Iraq Business News brings you the latest Iraq banking & finance news, with information on developments and opportunities.
The deputy governor of Iraq's central bank has announced that foreign currency reserves have risen to close to $58 billion, and are expected to increase further thanks to a rise in oil revenues. Mudher Kasim said higher global oil prices could result in a budget surplus for 2011. Reuters quotes him as saying, “(The amount […]
According to a report from Aswat al-Iraq, an economic advisor to Iraq’s Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has described the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI)'s plan to redenominate the Iraqi currency as “the worst corruption and money-laundering process in the history of Iraq.” “The CBI must understand that it is playing with fire and undermining the course […]
An Iraqi economist says the country will lose $22 million because of "extra" Eid al-Fitr holidays that the Iraqi government announced. Eid al-Fitr, which follows the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, is usually three days, however, AKnews reports that the Iraqi government last week extended the holidays to six day, to accommodate differences between the […]
According to reports from Al-Sabaah, the Central Bank of Iraq is planning to make its new currency forgery-proof. Central Bank Governor Sinan al-Shabibi claims that the new currency's attributes will make it 'difficult' to falsify, and says that the project to delete the three zeros, if implemented, will enhance the value of the Iraqi dinar […]
London-based Standard Chartered Bank has been in talks for the past 3-4 months to buy a stake in Warka Bank, one of Iraq's biggest private banks, a central bank official said on Monday. Hassan al-Haidari, a central bank advisor, told Reuters: "They (Standard Chartered) wanted more than 50 percent but they (Warka) wanted (to give) […]
Trade Arabia reports that Iraq's core annual inflation rate increased to 7.1 per cent in July, up from 6.4 per cent in June. The Deputy Governor of Iraq's central bank, Mudher Kasim, told Reuters that the increase was driven mainly by higher housing rental prices and an increase in the cost of building materials; the […]
The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions is warning investors about advertised opportunities to invest in Iraq's currency, the dinar. The DFI says several web sites say Iraq's currency is poised to increase in value, even dramatically, but it says investors aren't told that the dinar is only good in Iraq. There is no currency exchange […]
The risks of working in or supporting the upstream oil and gas industry in Iraq are widespread and significant. From security and logistics to government bureaucracy, there are barriers to business that executives at many companies with a role to play in developing Iraq's oil and gas sector feel could be insurmountable. William Wakeham, CEO […]
By T. Keyzom Ngodup, co-founder and Executive Director at Ideas sYnergy, an Iraq based private sector development consulting company. IRAQ INSIGHTS, published by Ideas sYnergy aims to consolidate and build intellectual capital on private sector development, empowering stakeholders to address issues of access and structural reforms on a diverse range of topics impacting inclusive […]
According to a report from Rabee Securities, the Iraq Securities Commission (ISC) is suspending trading in the companies listed below, starting Monday, August 8th, 2011. The reason is their violation of instruction # (14) related to financial disclosure; their failure to submit their annual reports for 2010 and/or quarterly financial reports for first quarter 2011 […]
According to a report in the Financial Times, investors are turning their attention to Iraq’s debt. In 2004, after the US invasion of Iraq, the 'Paris Club' of 19 western creditors agreed to forgive roughly 80% of the $37.2bn owed to them. This deal was used as a template for resolutions with other creditors and […]
By David Rosenberg, for The Media Line. Reproduced with permission by Iraq Business News. It was just another day in Iraq on July 15. In the city of Kerbaba; two car bombs killed a total of seven people and wounded 19. An American solider was killed in Baghdad while in another part of the capital […]
