Weekly Security Update 01 - 07 Apr 2014
By Constellis Consulting www.constellis-consulting.com Despite reasserting his retirement from politics on 02 April, Muqtada al-Sadr publicly urged Maliki not to run for a third term, citing the failure of his sectarian policies and the increasingly autocratic nature of the regime. As the parliamentary elections approach, each party seems to be appealing to their own sectarian base, with […]
Lucky Cement Starts Production in Iraq
By John Lee. Pakistan's Lucky Cement has started production in Iraq from February of this year, in a 50/50 joint venture with the Al-Shawy family. The company's CEO, Muhammad Ali Tabba (pictured), told Dawn that a total of $40 million has been invested in the grinding mill in Basra, which has a capacity of 3,000 […]
Petroceltic Abandons Shakrok-1, Shares Slump
By John Lee. Shares in Irish independent oil and gas exploration company Petroceltic International closed down 9.6 percent on Monday, following the company's update on its operations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. On the Shakrok licence (Petroceltic 16%, Hess (Operator) 64% and Kurdistan Regional Government 20%), the Shakrok-1 well reached its total depth of […]
Kurdistan Minister Meets German Think Tank
The Head of the KRG's Department of Foreign Relations, Minister Falah Mustafa, and Assistant Head of the DFR, Ms. Siham Jabali, met with the Director of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Dr. Volker Perth, to brief him on KRG foreign and domestic policy and the current political developments in Kurdistan, Iraq, […]
Full List of Election Candidates
By Reidar Visser. The following article was published by Reidar Visser, an historian of Iraq educated at the University of Oxford. It is reproduced here with the author’s permission. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The Iraqi election campaign formally began Tuesday, but the official candidate […]
Hanwha Gets $511m Advance Payment
By John Lee. South Korea's Hanwha Engineering and Construction has said that it has received an additional $511 million in advance payment for its Bismayah New City Project (BNCP), located 10 kilometers southeast of Baghdad. According to a report from Yonhap News, this brings the amount of money the builder has received so far for […]
Citi to Advise on $2bn Loan for Boeing Jets
By John Lee. The Deputy Transport Minister, Bangen Rekani, has told Bloomberg that Iraq will seek $2 billion in financing to cover part of the cost of the 40 jets it has on order from Boeing. Iraq ordered 30 737-800s in 2008, followed by 10 787-8 long-haul Dreamliners in 2009, and a single 777 in 2012 -- […]
Erbil Stock Exchange "This Year"
By John Lee. The Erbil Stock Exchange (ESX) is reportedly due to start operations in the fourth quarter of this year. Ahmed Abdul Rahim Abdullah, Director General of the stock market in Kurdistan, confirmed the schedule to Shafaq News. It is understood that some of the work is being carried out by Nasdaq. (Source: Shafaaq)
US, Iraq Agree on Chemical Weapons
The United States of America and the Republic of Iraq signed a Framework for a Strategic Bilateral Cooperation Program for Addressing Chemical Weapons Risks in Baghdad recently. This program formalizes the cooperative efforts of our two nations in identifying and mitigating the threat of chemical weapons by developing a national response plan and building Iraq's […]
KRG briefs Middle East Institute
A delegation from the Middle East Institute, an American think tank, visited the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Department of Foreign Relations where they met with the Head of the DFR, Minister Falah Mustafa, and the Assistant Head of the DFR, Siham Jabali. The delegation, headed by former Ambassador Wendy Chamberlin, discussed their visit to Kurdistan, highlighting […]
Alstom Wins €400m Zubair Contract
Alstom has secured a contract with Eni Iraq B.V. to build the 740 MW Zubair gas-fired power plant near Basra. The contract is valued at close to €400 million. For this turnkey project, Alstom will be responsible for engineering, building and commissioning the plant as well as supplying key equipment - most notably four highly […]
Zebari Receives UN Director for Women
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hoshyar Zebari, has received the UN Regional Bureau Director for Women in the Arab States, Samira Tuwaijri, and her accompanying delegation in Caira. During the meeting, the two sides reviewed the UN activities in Baghdad and Erbil and the programs that the UN aims at doing with the Iraqi government; […]