Genel Energy appoints new Non-Exec Director
By John Lee. Genel Energy has announced the appointment of Canan Ediboğlu as an Independent Non-Executive Director, with immediate effect. Canan has significant industry, financial, and corporate experience. She has been a non-executive board member of ING Bank in Turkey since 2010, and Tupraş since 2017. Canan was formerly non-executive Board member of Aygaz between […]
Fitch affirms Negative Outlook for TBI
By John Lee. Fitch Ratings has affirmed Trade Bank of Iraq's (TBI) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B-' with Negative Outlook. A full list of rating actions is below. The Negative Outlook mirrors that on the sovereign. This reflects the impact of oil price slump on Iraq's fiscal and external finances, near-term uncertainty over […]
Basra: Iraq's Richest City with Little Water to Drink
By Azhar Al-Ruabie for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Basra, the richest city in Iraq with little water to drink Iraq's third-largest city, Basra, was once called "Venice of the East" due to the numerous water canals and bridges meandering […]
ISO certification awarded to Al-Burhan Security
Al-Burhan Security (ABS) has introduced quality management processes from day one of its operations to prepare for ISO 18788:2015, ISO 9001:2015 accreditations and also ANSI/ASIS PSC1. With a focus on quality management systems and processes the ABS Leadership team continues to work hard to further develop quality and operational procedures to ensure compliance with the […]
Shamaran Bondholders appoint Advisers
By John Lee. According to Bloomberg Law, a group of bondholders of Shamaran Petroleum has reportedly appointed restructuring specialists Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP to advise on ongoing debt talks. ShaMaran Petroleum said last week that that it continues to examine alternatives to address a breach of financial covenant and liquidity shortfall, and […]
$10m USAID contribution for COVID-19 in Iraq
Timely $10 million USAID contribution protects more communities against COVID-19 outbreak The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has committed over US$10 million recently to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq, allowing the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to scale-up its response to the pandemic into three additional governorates. The funds - pledged under […]
Iran, Iraq Discuss Oil Cooperation
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh and his Iraqi counterpart Ihsan Abdul Jabbar discussed ways to promote cooperation between the two neighbors in the oil industry. In a telephone conversation, Zangeneh and Abdul Jabbar called for the expansion of oil cooperation between the two Muslim neighbors. The Iranian minister congratulated Abdul Jabbar on taking office […]
KRG Council of Ministers reviews Public Expenses
Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Wednesday chaired a cabinet meeting via video conference to discuss expenses and the need to adapt to the current budget while protecting public entitlements. In the meeting attended by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, the Council of Ministers stressed continued commitment to reducing salaries of senior officials, including those retired […]
GKP to Cut Workforce by 40%
By John Lee. Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) has provided an operational and corporate update in advance of Friday's Annual General Meeting: Jón Ferrier, Gulf Keystone's Chief Executive Officer, said: "In response to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic and macroeconomic conditions, we took decisive actions to preserve liquidity and safeguard the long-term health of the business. We […]
New Zealand to Close Embassy in Iraq
New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister, Winston Peters, has announced the closure of the New Zealand Embassy in Baghdad. Mr Peters said: "This decision to permanently close the Embassy was not taken lightly and is in no way an indication of any change in the value that New Zealand places on its relationship with Iraq. "The […]
KRG discusses Land Ownership, Service Contracts
Prime Minister Masrour Barzani chaired a video conference meeting on Tuesday on notarisation of lands and residential housing projects. In the meeting attended by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani and other cabinet ministers, Prime Minister Barzani spoke about separating land plots allocated for projects in a bid to resolve the issue of lands granted to […]
Journalists, Critics Threatened & Harassed in Iraq
By John Lee. As decades of war and occupation come to an end, Iraqis are confronting their new era head on. A massive wave of protests across the country demanding an end to corruption and respect for human rights toppled the government in 2019. With a new prime minister in place who speaks directly to […]