Weekly Security Update 06 - 12 May 2014
By Constellis Consulting www.constellis-consulting.com With official results due in the next few days, electoral manoeuvres defined Iraq’s political environment this week, with party leaders seeking to form alliances and build coalitions to advance their own interests. Ultimately, the ability of political figures to navigate this system, more than the poll results, will determine the shape of Iraq’s […]
First Iraqi F-16 Completes First Flight
Lockheed Martin successfully completed the first flight of the inaugural F-16 Fighting Falcon for the Iraq Air Force. The jet is the first of 36 F-16 Block 52 aircraft on order through the U.S. Department of Defense for Iraq. With more than 4,540 F-16s delivered to date, the Foreign Military Sale to Iraq adds to […]
Asiacell Profits Fall
By John Lee. Mobile operator Asiacell has posted a 12.2 percent drop in annual net profit. Reuters reports that the company, part of Qatar-based Ooredoo, made a net profit of 581 billion dinars ($498.62 million) in 2013, down from 662 billion dinars a year earlier. Profit was impacted "non-recurring items - mainly related to tax […]
Zambia Still Owes Iraq
By John Lee. The Zambian Secretary to the Treasury, Fredson Yamba (pictured), says Government has not serviced the US$296 million debt owed to Brazil, China and Iraq as at December 2012. According to the report from Zambia Daily Herald, Mr Yamba said Brazil, China and Iraq are the only three remaining bilateral creditors that are […]
Iraq Stock Market Report
Advertising Feature Rabee Securities Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) market report (week ending: 8th May 2014). Please click here to download a table of listed companies and their associated ticker codes. The RSISX index ended the week at ID1,855 (+0.7%)/ $1,970 (+0.3%) (weekly change). The number of week traded shares was 3.3bn and the weekly trading […]
Iraq 'uses Barrel Bombs' in Fallujah
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Shelling by the Iraqi army in the city of Fallujah has killed more civilians, hospital sources and witnesses have said, amid allegations that government forces were using barrel bombs in an attempt to […]
A "Win-Win Solution" for the KRG Oil Dispute?
By John Lee. Michael Knights, a Fellow at the Washington Institute of Near East Policy, has spoken to the Anadolu news agency about problems and opportunities with Iraq's energy sector. In the piece, entitled Iraq Potentially Turkey's Biggest Energy Supplier, Knights discusses the lack of institutional and human capacity which has hindered some of Iraq's more ambitious […]
Dinar Fraud Trial Begins
By John Lee. Ohio based publication The Toledo Blade has reported the beginning of a new trial of three local men accused of intentionally deceiving investors with the now familiar refrain that the Iraqi dinar will dramatically revalue. The accused ran a firm BH Group along with two hedge funds, with one defendant allegedly lying about fighting in Iraq. […]
Baghdad Launches Infrastructure Projects
By John Lee. Al Shorfa has reported an announcement by the provincial governor of Baghdad Riyadh al-Adhadh that infrastructure projects worth 200 billion dinars ($172 million) will be launched shortly in the towns surrounding Baghdad. While the provincial governor announced the news, it is notable that Baghdad's controversial mayor Naim Abub al-Kaabi has come under fire in […]
US Firm Wins Dredging Contract
By John Lee. US heavy industries firm PAT GD JV LLC has been awarded a 17 month contract worth $24.4 million to dredge waterways and install a floating pier in support of the Iraqi Navy through the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The company, established in 2012 is based in Rochester Hills, Michigan. The award […]
Yildiz: Oil Still in Storage at Ceyhan
By John Lee. Turkish energy minister Taner Yildiz (pictured) has hinted that his country will not sell oil from the port of Ceyhan until there has been an agreement between Baghdad and Erbil. Minister Yildiz noted that the Turkish Petroleum Refineries Corporation (TPAO) does not currently need to move the Iraqi oil in storage, although the […]
Iranian Gas to Supply Basra
By John Lee. Gas from the South Pars field in Iran could be supplying power stations in the province of Basra within a year, reports UPI. A pipeline currently under construction will run from Asaluyeh to Iraq's southern city of 2 million people, and may later extend to Syria, depending on conditions "after the war" according […]