Iraq Business News brings you the latest Iraq banking & finance news, with information on developments and opportunities.
This week marks the 150th edition of our Iraq Business News newsletter, and we are delighted to mark the occasion by bringing you a major new guide to business in Iraq. Published by Allurentis, in association with Iraq's National Investment Commission (NIC) and UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), the fourth edition in the annual New […]
By John Lee. Abu Dhabi's Invest AD plans to buy into the Asiacell IPO (initial public offering), making it the top holding in its Iraq fund. Sherif Salem (pictured), the manager of the Invest AD Iraq Opportunity Fund, and one of our Expert Bloggers on Iraq Business News, said: "Asiacell is going to be one […]
By John Lee. Shares in Asiacell, the first of Iraq's mobile phone operators to list on the stock exchange, are now open for subscription. According to a statement from the company: • Investors are now invited to complete and submit their application forms to subscribe • 67.503 billion shares, representing 25% of Asiacell's share capital, […]
By John Lee. Twenty-two of Iraq’s 30 private banks made a combined profit of $366 million (427 billion Iraqi dinars) during the first nine months of the year, according to a study released by the Association of Private Banks in Iraq. Al-Hayat newspaper says this is a 90 percent increase in profits over the same […]
The U.S. Embassy to Iraq hosted a workshop at Iraq's Judicial Development Institute from December 17-20 on the role of judges in adjudicating disputes involving letters of credit. U.S. Federal Judge Jed S. Rakoff, representing the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP), led the workshop with the assistance of the Institute of […]
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 Seerwan Jafar. This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraq’s 2013 budget amounts to US$118 billion. But the figures don’t add up. Doing the sums results in one conclusion: unless something is done differently, Iraq […]
By John Lee. Iraq ranks in 11th place worldwide for the amount of money flowing out via crime, corruption and tax evasion over the past ten years, according to Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington-based research and advocacy organization. Illicit outflows of cash averaged $10.6 billion per year. Data for Iraq was not available in […]
More than $224 million has been injected into Iraq’s private sector economy in the form of Small & Medium Enterprise bank loans thanks to a cooperative effort between the USAID-Tijara Provincial Economic Growth Program and 12 private commercial banks. Of this amount, around $113 million presently is in circulation helping business owners expand their companies […]
By John Lee. Iraq made its first major move in years to boost its gold reserves, joining central banks from emerging market economies such as Brazil and Russia in diversifying its foreign reserves. According to a report from the Lebanese Daily Star, central bank purchases have been one of the biggest drivers of gold's rally […]
Thousands of Iraqis have taken to the streets of al-Anbar province to demand the release of the finance minister's bodyguards. The men were arrested on Thursday on so-called "terror charges". Protesters say its another example of the government's sectarian policies. Al Jazeera's Omar al-Saleh reports: (Source: Al Jazeera)
By John Lee. World Bank Group support for Iraq over the next four years will focus on job creation, social inclusion and building stronger institutions. The Country Partnership Strategy which was discussed today by the World Bank Board of Executive Directors is a four-year engagement framework with a planned US$900 million in support to Iraq. […]
