Dana Remains Committed to Iraq, Despite Claim
By John Lee. Sharjah-based Dana Gas and its consortium partners, Crescent Petroleum and Pearl Petroleum, is pursuing $100 million (117 billion Iraqi dinars) in payments from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). In a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), the company said: "The LCIA [London Court of International Arbitration] Tribunal recently ordered the […]
Germany Continues to Encourage Investment in KRI
Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani, on Monday received Mr. Georg Enzweiler, on the occasion of his appointment as Germany’s new Consul General to the Kurdistan Region. Mr. Enzweiler expressed his pleasure to be appointed as his country’s Consul General to Kurdistan Region and hoped to further develop bilateral relations between Germany and the […]
Shiites, Sunnis Unite to Denounce Extremists
By Ali Mamouri for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Despite all the negative developments concerning extremist groups in the Middle East, they have had a positive impact on religious communities. Shiite and Sunni institutions in Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to denounce […]
PM al-Abadi meets Iraqi Businessmen in UAE
By John Lee. Prime Minister Dr. Haider Al-Abadi met a number of locally-resident Iraqi businessmen in Abu Dhabi earlier this week. He listened to the views, observations and suggestions delivered by the investors related to the laws and travel procedures that should be facilitated, in addition to the significance of providing a suitable environment for […]
CEO Guilty in Iraq USAID Fraud
By John Lee. The former CEO of US-based engineering consulting firm Louis Berger Group has pleaded guilty to overbilling for reconstruction contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bloomberg reports that Derish Wolff, 79, admitted that he conspired to defraud the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) over nearly 20 years, enriching himself and his company with […]
GKP Shares Jump on Kurdistan Oil Update
By John Lee. Shares in Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) closed up more than 16 percent up on Tuesday, after the company issued an update on its operations at Shaikan, its key producing asset in Iraqi Kurdistan. The shares had been languishing at new lows earlier in the week, having lost more than three-quarters of their […]
Ghost Contractors sink Baghdad after Rains
By Wassim Bassem for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The first rainfall of the season swept Iraqi cities Nov. 21, causing flooding in schools, houses and streets. Siham Ahmed, a student from al-Diwaniya city south of Baghdad, couldn’t get to […]
FM al-Jaafari Meets Iranian President
By John Lee. Foreign Minister Dr. Ibrahim al-Jaafari recently met the President of Iran, Mr. Hassan Rohani, in Tehran. The Minister was in the city to participate in an international conference on violence and extremism. He said that Iraq is progressing steadily, and it is important to clarify issues of common interest between it and […]
Mobile Medical Clinics Arrive in Erbil
The World Health Organization (WHO) and World Food Programme (WFP) have collaborated to deliver eight mobile medical clinics which arrived in Erbil on Sunday. These urgently needed clinics will be immediately deployed to parts of Iraq and Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The vehicles, flown in from Amman, Jordan, were procured by WHO and have […]
Currency Auction Results, 16th Dec
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has reported that 20 banks took part in its currency auction on Monday. A total of $169,809,000 was sold at a price of 1166 Iraqi Dinars (IQD) per dollar. (Source: Central Bank of Iraq)
Weekly Security Update, 09 - 15 December 2014
Reconciliation between Sunni groups and the Iraqi state remained at the top of the political agenda this week, as PM Abadi sought to strengthen his domestic and international alliances. With Sunni-tribal fighters now fighting alongside ISF units across Anbar, Salahuddin and Nineveh provinces, cooperation between the two groups has improved substantially over recent months, though […]
British Business Group Kurdistan (BBGK) Launched
The British Business Group Kurdistan (BBGK) held its launch reception on Wednesday 10th December in the fabulous setting of the Jaguar Land Rover Showroom in Erbil. The event was attended by business people, members of the diplomatic community and representatives from the Kurdistan Regional Government. The BBGK was recently established as it was felt there […]