Trade Bank of Iraq to Launch Private Equity Fund
The state-run Trade Bank of Iraq plans to set up a $500 million private-equity fund to invest in projects in the country, and will next month look to identify a global player to act as the fund's general partner, according to a report from Reuters. Hussein Al-Uzri, president and chairman of the bank, said it […]
British Trade Mission to Kurdistan Attracts Major Multinationals
Several major multinational companies last week came to see the business opportunities in the Kurdistan Region as part of a British trade delegation. The trade mission was led by the Middle East Association (MEA), which is the UK’s leading organisation for UK-Middle East trade and has brought eight delegations to Kurdistan. Mr David Lloyd OBE, […]
Commission to Cut Corruption in Ration Card Contracts
The parliamentary economic committee will oversee all commercial contracts signed by the Trade Ministry in order to eliminate corruption, a committee member announced today. Salman al-Moussawi told AKnews that the intervention of the commission is backed by the government in a bid to accelerate the work of the ministry and negate the possibility of fraudulent […]
Integrity Commission Names Most Corrupt Ministries
The Parliamentary Integrity Commission revealed on Sunday the most corrupt government ministries, indicating that they are currently investigating the cases and that more details will follow. Bahaa al-Aaraji, the chairman of the committee told AKnews that the most corrupt ministries are those of health, trade, defense, sports and youth, as well as the Secretariat of […]
Private Shipping Strike Continues in Iraq
A shipping agent in Basra said on Sunday that private sector shipping companies continued to strike for the sixth consecutive day in Khor Al-Zubair and Umm Qasr ports. A spokesman in Basra told AKnews that "our demands are focused on activating Law of 51 that the Iraqi Ministry of Transport refrains from its implementation, though […]
Help MSMEs Rise to the Eco-Challenge
By T. Keyzom Ngodup, co-founder and Executive Director at Ideas sYnergy, an Iraq based private sector development consulting company. I was pleasantly ‘perplexed’ to learn that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, approved (on February 7, 2011) an agricultural project for developing biofuel from rotting dates. The ‘dates-to-biofuel’ project implemented by an unnamed company based in UAE, […]
Unrest in Kurdistan 'Will Not Affect UK Investment'
Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, the representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Britain, said on Friday that the unrest in Iraqi Kurdistan would not affect British companies intending to invest in Kurdistan. Ms Rahman was accompanying a delegation of British businesses to the region, the ninth such group to visit. They have met with […]
Iraq to Amend Investment Law?
A member of the Economic Commission in the Iraqi parliament said on Saturday that the current investment law will be changed completely and replaced by a new one that fits the economic needs of the country, and which will accelerate the completion of service projects. Salman al-Moussawi told AKnews that the Economic Commission is not […]
Hawrami Outlines Kurdistan O&G Resources
The last three years have been “exceptional” for the Kurdistan Region in terms of discoveries of both oil and gas, Dr Ashti Hawrami, the Minister of Natural Resources, told an audience of diplomats and international oil companies in Erbil today. Dr Hawrami said that as a result of drilling activities from 2008 to 2010, the […]
Scotland Makes 1st Contribution to UN Trust Fund for Iraq
The Scottish Government has given £300,000£ ($480,000, 576 million Iraqi dinars) to the newly established United Nations Trust Fund for Iraq, the first contribution to be made against this Fund. The contribution of the Scottish Government will be allocated to water development in Iraq under the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). “With this contribution […]
Nissan’s Iraq Sales Office Based in Erbil
Japanese auto-maker Nissan has opened its main sales office in Iraq in the capital of the Kurdistan Region, Erbil. Nissan becomes the second major Japanese car manufacturer to have an office in the Kurdish capital, after Toyota. Sardar Cars Group will be the sole agent for Nissan in Iraq which has based its office in […]
Nineveh Signs Housing Contract with German Firm
The head of Nineveh Investment Commission has said that a German company plans to develop German-style housing complexes in Mosul, 405 km north of Baghdad. Muafaq Mahmud told AKnews that the German company Markina signed an investment contract with the investment board in Mosul and work is scheduled to begin on the housing complexes in […]