By Anthony J Permal, Online Communications Manager, IQPC Lafarge, the world’s biggest cement contractor, maintains a presence in Iraq because of its booming housing development market, yet other companies shy away from taking a piece of the multi-billion dollar construction pie. Sigma Paints, the coatings leader, sponsors investment meetings in order to partner with attending […]
When many people think of Iraq, they think only of wars, decades of high inflation, blistering sun, and power cuts, but the people clinging to this outdated and narrow image of the country will not be the winners in the new Iraq. As regular readers of Iraq Business News will be aware, there's an increasing […]
Gavin Jones, Director of Iraq Business News, and Partner at consultancy firm Upper Quartile, was recently interviewed by Iraq's Radio Dijla. The full transcript is shown below: Radio Dijla: How do foreign investors look at the Iraqi market today? Gavin Jones: There are three main reasons for foreign investors committing to a market – a […]
The British Iraqi Friendship Society (BIFS) will host its Annual Gala Dinner and charity auction at the Royal Garden Hotel, London, on 17 November. BIFS was founded to inform the British public about all aspects of Iraqi life and culture, including its history, heritage, arts, language and traditions. The society organises a programme of events […]
As our weekly newsletter goes to press, BP has just announced a major new event for contractors interested in its giant Rumaila oilfield. There will be opportunities in the areas of: Engineering and Project Management Services (EPMS); Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC); and Construction. This is hugely significant to the development of Iraq's economy, as […]
One striking characteristic of business in Iraq is the extent of state-ownership of enterprise and assets. Mudher Kasim, a senior advisor to Iraq's Central Bank, claimed that “the problem in Iraq is that 90 percent of the wealth of the nation is in the hands of the government. So centralism always dominates the mindset everywhere”. […]
By Eugen Iladi. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The inability of Iraqi political elites to form a government more than six months after the March elections is hardly surprising given the fragmented poll results and deep divisions separating top leaders. […]
It was reassuring to read the comments this week from BP's Iraq’s President, Michael Townshend, in which he confirmed that the delays in forming a government are not causing problems for the development of the giant Rumaila oilfield. This is good, and despite the refusal of Iraq's politicians to resolve the political impasse, we have […]
The Financial Times ran an article on Wednesday by Farouk Soussa, Citigroup’s Chief Economist for the Middle East. While we're all used to hearing the statistics and projections, Mr Soussa gave us a more engaging metaphor for Iraq's potentially prosperous future: “Beneath the unsettled surface, Iraq is an economic giant, slowly but surely awakening after […]
Half a year after the Iraqi elections in March, the country is still without a government. And in some quarters, there is no sign of urgency. Ayad Allawi, leader of the Iraqiya group, said during the week: "I hope in October some time, late October (things will be sorted out) … We are still in […]
By Tariq Abdell, Founder & Chairman, Mesopotamia Insight. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq presents a unique opportunity for a new beginning in U.S.- Iraq’s relationship. However, given Iraq’s crippling challenges and U.S. […]
US President Barack Obama delivered a major speech from the Oval Office on Tuesday, marking the official end of combat operations in Iraq. As just over 50,000 US troops will remain in the country until the end of 2011 in non-combat roles, the real significance of the military draw-down is hotly debated. But it is […]
