Iraq's Risks and Rewards
The visit to Iraq last weekend by US Vice-President, Joseph Biden, may help to accelerate the process of forming the next government, but the frustrating delays in reaching an agreement highlight the risks of doing business in 'frontier' countries. Often, though, our perception of risk can be out of step with reality, and what appears […]
Lukoil Allocates $5 Billion to West Qurna
According to a report from Bloomberg, OAO Lukoil, Russia’s largest non- state oil producer, allocated $5 billion to finance the West Qurna-2 project in Iraq. The funds were provided as a loan to its Lukoil Mid-East Ltd. unit exclusively for the Iraq project, spokesman Dmitry Dolgov said. The loan matures at the end of 2030, […]
Iraqi IT sales to exceed US$60m this year
The IT spending in Iraq is expected to be at US$ 63.2 million in 2010 from US$ 55.7 million in 2009, predicts Springboard Research, a leading innovator in the IT Market Research industry. Springboard’s latest report, “Iraq IT Opportunity 2010” attributes the growth to the relative stability and a rebound in oil prices since the […]
Security Still a Deterrent, but Perceptions Improving
A new survey of senior businesspeople by the Economist Intelligence Unit finds that investor perceptions of Iraq are slowly improving, despite the country’s many problems. Preliminary results from our survey of 300 executives – all of whom have direct input into their company’s decisions on doing business in the Middle East – show that the […]
Kurdistan Govt Approves $500m Avro City
The regional government of Iraq's Kurdistan has approved the construction of the $500m Avro City in Dahuk province as security in the area improves, Meed has reported. The project will include 120 low-rise buildings, 3,396 apartment units, 56 single-family villas, 40,000 sq m of education facilities, a five-star hotel, sports stadium, commercial district, healthcare facilities, […]
Erbil Stock Exchange Opens for Business
AK News reports that the Erbil Stock Exchange has opened for business. "The Kurdistan regional government (KRG) has continually strived to create an environment for the local businessmen and traders to have shares in the local companies of Kurdistan," the secretary of the high economic council of KRG, Izzat Mullah said. Erbil stock market is […]
Iraq's Navy Will Be Ready to Defend Oil Rigs
The Iraqi Navy is on track to assume full command of protecting Iraq's vital offshore platforms within the next two years, outgoing US Navy 5th Fleet commander, Vice Admiral Bill Gortney said Monday. 'We are working very closely with the Iraqi Navy and within two years we will be ready to turn over the entire […]
Oil Flow to Turkey Resumes
Further to our report yesterday on the attack on the Kirkuk-Ceyhan Pipeline, Israel National News reports that oil started to flow again on Monday. A bomb, reportedly planted by Kurdish resistance fighters, had temporarily halted pumping on the Kirkuk to Ceyhan pipeline at the weekend. The bombing by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) added a […]
Karbala-Anbar Railroad Hits Snag
There are obstacles that curb the execution of the Karbala-Anbar railroad, a member of the Karbala Provincial Council said on Monday. “The railroad passes through an archeological site between the two provinces,” Hussein Shadahan told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He added that the Iraqi Transportation Ministry originally approved the project around four months ago. (Source: […]
Turkish Consortium Tipped for 500MW Power Plant in Missan
A consortium of Turkish firms is negotiating with the authorities in the southern Iraqi Province of Missan for the construction of a 500-megawatt power plant, according to a report from Azzaman News Agency. Governor Mohammed al-Sudani said the talks were in an advanced stage and that representatives from the Turkish consortium were currently discussing the […]
Turkish Company Builds 5 New Hospitals in Iraq
The Acarsan Group, based in Gaziantep, Turkey, is set to complete the construction of five new hospitals in Iraq and hand them over to the Iraqi Health Ministry by the beginning of 2012, according to a report in Today's Zaman. In partnership with the Universal Hospitals Group network of Turkey, Acarsan won a recent tender […]
Attacks on banks no cause for alarm
The Iraqi paper Addustour (Constitution) has reported that recent attacks on financial institutions have led some savers to withdraw cash from their bank deposits and keep it hidden at home. At first glance, it might seem that such a trend could potentially lead to runs on the banks or even a breakdown in the payments […]