Weekly Security Update 29 May - 06 June
By Tom Walker, Director, Assaye Risk COUNTRY OVERVIEW Despite recent levels of heightened violence and multiple catastrophic attacks over the past weeks Iraq was somewhat spared similar events during this reporting period. As a result we have seen a correspondingly lower number of fatalities across the country with 89 killed, down 154 on last weeks […]
Technip Wins Contract for Karbala Refinery
Iraq's State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP) has awarded French company Technip a significant contract for project management consultancy (PMC) services for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) phase of the Karbala refinery. This award follows the front-end engineering design (FEED) executed by Technip in 2010. The scope of work will cover two phases: phase […]
Zain Takes Step towards IPO
By John Lee. Zain Iraq has moved a step closer to launching its mandatory initial public offering (IPO), by establishing a new holding company in Iraq through which it will list 25 percent of its shares on the Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) towards the end of the year. The new company, named Al-Khatem Telecommunications, floated […]
WesternZagros Appoints New VP
WesternZagros Resources has announced the appointment of Ms. Mary Benassi to the position of Vice President, Human Resources. In this role, Ms. Benassi will report to the CEO and be responsible for WesternZagros's overall Human Resources function. Specific focus will include the development of a strategy that builds human resource and organizational capacity to effectively […]
Clyde & Co Launches Middle East Deal Study
Clyde & Co launched its inaugural Middle East Deal Study at an exclusive event hosted at the Ritz Carlton recently. The study, the first of its kind in the region, analyses data from 86 of the Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) and Joint Venture (JV) transactions the firm worked on in the region during 2012. The […]
New UK Trade Mission to Erbil
The UK's Middle East Association (MEA), in partnership with UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), will be leading a trade delegation to Iraqi Kurdistan this September (22nd-27th) to coincide with the ninth Erbil International Trade Fair, Iraq’s largest general trade exhibition. Mission participants will have the opportunity to exhibit at […]
Video: Iraq to Lower Oil Targets
From AFP. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraq's top energy official tells AFP his country is re-negotiating all of the oilfield contracts agreed in 2009 to lower the peak production target and spread output over a longer period of time:
Video: US soldier on Trial Over WikiLeaks
From AFP. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The military trial of Bradley Manning, the US soldier who handed thousands of secret government files to WikiLeaks, began on Monday, more than three years after he was arrested in Iraq:
Russia Starts Fulfilling $4.2bn Iraqi Arms Order
By John Lee. UPI reports that Russia has started fulfilling a contract to send attack helicopters and short-range air defense systems to Iraq. Sergei Chemezov (pictured), Chief Executive Officer of Russian Technologies (Rostec), was quoted by state news agency RIA Novosti as saying: "The contract is being implemented, the production (of ordered equipment) has started." […]
Iraq Buys 250,000t of Wheat from Russia
The Iraqi Grain Board has reportedly bought 250,000 tons of wheat from Russia. Aswat Al Iraq says the purchase was made following a bid to buy 500,000 tons of wheat, which was closed last week. According to Russia Today News Agency, the shipments will be made between 1st and 31st July, 2013, and delivered in […]
Fears of Civil War Cripple Baghdad Commerce
By Omar al-Shaher for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Concerns about the possibility of Iraq sliding toward the abyss of sectarian war once again have strongly affected commercial activities in Baghdad. Wholesalers in many provinces shifted to the Kurdistan region […]
Video: Iraq Foils Chemical Weapons Plot
Iraq's Defence Ministry has announced it busted an alleged al-Qaeda cell that had been attempting to produce chemical weapons. Reporters in Baghdad were shown four of the alleged suspects, who were hooded.