Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's Shia prime minister, has warned the largely Sunni protesters to stop their demonstrations. The move comes as powerful Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr voiced his support for the Sunni protests. Maliki has ordered the release of more than 700 female prisoners, a key demand of the demonstrators, but he also issued a warning […]
By John Lee. Informed sources in Basra claim that the provincial government intends to open a border crossing with Saudi Arabia with the aim of increasing exports. Both NINA news agency and Aswat al-Iraq report that the crossing will be in the Ouja al-Batin area, northwest of Basra. The crossing is expected to be opened […]
By Sherif Salem. While attending an investment conference in Erbil in November, I was struck by a theme that came through in almost all my meetings with listed-company executives: a desire to engage with foreign companies. It seems as if expertise is more in demand than capital as companies look to grow and take advantage […]
By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The Iraqi Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative-IEITI (now called Iraq Revenue Transparency-IRT) issued its second report, entitled “Oil Export and Field Development Revenues in 2010”, on 27 December 2012. The Report was released […]
By John Lee. Iraq's Minister for Electricity has signed a $74-million contract with France’s Schneider Electric to install 20 electricity substations in four southern provinces. Ministry’s spokesperson Musaab al-Mudares said: “There will be seven substations in Basra, six in Thi-Qar, four in Missan and three in Muthanna. “The new stations will contribute in stabilizing the […]
By John Lee. Azzaman reports that the Iraqi government has removed visa restrictions on pilgrims visiting Muslim shrines during ‘holy’ occasions. The move will make it possible for pilgrims to fly to the country and obtain their visas at the Iraqi airports instead of applying for it at the Iraqi embassies in their countries. Muslim […]
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a $70 million loan to help renovate a cement factory in Iraq, part of an effort to support the local building sector and aid in the country’s reconstruction. The financing will allow Kerbala Cement Manufacturing, a subsidiary of France’s Lafarge, to rehabilitate a state-owned plant […]
By Laith Hammoudi. This article was originally published by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, iwpr.net, and it is reproduced by Iraq Business News with permission. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. A tough new law that could place severe restrictions […]
Minister Falah Mustafa, the KRG's Head of Foreign Relations, met with Mr Tae-In Chung, the Deputy Director General for the African and Middle Eastern Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of South Korea to discuss bilateral ties. Both sides discussed areas of cooperation in political, economic, and cultural fields between Kurdistan […]
The streets of the Iraq capital turned into rivers after three days of heavy rain. Many parts of Baghdad are totally flooded, with poor infrastructure making it worse for the people. Some residents are accusing the government for not helping them. Al Jazeera's Omar al-Saleh reports from Baghdad: (Source: Al Jazeera)
Russia’s LUKoil has said it has cut its oil production plan in Iraq by almost a third, in line with the local government’s plans to increase the lifetime of its oilfields, reports Al Arabiya. Andrei Kuzyayev, head of LUKoil Overseas, told Russian state TV channel Rossiya-24 that LUKoil is now looking for peak production at […]
DNO International has announced that its long-serving Managing Director, Helge Eide (pictured), is stepping down effective 31 December 2012. "After almost 17 years at DNO International, including the past 13 years as Managing Director, it was time to make way for a new generation of leadership," said Eide. He noted that he originally considered leaving […]
