Iraq – the Opportunity and the Problem
By Gavin Jones, Director of Iraq Business News, and Partner at consultancy firm Upper Quartile. This article was originally published on the Emerging Economics blog. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. It is very difficult with a market like Iraq to separate […]
Kurdistan-Turkey Economic Forum Started Wednesday
AKnews reports that the Kurdistan-Turkey economic forum kicked off on Wednesday in the Saad Abdulla Convention Hall in Erbil. Abdul-Khaleq Mohammed, press secretary for Kurdistan's Foreign Relations Office, told AKnews that the Turkish Trade Minister Zafer Çağlayan arrived in Erbil last night, at the head of a 175-strong delegation of 25 government officials and 150 […]
Former Innospec Director Guilty of Iraq Corruption
A British businessman has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to corrupt, including making corrupt payments to Iraqi officials. Dr David Turner (56), the former Innospec Limited Global Sales and Marketing Director (Tetraethyl Lead), appeared before His Honour Judge McCreath at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to corrupt. The […]
New Markets for Jordanian Produce in Iraq
A Jordanian delegation will visit Iraq next week to discuss the possibility of opening new markets for Jordanian fruits and vegetables in Iraq, according to a Jordanian Ministry of Agriculture statement. The Jordan Times reports that members of the delegation, which will be headed by the ministry’s secretary general, Radi Tarawneh, will meet with Iraqi […]
Egyptian Companies Target Iraqi Electricity Market
Egypt's foreign minister, Karmel Amro [Mohamed Kamel Amr], will lead a delegation of power companies to Iraq to discuss the formation of an Iraqi-Egyptian company to rebuild Iraq's power grid. AKnews reports that the the delegation will visit Baghdad in the last week of January. Hassan Najem, representing a coalition of Egyptian power companies, said that […]
Int'l Group Prepares for 500MW Power Plant in Kirkuk
AKnews reports that up to 26 foreign companies are engaged in preparations to build a 500 MW power plant in Kirkuk. Kirkuk currently requires 880 MW, but can only provide 450 MW: 240 MW from the national grid and 225 MW through a contract with Kurdish investor. Rebwar Talabani, the Deputy head of Kirkuk Provincial […]
Average Incomes to Increase 15% in 2012
The Central Bank of Iraq expects the average annual income in 2012 will reach almost $6,000 (7 million IQD), up from $5,200 (6 million IQD) in the previous year, according to AKnews. The deputy governor of the CBI, Mudhar Mohammed Saleh, said the estimate was made based on the governments planned investment in oil and […]
Iraq to Increase Wheat Output by 74%
Iraq plans to increase domestic wheat production by about 74 percent to 3 million metric tons by 2015, according to Saleh Hussein Jabur [Jabr], director general of state- owned Mesopotamia Seed Company. Bloomberg reports that the government intends to triple the annual quantity of wheat seed that it buys from local farmers to 180,000 tons […]
70% Jump in US Companies Considering Iraq
The Iraqi Embassy in Washington DC dealt with nearly 5,000 applications from American companies hoping to do business in Iraq last year, a 70% jump from 2010, according to an article from Chicago Business. Among the companies mentioned are the Schaumburg, Illinois-based manufacturer Quality Float Works Inc., which mades devices to control liquid flows in […]
NIC Releases Land for Investment
Iraq's National Investment Commission (NIC) has released a 3,100-donum (775 hectare) site for development. The Al-Bathaa land starts north of the Euphrates river and ends south of the old Ur railway line; to the west the land is adjacent to the Bathaa district while close to the center of Thi Qar Province on the east. […]
Alcatel-Lucent wins $27m Land-Line Contract
French company Alcatel-Lucent will build a $27 million (32 billion IQD) land-line communications network in the provinces of Diayla and Anbar, according to AKnews. Bassam Salem al-Zaidi, a Diyala Province spokesman, told AKnews that the company will start work "in the coming months" in Diyala, where it will connect 35,000 subscribers at a cost of $13 […]
UAE to Cancel $5.8bn in Iraqi Debt
Al Arabiya reports that the United Arab Emirates will scrap $5.8 billion in debts owed by Iraq. Emirati foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan, said on Monday at a news conference hosted jointly with Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari (pictured): “An agreement will be signed soon to lay out the legal framework for waiving […]