Turkish Forces Raid Iraqi Kurdistan
By Simon Kent. The New York Times has reported on a Turkish incursion in the mountains of Northern Iraq to destroy Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) positions. The incursion comes in response to a recent IED attack inside Turkey which killed 14 police officers in a mini bus. The raids--20 military strikes according to the report--have […]
Justice Ministry Official Kidnapped in Baghdad
By Simon Kent. Various sources have reported Tuesday that acting deputy justice minister Abdel Karim Faris was kidnapped in northern Baghdad, by "black clad" assailants. One source Iraq Business News spoke with speculated that terrorists had taken advantage of PM Haidar al Abadi's recent decision to cut security staff for politicians, but in the absence of details we […]
Iraqi Kurdistan Pays $75 Million to IOCs
By Simon Kent. The Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) has released a statement saying it has put aside $75 million to pay three IOCs, Genel Energy, DNO and Gulf Keystone. The announcement follows payment disruption to the IOCs from the ongoing Baghdad--Erbil revenues and exports dispute. Additionally, the KRG has pledged regular payments, welcome news to the […]
Eleven US Air Strikes Hit ISIS in Iraq
By Robert Tollast. The US Department of Defence has reported 11 air strikes in Iraq, usually indicative of 24-48 hrs of activity. Coalition aircraft normally conduct air strikes along three fronts in Iraq, the Euphrates front, which cuts across western Iraq to Syria and covers the western flank of Baghdad, and includes the ISIS occupied […]
ISIS Chemical Attack Confirmed
By Simon Kent. The German Federal Intelligence Service, or BND (Bundesnachrichtendienst) has confirmed from laboratory tests that ISIS has used chemical weapons against Kurdish forces in Northern Iraq. The German paper Bild reported that the conclusion was made after taking blood samples from injured Kurdish fighters, reporting that the gas used was sulpher mustard, more commonly known […]
Low Oil Price Threat to Iraq's Eurobond Bid
By Simon Kent. A recent report by Standard & Poor gave Iraq a B- foreign currency rating, indicating significant risk for investors, but nonetheless noted that in the short term, the economy would remain stable with 0.3% growth and longer term, up to 5% from rising oil output up to 2018. That is the good news […]
Baghdad Devolves Powers to Thi Qar Province
By Simon Kent. 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. Around a fortnight ago, in the southern Iraqi province of Dhi Qar, the Iraqi government ceremonially handed over many of its powers to the local authorities. It's […]
Radisson Blu Hotel Announced for Erbil
By Simon Kent. Carlson Rezidor, the international hotel group with over 1,300 hotels in over 100 countries, has announced that it has finalized a deal for a new hotel, 3kms from Erbil International Airport. According to Gulf News, the 260-room hotel will be located in the Western suburbs and contain an all-day dining restaurant, speciality restaurant, lobby bar, […]
Iraqi F-16s Debut Against ISIS
By Simon Kent. Iraq's long awaited delivery of F-16 fighter bombers have now made their combat debut, The Guardian reports. The jets made 15 sorties in Salahaddin, a key front north of Baghdad where the Baiji oil refinery and nearby town are still contested battle zones. The Guardian report suggests that with Coalition strikes hitting ISIS on […]
Iraq Stock Market Report
Advertising Feature Rabee Securities Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) market report (week ending: 3rd Sept 2015). Please click here to download a table of listed companies and their associated ticker codes. The RSISX index ended the week at ID1,230 (+0.7%) / $1,287 (-0.1%) (weekly change) (-11.7% and -13.1% YTD change, respectively). The number of week traded […]
Iraq Ready to Market Bonds
By John Lee. Reuters reports that Iraqi officials are planning to start marketing a new Eurobond following the Labor Day holiday in the U.S., which falls on 7th September. Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase are to be the lead managers for the deal, which is expected to be unsecured. Iraq is hoping to raise […]
Gas Plus Khalakan to Start drilling at Shewashan
By John Lee. Gas Plus Khalakan, a 75%-owned subsidiary of New Age, is about to commence the development drilling of three wells for Phase 1 of the approved Field Development Plan for the Shewashan oil field in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Phase 1 of the development includes the installation of an Early Production Facility […]