Impact Iraq: Can the Country Save Itself from Global Economic Crises?
The industrialized world continues to struggle through a prolonged economic crisis. An Iraqi commentator in Berlin considers the impact of this on Iraq and how the country might avoid negative effects of a global recession. in this article from Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views […]
Iraqi Advisor Objects to Transparency International
The reports by the Transparency International over the corruption in Iraq are not "precise", an advisor to the Iraqi government said on Friday, according to AKnews. The annual survey by the Berlin-based organization listed Somalia, Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Iraq as perceived to be the most corrupt, with Denmark, New Zealand, Singapore, Finland, and Canada perceived […]
VP Biden and the Great American Reposture in the Middle East
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 Stock Market Report
Rabee Securities Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) market report (week ending: 1st December 2011). Please click here to download a table of listed companies and their associated ticker codes. The RSISX index ended the week at ID1,440 / $1,697, +9.0%. The number of weekly traded shares was 5.8bn and the weekly trading volume was ID10.0bn ($8.5mn). […]
Lukoil and Shell to Replace Exxon at West Qurna 1?
Russian news agency RBC Daily reports that Lukoil, Russia’s second-largest oil producer, is looking to expand its business in Iraq through buying part of ExxonMobil's 60% stake in the West Qurna 1 field. If the deal goes ahead Lukoil would hold 37.5% of the business. It is already in partnership with Norway's Statoil in the […]
Undersea Cable Network to Upgrade Iraq's Links
Reuters reports that Qatar-based Gulf Bridge International (GBI) is completing the final stages of a submarine cable network that will give Iraq fast, reliable connections to other parts of the world for the first time. The network, expected to be fully operational by the end of the year, consists of a 13,000 km (8,078 miles) […]
Time to Move on: Iraq's Oil & Gas Impasse Explained
The furore over the contract signed by US oil giant Exxon with Iraqi Kurdistan is another sign that Iraq urgently needs a new oil and gas law. As this primer from Niqash explains, the lack of this law could well be a sign that the dream of united Iraq is over. Any opinions expressed are […]
VP Biden's Address to US-Iraq Higher Coordinating Cmte
Remarks by Vice President Biden at the Conclusion of a Meeting of the U.S.-Iraq Higher Coordinating Committee THE VICE PRESIDENT: Mr. Prime Minister, my distinguished colleagues, as I stated at the outset, both our countries are now launching on a new phase of this relationship. What we discussed here today was not totally new, but […]
Iraqi Banking’s Great Leap Forward
Last month the Central Bank of Iraq co-hosted a conference with USAID’s Iraq Financial Development Project on “Integrating the Banking and Financial Services Sector in Iraq.” This event, which was held in Istanbul from November 18-19 covered two upcoming changes to the payments system that have the potential to revolutionize Iraq’s banking sector. The first […]
Emerson Pitches for Business at Zubair
U.S.-based energy firm Emerson has submitted a bid for an automated systems contract at Iraq's ENI-operated Zubair oil field, according to a report from Market Watch. The company, a specialist in oil and gas, refining and power automation, gave no details about the value of the contract to set up process and control automation equipment […]
Rail Revenues Up 25%
The revenues of the Iraqi Republic Railways Company were 24.5 percent higher in October than in September, according to AKnews. The Transport Ministry announced that the IRR's revenues reached 1.6 billion IQD ($1.3 million USD) in October, compared to 1.3 billion IQD ($1.1 million USD) the previous month. Only 9.6 percent (153 million IQD/$128,300 USD) […]
Foreign Companies Keen to Work for Missan Oil
Aswat al-Iraq reports that a number of American, Malaysian, French and Japanese companies are interested in working in southern Iraq's Missan Oil Company. "The Internatoinal Oil Gas Exhibition, held in Basra Province, saw visits by dozens of foreign companies to the Missan Oil Company pavilion," Ali Abbas al-Turfy told the news agency, adding that "more […]