Custom Search

Iraq is still considered Jordan's best market for exports ahead of Saudi Arabia, India and the United States, according to the Amman Chamber of Industry (ACI).

According to ACI statistical report, Jordanian exports to Iraq by the end of November of last year reached JD813 million, accounting by 22 per cent of the Chamber's exports.

Exports to KSA came second with JD379 million, followed by India with JD315 million then USA with JD286 million, while exports to Syria declined to JD69 million compared with the same period of 2011 with JD138 million.

Describing the Iraqi market as "vital", ACI First Deputy Chairman, Fathi Jaghbir (pictured), told Petra that both countries have commonalities in people and geography which gives the Jordanian product great opportunity to be marketed within the Iraqi market, along with its competitive quality.

He also hailed the meetings of the Jordan-Iraq higher committee and its resolutions, voicing hope it would help pave the way for the flow of goods between the two countries.

(Source: Petra)

By John Lee.

Informed sources in Basra claim that the provincial government intends to open a border crossing with Saudi Arabia with the aim of increasing exports.

Both NINA news agency and Aswat al-Iraq report that the crossing will be in the Ouja al-Batin area, northwest of Basra.

The crossing is expected to be opened later this year.

(Sources: NINA,Aswat al-Iraq)

By John Lee.

Azzaman reports that the Iraqi government has removed visa restrictions on pilgrims visiting  Muslim shrines during ‘holy’ occasions.

The move will make it possible for pilgrims to fly to the country and obtain their visas at the Iraqi airports instead of applying for it at the Iraqi embassies in their countries.

Muslim Shiites from across the world head for Iraq during Shiite holy days, especially to Karbala and Najaf (pictured), their most revered sites after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.

Iraqi authorities hope the removal of visa restrictions will increase the number of pilgrims substantially.

The measure only applies during holy occasions and days and not throughout the year.

Iraq is keen to develop a tourist industry based on its religious sites and richness in antiquities and Mesopotamian heritage.

(Source: Azzaman)

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 will face serious debt and development problems.

In late October, the Iraqi Cabinet, headed by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, approved the 2013 draft budget. The total amount approved was USD $118 billion, making for an US$18 billion increase on 2012’s budget and making the budget Iraq’s highest ever. The draft will eventually go to the Iraqi Parliament for ratification.

If one considers the state of Iraq – still plagued by power cuts, growing youth unemployment and almost totally dependent on oil revenues – then an increase is surely a positive thing. But will this upcoming budget do the trick?

If Iraq is to become a more developed nation, is this increase enough and is it sustainable? And if it’s not, then what would the Iraqi budget be ideally?

A look at the facts and the figures around this issue may help to work out an answer to those questions. Iraq is near to completely reliant on oil revenues. Oil exports account for 95 percent of government revenues and are equal to 70 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

By John Lee.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide announced it has signed an agreement with BCD Co. to introduce its destination sensation brand, Aloft Hotels, to Iraq's emerging commercial hub. The opening of the new Aloft Erbil in 2015 will mark the launch of the Aloft brand into Iraq.

Created to shake up the traditional mid-market hotel sector, Aloft is redefining the category by delivering urban-influenced, modern and vibrant design and a social guest experience at an affordable price point. Earlier this year, Starwood marked a milestone with the signing of Sheraton Erbil will which signify the re-entry of Starwood in Iraq after 20 years.

"Together with BCD, we are excited to grow Starwood's presence in this emerging market as we bring Aloft Hotels to Iraq," said Roeland Vos, President, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Europe, Africa and Middle East. "Aloft Erbil marks our second collaboration with BCD and we look forward to introducing Aloft's vibrant, stylish yet affordable concept to the country."

Aloft Erbil will be a part of BCD's mixed-use complex which will also include a Sheraton hotel.

On the signing of Aloft Erbil, Mr. Saad Aldoski, Partner, BCD Co. commented:

"We are excited to sign our second hotel with Starwood and we look forward to developing this relationship further to contribute to the growing development of the tourism industry in the Kurdistan area and Iraq as a whole. Erbil is considered as one of the top emerging markets in the Middle East and we believe Aloft Erbil, with its modern style and great value, will create a new benchmark in the city."

Kentz has announced the award of three individual, reimbursable, service contracts in Iraq with a total value to the company of circa US$55 million, through its Technical Support Services business unit.

Across the three projects, Kentz will provide services over the next three to four years that will oversee the development of in-plant process facilities and infrastructure to deliver a combined increase in production capacity of approximately 250,000 bpd of oil and 300 million standard cubic feet of gas. Kentz will be working on both new and existing upstream facilities, based in the Basra and Baghdad areas.

The scope of services to be provided include project management, front end engineering, procurement and installation supervision support for three oil and gas facilities. Kentz will draw resources from offices in Basra, alongside Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia.

Kentz first commenced operations in Iraq in 1981 and in August 2010 announced that it had reached agreement to acquire an interest in Dome General Contracting Company Ltd. (Iraq); a leading supplier of services to Iraq's energy sector. The awards announced today are in-line with Kentz's stated strategy to grow its presence in the Iraqi hydrocarbons market.

Mike Murphy (pictured), Chief Operating Officer, Technical Support Services for Kentz, commented:

"We are delighted to have been awarded a succession of new contracts in Iraq, which underpin our continued focus on the Middle East region and the opportunity that we highlighted to the market.

"Iraq has the third largest proven oil reserves in the world and Kentz is well positioned to support key clients through in-country resources and a proven track-record of delivery, backed up by a global supply network of engineering and procurement resources."

(Source: Kentz)

By John Lee.

OPEC ministers have failed to agree on a new secretary general and have asked Abdalla el-Badri to stay in the post for another year.

