Iraqi Housing Crisis Beckons
This article was written by Abeer Mohammed, and was originally published by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, iwpr.net. It is reproduced by Iraq Business News with permission. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraq may face a major housing crisis […]
Parliament Finishes 1st Reading of Strategic Policy Council Bill
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. […]
Risks in Iraq: Perception and Real
By T. Keyzom Ngodup, co-founder and Executive Director at Ideas sYnergy, an Iraq based private sector development consulting company. IRAQ INSIGHTS, published by Ideas sYnergy aims to consolidate and build intellectual capital on private sector development, empowering stakeholders to address issues of access and structural reforms on a diverse range of topics impacting inclusive […]
Iraq's $70bn Railway Project
Iraq is to get high-speed trains linking the provinces, a senior official at the Ministry of Transport said. Talking to Aknews, deputy transport minister Bangin Rekani explained their desire for extensive railways and 240km/h trains. The plans have been presented to the cabinet for approval. The railways, which will provide a huge boost to the Iraqi […]
Four Million More Jobs By 2015
The Iraqi Planning and Development Ministry is to create four million new jobs by 2015, minister Ali Shukri said today. Speaking to AKnews, he said the jobs would be both public and private sector and will bring down the poverty rate from 23% to 16%. Private-sector employment is hampered by limited rights, such as a lack of […]
Iraqi Fears Over US Economy
Mohammed Saleh, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, highlighted his fears for Iraqi revenues due to the second leg of the financial crisis in the U.S.A., which was kickstarted by a credit-rating downgrade. With oil prices moving between $80 and $90, they are down from the $100 to $115 range they were trading in […]
Gulf Keystone Shares Up 12% On Huge Discovery
Gulf Keystone, the London Aim-listed, independent oil and gas exploration and production company with operations exclusively in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, found its second massive oil discovery just days ago. The share price rose by more than a quarter on the news, and have now fallen back to +12%, putting them just over 120p. Gulf […]
Customs Revenue Falls By Two-Thirds
June revenue fell to less than $9m, the Directorate General of Customs reported. This is down more than two-thirds from US$27m in the same period last year. The office believes that changes to regulations that require quality-control certificates on imports, supplied by just two government contractors, has caused backlogs at border crossings, and reduced customs income. […]
7,000bpd From Swara Tika-1 Discovery Well
Hillwood International Energy, an independent oil and gas explorer from Dallas, Texas, and Marathon Oil Corporation, another independent, based in Houston, Texas, have gauged a large oil discovery on the Sarsang block north of Dohuk on the Zagros fold belt in Iraqi Kurdistan, according to the Oil & Gas Journal. The total flow rates in the […]
Iraq And Oman Business Leaders Discuss Closer Ties
Khalil Bin Abdullah Al Khonj, chairman of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) met Habib Yousr Al Hashmi, the Chairman of the Iraqi Businessmen Union, on Tuesday, according to Oman Tribune. Al Khonji talked about exchanging visits and delegations to enhance trade and investment between the two countries, and in both the private and public […]
New German Consul General Begins Mission in Erbil
Mr Rolf Ulrich, the new Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Kurdistan Region, was received today by the Head of the Department of Foreign Relations, Minister Falah Mustafa Bakir. In welcoming Mr Ulrich to the Kurdistan Region, Minister Bakir assured him that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) stands ready to extend […]
KRG Blacklists Building Companies
Since the start of the year, the Kurdistan Ministry of Planning has blacklisted seven local companies, an official said on Tuesday, according to AKnews. Ayyub Galali, head of companies classification at the ministry, told the agency that housing companies in the three provinces of Erbil, Sulaimaniya and Dohuk, have been penalized for shortcomings in their […]