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New Baghdad-London Flights Massive Boost to UK Business

The Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) has welcomed the resumption of direct flights between Baghdad and London after more than 20 years -- the first Iraqi Airways plane will land this evening (March 5th 2013) at Gatwick Airport. Baroness Nicholson, Executive Chairman of the Iraq Britain Business Council, said: "This is terrific news. There are […]

Bloom Signs Huge Housing Deal

By John Lee. UAE-based Bloom Properties has announced that it has signed a deal to build a massive new housing project on a 20 square kilometer site on the banks of Lake Razaza in Karbala. Construction Week Online reports that the company will develop up to 40,000 housing units in four different districts over a […]

US, Iraq Discuss Counter-terrorist Financing

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, David S. Cohen (pictured), visited Iraq to continue the Treasury Department’s work on countering threats posed by terrorist financing, as well as the implementation of international sanctions against the governments of Iran and Syria. In a series of productive meetings with senior […]

Baghdad, Erbil Trade Accusations on Oil Payments

By Omar al-Shaher for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Baghdad and Erbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq, have exchanged accusations over the payment of foreign oil companies for extraction costs, which the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) […]

Video: Is Iraq Heading for its own Arab Spring?

From Jewish News One. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Last week demonstrators in Iraq converged at the so-called 'tent city' protest to hear the Sunni finance minister announce his resignation live on stage, where he stated that "it doesn't honour me […]

KRG President Barzani Meets US Ambassador

In a meeting with the US Ambassador to Iraq Robert Beecroft on Sunday, President Barzani said the KRG believes that only through meaningful dialogue can Iraq’s current crisis be ended and that the KRG is working to initiate consultation meetings with other Iraqi sides in Erbil. In the meeting, President Barzani and Ambassador Beecroft discussed […]

Indonesia's Pertamina Eyes Iraq

By John Lee. Pertamina, Indonesia’s state-owned oil and gas company, has said it is considering expanding its upstream business in Iraq. The company's investment planning and risk-management director, Afdal Bahaudin, told The Jakarta Post that the second-largest oil producer in the country would keep on searching for producing onshore oil fields available to purchase in […]

New 4G Mobile Service to be Launched

Alcatel-Lucent and Regional Telecom, a communications service provider in Northern Iraq, are to launch the nation’s first 4G LTE network, providing the region with lightning-fast wireless broadband services including high-definition video streaming, high-speed Internet access and a range of business services. The new network will be the first in Iraq to offer large-scale wireless broadband […]

Iraq Shuts Syrian Border Post

By John Lee. Iraqi military sources say they have closed the Rabia border crossing with Syria until further notice as Syrian rebels seized the other side of the frontier post from the Syrian army. Reuters reports that the Iraqi army fired warning shots into the air late on Friday as Syrian insurgents fought government forces […]

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Start of Production at Gharraf Delayed

By John Lee. Japan Petroleum Exploration (Japex) and its partners have delayed the start of production in the Gharraf [Garraf] oil field by six months, according to Bloomberg. Production was scheduled for the end of 2012, but will now be postponed until the end of June; a company official blamed the delay on problems with […]

Details of $700m Upgrade to Basra Steel Plant

Iraq’s ministry of industry and minerals has confirmed that it has finalised a $700 million contract with Turkish group United Brothers Holding to revamp and upgrade Iraq’s State Company for Iron & Steel, reports SteelGuru. SCIS, located on the southern outskirts of Basra, has been out of action since April 2003. The company had a design […]