Four countries had been competing for the job -- Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and Ecuador -- but Ecuador’s candidate, oil minister Wilson Pastor-Morris, announced last week that he had withdrawn his candidacy.

This left former Iranian oil minister Gholamhossein Nozari, former Iraqi oil minister Thamer Ghadhban [Ghadban] (pictured) and former Saudi Arabian OPEC governor Majid Moneef in the running.

A report from Platts questions if the job be opened up again to allow new applications, and wonders if a "white knight" might emerge who would be acceptable to all countries.

(Source: Platts)

By Mark DeWeaver.

Another roller coaster year for the ISX is drawing to a close. By the middle of May, the Rabee Securities RSISX index had fallen 24% from its early October 2011 peak. Since then, the market has staged a dramatic rebound. As of December 8, the index was down just 3% from the October high and up 8% for the year.

This rebound is all the more remarkable because it has occurred in the absence of any pick up in foreign participation. In 2011 foreigners were net buyers in 97% of the trading weeks with a share of monthly volume that exceeded 10% in all but three months. This year, foreign net buying has fallen sharply. (See chart.) Foreigners have been net sellers in about 40% of the trading weeks so far. Their monthly-volume share has exceeded 6% in only two months. (See the latest Rabee Securities Weekly for a nice chart of the foreign share of monthly volume.)

There is also no obvious catalyst for fresh inflows of foreign money at this point. While the regulators have finally decided to offer custodian bank licenses, HSBC has apparently lost interest in providing share custody in Iraq and no one else has stepped up to take its place. (See this post for more on the custody issue.) EFG-Hermes also seems to have suspended its swaps program, shutting down another potential channel through which institutional investors might have accessed the market. (There’s more on the EFG swaps here.) Even the much-vaunted Asiacell IPO, which I once thought might at last put the ISX on foreign fund managers’ radars, now appears to be targeted mainly at local individuals.

This failure to attract outside money is not the end of the world, however. When the right economic fundamentals are in place, emerging markets can easily go up without foreigner investors. Think of the largely closed Chinese and Saudi markets for example. Or Kuwait’s infamous Souk al Manakh, which rose to such dizzy heights in 1982 that it was briefly the third largest market in the world after the US and Japan.

For the ISX to keep going up, problems like share custody don’t really need to be solved. The important thing is for the Iraqi economy to stay on its current high-growth trajectory. As long as the listed companies' earnings are growing at double digit rates and local investors are flush with cash there’s really no reason why this year’s home-grown rally shouldn't continue into 2013.

UAE Law Firm Bin Shabib & Associates LLP has strengthened its presence in the MENA region by launching a new office in Erbil, Iraq. The launch marks BSA's second foray into the MENA market in as many months, having already expanded into Muscat, Oman, this year.

After more than a decade in the UAE, the launch is in line with plans for growth, in recognition of the increase in demand from its clients and the continued activity in the Iraqi market. This expansion will allow BSA to strategically position itself as one of the market leaders in legal service providers in the MENA region and enable it to service the needs of its clients in Iraq.

Jimmy Haoula (pictured), Managing Partner of BSA commented:

"These are exciting times for the firm as we embark upon this new venture. Erbil is a gateway to Iraq due to its stability and proximity and enables BSA to leverage upon and build a secure platform for the future opening of our Baghdad office next year. Given that UAE-Iraq trade has expanded by 60% last year, the opening of our Erbil office will allow us to be part of the successful development and advancement of a world class city in years to come.

"As with all our expansions in the region, we have invested heavily in local lawyers who know the market and have rights of audience in their respective local jurisdictions. This will give our clients peace of mind and provides us with the 'cutting-edge' amongst our competitors."

BSA's recent launch coincides with the announcement from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry of their new strategy to set up a representative office in Iraqi Kurdistan next year, with a view to bolster the strategic alliance between Iraq and the UAE. This further enunciates the long term views of the Chamber in depicting Iraq as a key jurisdiction for cross-border trade.

H.E. Abdul Rahman Saif Al Ghurair, Chairman of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry commented:

"The new office will help boost the presence of Dubai businesses in the northern region of Iraq as the country was the second largest destination for Dubai Chamber members' exports and re-exports accounting for 14 per cent of total goods traded with regional partners during the first half of this year.

"The rising profile of Kurdistan's investment potential can be gauged from the fact that Iraq which ranked 14th on the list of Dubai's top trading partners in 2008 jumped to 7th position in 2011."

The new venture gives BSA a network of 7 offices in 4 different countries, namely the UAE, Oman, Iraq and Lebanon, with another office scheduled to open in December of 2012 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. BSA is a full service law firm offering corporate, commercial and litigation services to international and regional companies from all industry sectors through dedicated practice departments, which are headed by highly experienced legal experts.

Since its establishment in the UAE in 2001, BSA has grown to become one of the leading and most innovative local law firms in the UAE with continued expansion in the MENA region and was the first of the local law firms to set-up an office in the Dubai International Financial Centre ('DIFC').

By John Lee.

Majid Jafar (pictured), the chief executive of UAE-based Crescent Petroleum, has said the company is gearing up for expansion in the Iraqi oil and gas sector.

Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Dubai, he said:

"We are looking at entering Libya with the right opportunity. Other countries like Lebanon, despite plans being delayed, have been setting up regulations bodies in preparation. It’s an area of potential interest."

Crescent Petroleum, which is based in Sharjah, plans to expand investment and production in Kurdistan and into other areas in Iraq given the country’s under-explored state.

“There are only 2,000-3,000 wells drilled in the whole of Iraq so far compared to 10 times as many in Saudi and 1 million wells in Texas alone,” Jafar added.

The Iraqis are only beginning to develop the sector, he said, adding that there has not been a consensus on policy and there is still a mindset that the state needs to manage the sector.

(Source: Reuters)