf Precast is already in the process of setting up a […]
