Citigroup May Fund Iraq-Jordan Pipeline
By John Lee. Forty companies are reported to be bidding for contracts to build and finance the new pipeline from Haditha to Jordan’s Red Sea port of Aqaba (pictured). Nateq Balasem Khalaf, deputy director general of the state State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP), told Bloomberg that Citibank is among the bidders, adding that other […]
Min. Falah Mustafa receives new US Consul
The new US Consul General in the Kurdistan Region, Mr. Joseph Pennington, met with Minister Falah Mustafa yesterday as part of his introductory meetings. He was accompanied by the outgoing Consul General, Mr. Paul Sutphin, and the Head of Political/Economic Section at the US Consulate General in Erbil, Mr. Stephen Gee. During their meeting, the […]
Ex-Glencore, Sino-Forest Director to Chair GKP
Gulf Keystone Petroleum has announced the appointment of Simon Murray C.B.E., aged 73, to the Board of Gulf Keystone as Independent Non-Executive Chairman and Senior Independent Director of the Company. Mr Murray will also be appointed Chairman of the Company's Remuneration Committee at its next meeting. This appointment represents a significant step forward for the […]
Qatari Firm Wins $65m Housing Contract
By John Lee. The Muthanna Investment Commission has announced that a Qatari company has been contracted to build a housing project in central Samawa. Doha Investment Company won the contract for the $65 million housing complex, which will include 480 housing units, a school, a health centre and various other services, reports al-Shorfa. Some will […]
FIFA Bans Iraq from Hosting Friendlies
By John Lee. FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) has again barred Iraq from hosting international football friendlies because of the upsurge in violence in the country. Fox News reports that the move comes just three months after the governing body of world football (soccer) gave Baghdad the go-ahead. A spokesman for the Iraqi Football […]
Drug Use Spreads Among Iraqi Youth
By Adnan Abu Zeed for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The negative effects of illegal drugs in Iraq are becoming more apparent. Iraq is being transformed from a country that exports drugs to the Arabian Gulf into a consumer of them. […]
Weekly Security Update 26 June - 04 July 2013
By Tom Walker, Director, Assaye Risk COUNTRY OVERVIEW This week saw no huge changes in the security situation other than a marginal increase in the number of high impact bombings and a slight geographical shift south. We continue to see pervading levels of daily violence with significant numbers of fatalities and wounding’s. The number […]
What will Chapter VII Mean for You?
As was widely anticipated, the United Nations Security Council unanimously agreed last week to move several outstanding issues between Iraq and Kuwait from Chapter VII to Chapter VI of the UN Charter. This effective normalisation of relations between Iraq and Kuwait has been broadly welcomed, with statements from US Secretary of State John Kerry and […]
Iraq Gets 1,026 US Armored Personnel Carriers
Using 1,026 M113A2 armored personnel carriers from the U.S. Army's Excess Defense Articles obtained through the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command's Foreign Military Sales program, and the refurbishment expertise provided by an Army Materiel Command public-private partnership, provided the means for the Iraqi Army to begin standing-up its planned six-division armored capability. "This was a […]
Interpipe Wins Preferred Supplier Status
Interpipe, the Ukrainian seamless pipe producer, has announced that it is installing a local support team to work in Basra following the company's approval from South Oil Company (SOC) as a preferred supplier. The announcement sees Interpipe appoint a new Iraq country manager, based in Basra, with immediate effect. Following several recent meetings in Iraq with […]
Stock Exchange Upgrades to NASDAQ Technology
The NASDAQ OMX Group has entered an agreement with the Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) to upgrade its current trading platform. Under the terms of the agreement, ISX will replace its existing NASDAQ OMX platform (Horizon) with one powered by the renowned X-stream technology. The upgrade is expected to be rolled out by mid-year 2014. "We […]
UN Condemns Continuing Bloodshed across Iraq
The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq (SRSG), Mr. Martin Kobler, condemned in the strongest possible terms the wave of attacks that claimed dozens of lives across Iraq yesterday. “These devastating terrorist attacks once again targeted innocent citizens going about their daily activities, struggling to build a more hopeful future for themselves […]