Iraq Stock Market Report
Rabee Securities Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) market report (week ending: 12th January 2012). Please click here to download a table of listed companies and their associated ticker codes. The RSISX index ended the week at ID1,456 / $1,598, -1.5% (weekly change). The number of weekly traded shares was 3.1 bn and the weekly trading volume […]
Weekly Security Update for 13th January 2012
The year 2012 has not begun well for Iraq. Levels of violence rose in the country last week, with at least 107 people killed and 300 injured in nationwide incidents. Several of the latest bombings have targeted pilgrims gathering in the centre of the country to mark Arba’een. The holy religious period is currently at […]
Russia’s Bashneft Eyes Iraqi Oil
Russia’s Interfax news agency reports that OAO Bashneft is in talks to form a consortium to develop Iraqi oil fields. The company, controlled by billionaire Vladimir Evtushenkov’s AFK Sistema, reportedly wants to be a junior partner in a consortium that will bid in the next round of tenders for Iraqi oil fields. (Source: Bloomberg)
$2bn Japanese Fertiliser Plant for Basra
Reuters reports that a Japanese consortium is planning to build and operate a $2 billion fertilizer plant in Basra. Citing an article from Japanese business daily The Nikkei, they say the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will provide up to 150 million yen ($2 million) to Mitsui, Toyo Engineering Corp and Tokyo-based consulting firm Unico […]
Talabani, Maliki and the Disputed Territories
The following article was published by Reidar Visser, an historian of Iraq educated at the University of Oxford and currently based at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. 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. […]
Iraq’s Rice Harvest Drops to About 100,000 tons
Azzaman reports that Iraqi rice yields have dropped to 108,000 tons from an average 200,000 tons it used to produce annually, increasing the country’s reliance on imports. Iraq is estimated to have imported more than 1.5 million tons of rice last year. The country’s Grain Board said the year’s rice produce has already been shipped […]
ShaMaran Shares Slump on Suspended Operations
ShaMaran Petroleum shares fell by 33% on Thursday following this update on its Pulkhana and Arbat blocks in Kurdistan: ShaMaran Petroleum is in the process of examining options to re-focus its asset base in Kurdistan and as a consequence has agreed with the Kurdistan Regional Government to suspend operations on both the Pulkhana and Arbat […]
Sonangol Equipment Blown Up in Nineveh
AKnews reports that uniformed militants have blown up about 10 machine tools used by Sonangol, Angola’s national oil company, in the province of Nineveh on Thursday. Sonangol won contracts to develop the al-Najma and al-Qayara oil fields near the provincial capital Mosul in 2009. The equipment was blown up by IEDs that were placed inside […]
Industrial Town to be Built in Sulaimaniya
A 3,000 acre industrial town is to be built in the Arbat district of Sulaymaniyah Governorate, according to a report from AKnews. Sulaymaniyah Investment Commission met with a number of private companies this week to discuss the master plan for "The Industrial Town of Arbat District", which will involve an initial investment of $3 billion […]
KRG to Review Welfare of Mine Clearance Professionals
Following a demonstration in Erbil by 700 mine action professionals late last year, the Kurdistan Regional Government will review their pay and working status to ensure that they are fairly rewarded for their vital work. The deminers marched to the Kurdistan Parliament in November to submit their demands. The Speaker Dr Kamal Kirkuki spoke on […]
Iraqi Dinar Under Attack
The Iraqi Central Bank (ICB) said it’s under a “currency attack” as traders buy U.S. dollars in daily auctions and resell them on the black market in Syria and Iran, which face hard currency shortages due to sanctions, according to a report from Bloomberg. Demand for the dollar at the central bank auctions has risen […]
$57m for Services in Khaniqin
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is planning to implement services projects costing a total of 67 billion dinars ($57 million) in the areas of Khaniqin, Jalawla' and Sadiya, according to Aswat al-Iraq. Khaniqin and other adjacent areas are among the areas disputed between the central government and Kurdistan, a problem which it is hoped will […]