Rebuilding Bridges to Iraq's Jewish Heritage
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. The Iraqi elite see the issue of Iraq's Jews in two ways: Nostalgia about a beautiful past, and a continuing tragedy of forced displacement which is not over yet. Although the expulsion […]
Iraq Rules Out Special Oil Price for India
By John Lee. Iraq has ruled out offering any special oil price to India because its laws don't allow it to do so, reports the Economic Times. "Our laws do not allow us to offer any special pricing to anyone. We can sell crude only at the existing market- determined prices," Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister […]
Erbil is Middle East Capital of Tourism
By Haider Najm. 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. In May, the northern city of Erbil was declared Tourism Capital for the Middle East region for 2014. As Lebanese and Turkish investors compete to spend […]
Fraud Suspected in Swedish Project
By John Lee. Swedish aid money channeled to Iraq has gone missing, leading the government coalition partner the Centre Party to report the democracy project to the police. The Local reports that the project was administered by the minority party's international foundation CIS (Centerpartiets internationella stiftelse), but accountants realized that they could not account for […]
Iraqi Women Face Workplace Discrimination
By Miriam Ali for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Women in Iraq have made huge leaps in terms of obtaining the right to work and participate in the economy. Nevertheless, they are still subject to sexual and social discrimination, not […]
Iraq Undecided on Basra Port Maintenance
By John Lee. Reuters reports that Iraq is still undecided about whether to carry out full maintenance on its Basra oil export terminals in September. According to the report this has created even more uncertainty for an oil market already worried about disruption in Libya and Egyptian unrest. Despite a report in July to the […]
GKP Rises on Takeover Rumours
By John Lee. Shares in Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) have gained around 10 percent this week on rumours of a takeover. Bloomberg reports that, as the world’s biggest oil companies look for untapped fields, the company is sitting on a giant oil field in Iraqi Kurdistan that wouldn’t look out of place in a major’s […]
Reliance Industries Exploring Investment Opportunities in Iraq
By John Lee. Reliance Industries Chairman, Mukesh Ambani (pictured), has told reporters that his company is exploring investment opportunities in Iraq. "We are evaluating all opportunities in the Iraqi oil and gas sector. But so far, nothing has been finalised and we will take a call on this -- both the downstream and upstream assets […]
Statement from US-Iraq Joint Coordination Cmte
The Governments of the Republic of Iraq and the United States of America reaffirmed their strategic partnership during a meeting of the Political and Diplomatic Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) on August 15, in Washington, DC. This meeting, held at the Department of State, was co-chaired by Secretary Kerry and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. This […]
Weekly Security Update 07 - 14 August 2013
By Tom Walker, Director, Assaye Risk COUNTRY OVERVIEW The prevailing situation in Iraq remains febrile and wrought with tension and violence amidst a series of devastating car bombings and shootings this week, which has resulted in many hundreds being killed, predominantly in the Shia neighborhoods in Baghdad during the end of Ramadan celebrations. In line […]
When Will the Blackouts End?
Iraq's Ministry of Electricity has just promised that shortages will be eliminated by the end of the year. Readers of Iraq Business News will remember a previous commitment, made in strident terms just four months ago, to end blackouts by the end of October. Ministry spokesperson Musaib Mudaris claims the country now produces around 11,000 […]
OMV Shifts Focus to Iraq Exploration
By John Lee. Austrian oil and gas company OMV has said that second-quarter profit dropped 29 percent as production fell in Libya and its gas-trading unit lost money, according to Bloomberg. Chief Executive Officer Gerhard Roiss (pictured) is shifting OMV’s focus to exploration and production, including in Iraqi Kurdistan, while selling assets like gas stations […]