Iraq Growth '12%', CBI to Stay Independent
Iraq has told the International Monetary Fund that its central bank would remain independent, despite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki winning a court ruling in January placing the central bank under the control of the cabinet, rather than the parliament. The ruling attracted criticism that the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) might lose its independence. The […]
Basra Restricts Foreign Workers
The head of the Basra Investment Commission said on Wednesday that it has placed strict controls on the entry of foreign workers to the province. Haidar Ali Fadel told AKnews that the commission is restricting the numbers of foreign workers in the province in order to prioritize local manpower, and that formal approval has not […]
IMF Suggests Stable Iraqi Dinar
A report on Monday by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggests that the Iraqi dinar is currently fairly valued at 1170 dinars to the US dollar: "The CBI [Central Bank of Iraq] will continue to aim at keeping inflation low, predominantly by maintaining a stable exchange rate. The low level and the relative stability of […]
Weekly Security Update for 30th March 2011
Levels of violence continue to creep up in Iraq. Tuesday’s deadly attack on a government building in Tikrit serves as a reminder that terrorist groups retain the ability to conduct horrific attacks in the country. Otherwise terrorist activity was concentrated in Baghdad and Mosul. The south saw a slight rise in activity but it remains […]
New Tender Oil Company Microwave Link
The Oil Projects Company (SCOP) of Iraq's Ministry of Oil announces a tender for the supply and installation of a microwave link between Al-Najaf Depot and their communication center in Al-Najaf city. Tenders documents may be collected (by an authorized representative of the tenderer) at SCOP's headquarter in Baghdad against the payment, non-refundable, of 40.000 […]
KRG High Representative to UK Talks to Iraq Business News
Iraq Business News recently had the pleasure of interviewing the Kurdistan Regional Government's High Representative to the United Kingdom, Ms Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman. Iraq Business News: Ms Abdul Rahman, thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. May I ask you firstly for your opinion about the ongoing protests in the […]
Iraqi Dinar Revaluation Enthusiasts are Unaware of Bernie Madoff’s Fame
By Tom Cleveland, market analyst for Forex Traders, exclusively for Iraq Business News. Forextraders.com is an online resource for the foreign exchange market. “Buy on the rumor, sell on the news” is a time-honored investment phrase that is oftentimes more confusing than the wisdom it attempts to impart. The meaning relates primarily to company securities […]
Legacy of Destruction
By Leanne Case. Years of war and suffering in Iraq have left a legacy of destruction which includes ancient monuments and broken cities. During my time there I pestered those that I knew to share both their stories and images of what once was. One doesn’t have to go far to discover a land of […]
Zain Iraq Plans to Invest $100m in Kurdish Zone
The Iraqi unit of Kuwait telecoms firm Zain is planning to spend $100m this year as part of its plan to expand throughout the entire Kurdish region over the next five months, its chief executive said yesterday. Emad Makiya, CEO of Zain Iraq, the country’s biggest mobile phone operator, said the firm planned to extend […]
New Fact-Sheet on Water in Iraq
The United Nations' Inter-Agency Information and Analysis Unit (IAU) has issued a fact-sheet on water in Iraq. According to the report, Iraq faces difficulties in meeting the target of 91% of households using a safe drinking water supply by 2015. Currently 20% of households in Iraq use an unsafe drinking water source2 and a further […]
WesternZagros Begins Drilling Sarqala-1 Sidetrack
WesternZagros Resources has begun drilling the planned sidetrack in the Sarqala-1 well in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The Company intends to drill a 100 metre sidetrack from the cased wellbore to test the Jeribe reservoir. Results from the drilling and testing program are anticipated in mid April, 2011. The Company originally drilled Sarqala-1 in […]
German Ambassador Announces Basra Investment Conference
Germany's Ambassador to Iraq, Karl George Christian, announced an investment conference in Basra to be held in mid-April, and said that German companies are keen to establish a presence in the southern Iraqi province in the fields of construction, oil and manufacturing. At the head of Basra provincial council, Jabbar Amin Jaber, told AKnews that […]