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Work Starts on Best Western's Two Iraq Hotels

Construction has started on Best Western’s first two hotels in Iraq which will operate under the Best Western Premier brand in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, reports Hotelier Middle East. The 82-room Best Western Premier Erbil Airport will be the first to open in 2013, located near to the recently-opened Erbil International Airport. This […]

Duhok Opens $11m Conference Centre

A new $11 million USD (13 billion IQD) conference hall was opened last week in Duhok city, according to AKnews. Bayar Ramzi, director for Cultural Center of Duhok University, told the agency that the design of the conference center was selected by the president of Duhok University for its modern lines. The conference center, intended […]

GE to Help Iraq in Healthcare Infrastructure

GE Healthcare, the healthcare business of GE (NYSE: GE), showcased its range of advanced healthcare technologies that will enable Iraq to develop a modern healthcare infrastructure, at the 38th Baghdad International Trade Fair held recently. GE Healthcare participated in the exhibition themed ‘Construction New Investment in the New Iraq’ as part of the USA Pavilion. […]

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New Iranian Development Contracts in Wassit

The deputy chairman of Wassit provincial council, Mehdi al-Mussawi, told Aswat al-Iraq that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with an Iranian company to build a 500-megawatt power station on a deferred payment basis, in addition to a 400-bed hospital and 5000 flats housing complex. The MOU, which the approval of the electricity […]

Washington "Behind Baghdad on Oil Issue"

Washington supports Baghdad's position regarding ExxonMobil's oil contracts with the Kurdistan Regional Government, according to reports from AKnews. Mahmoud Othman, a Representative from the Kurdish Blocs Coalition in the Iraqi Council of Representatives, told AKnews the measures the Iraqi government has taken towards Exxon are political and not economic. He said Baghdad believes this company […]

Impact Iraq: Can the Country Save Itself from Global Economic Crises?

The industrialized world continues to struggle through a prolonged economic crisis. An Iraqi commentator in Berlin considers the impact of this on Iraq and how the country might avoid negative effects of a global recession. in this article from Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views […]

Iraqi Advisor Objects to Transparency International

The reports by the Transparency International over the corruption in Iraq are not "precise", an advisor to the Iraqi government said on Friday, according to AKnews. The annual survey by the Berlin-based organization listed Somalia, Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Iraq as perceived to be the most corrupt, with Denmark, New Zealand, Singapore, Finland, and Canada perceived […]

VP Biden and the Great American Reposture in the Middle East

The following article was published by Reidar Visser, an historian of Iraq educated at the University of Oxford and currently based at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. It is reproduced here with the author’s permission. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. […]

Iraq Stock Market Report

Rabee Securities Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) market report (week ending: 1st December 2011). Please click here to download a table of listed companies and their associated ticker codes. The RSISX index ended the week at ID1,440 / $1,697, +9.0%. The number of weekly traded shares was 5.8bn and the weekly trading volume was ID10.0bn ($8.5mn). […]

Lukoil and Shell to Replace Exxon at West Qurna 1?

Russian news agency RBC Daily reports that Lukoil, Russia’s second-largest oil producer, is looking to expand its business in Iraq through buying part of ExxonMobil's 60% stake in the West Qurna 1 field. If the deal goes ahead Lukoil would hold 37.5% of the business. It is already in partnership with Norway's Statoil in the […]

Undersea Cable Network to Upgrade Iraq's Links

Reuters reports that Qatar-based Gulf Bridge International (GBI) is completing the final stages of a submarine cable network that will give Iraq fast, reliable connections to other parts of the world for the first time. The network, expected to be fully operational by the end of the year, consists of a 13,000 km (8,078 miles) […]

Time to Move on: Iraq's Oil & Gas Impasse Explained

The furore over the contract signed by US oil giant Exxon with Iraqi Kurdistan is another sign that Iraq urgently needs a new oil and gas law. As this primer from Niqash explains, the lack of this law could well be a sign that the dream of united Iraq is over. Any opinions expressed are […]