Archive | Iraq Banking & Finance News

Iraq Business News brings you the latest Iraq banking & finance news, with information on developments and opportunities.

$191m Japanese Financing for Power Plant

On August 5, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under the Government of Japan signed a loan agreement with the Government of the Republic of Iraq in Baghdad to provide a Japanese ODA loan of up to 21.556 billion yen (equivalent to approximately USD 191 million[1]) for the Hartha Thermal Power Station Rehabilitation Project (Phase […]

Mobile Tech helps to Transfer Cash to Rural Families

Many vulnerable rural families in Iraq can now benefit from a safer, more secure means of receiving income thanks to mobile money transfer technology adopted for the first time by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as part of a cash-for-work programme aimed at rehabilitating agricultural infrastructure and land. The programme, which is funded […]

IBBC holds Successful Inaugural Dubai Networking Event

The Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) has held its first major networking event in Dubai, to accommodate the demand from its members, who operate from Dubai as a regional business hub. Vikas Handa, the IBBC UAE Representative said over the last few years UAE has emerged as the hub for companies doing business in Iraq, […]

Huge Demand for Iraqi Govt Bonds

By John Lee. Iraq opened the books yesterday on its first independent bond sale in a decade. "Investor demand was huge," writese Marcus Ashworth at Bloomberg. "The deal was seven times oversubscribed." The $1-billion, dollar-denominated bond, maturing in March 2023, was expected yield 7 percent, but demand enabled that to be cut to 6.75 percent. […]

Sharp Recovery in Non-Oil GDP Predicted

By John Lee. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted average growth of 3.1 percent annually in Iraq's non-oil real GDP until the end of 2022. This compares to an average fall of 7.2 percent per annum from 2014 to 2016, following the insurgency by the Islamic State group (IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh). It also […]

IMF Approves Payment of $825m to Iraq

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed the second review of Iraq’s three-year Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), which is designed to support Iraq’s economic reform program and restore fiscal balance over the medium term. The completion of the second review allows the authorities to draw the equivalent of SDR 584.2 million (about […]

Iraq to sell new USD Govt Bonds

By John Lee. The Financial Times reports that Iraq has appointed Citi, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan as joint bookrunners for a new five-year government bond. The issue is described as a dollar-denominated, long-dated, benchmark-scale bond; investor meetings scheduled over the coming days. In January, Iraq raised $1 billion of five-year bonds, guaranteed by the US, […]

IBBC Networking Reception in Dubai

On Tuesday 1 August, 2017, the Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) will hold its first networking event in Dubai. The event follows the appointment of Vikas Handa (pictured) as IBBC UAE representative. Vikas intends to host regular networking events in the UAE for IBBC members and companies that are interested in working in Iraq. Since […]

Rasheed Bank applies to open Branch in Iran

By John Lee. Iraq's state-owned Rasheed Bank has applied for permission to set up a branch in Iran. At a meeting on Sunday between Iran's Minister for Industry, Mining and Trade, Mohammadreza Nematzadeh, and Iraqi Minister for Industry and Minerals, Mohammed Shia 'Al Sudani, Minsiter Al Sudani said he hoped the application would be approved. […]

Economic Consequences post Mosul

By Ahmed Tabaqchali (pictured), CIO of Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) Iraq Fund. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. While Iraq’s war against terror is far from over, the conclusion of the Mosul offensive should mark the high point in the cost of […]