Iraq Business News brings you the latest Iraq budget news – including the Iraq investment budget, Iraq infrastructure projects and more.
By John Lee. Iraq has reportedly approved measures requested by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to unlock loans of $5.4 billion over the coming three years. An adviser to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told Reuters that the agreement is "on track". Among the measures approved is the settling of all arrears owed to foreign oil […]
By John Lee. Reuters quotes a central bank spokesman as saying that the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has given its initial agreement to provide $3 billion in easy loans and grants to Iraq. Iraq earlier this month agreed a $5.4 billion standby loan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a deal that could unlock […]
By Omar Sattar, for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. On May 19, Iraq signed an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan for as much as $15 billion over the next three years. Observers are wondering how Iraq will […]
By John Lee. Reuters reports that Iraq has raised the interest rate its $1.3-billion local bond issue in order to boost sales. The Central Bank (CBI) increased the rate from 6 percent to 8 percent, with the new rate applying to the whole issue regardless of when they were bought. The sales period will remain […]
By John Lee. Central Bank chief Ali al-Allaq has said a possible deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may unlock $15 billion in aid this year and next. He told an interview in Beirut that he expects Iraq to receive $10 billion in assistance from the IMF and World Bank, with a further $5 […]
By John Lee. According to a report from Reuters, the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has started selling local bonds worth 1.5 trillion Iraqi dinars ($1.29 billion). The first local bonds sale to the public since 2003 is aimed at relieving the government budget deficit caused by falling oil prices and the costs of fighting […]
By John Lee. An article this week by The Economist describes Iraq as "the ungovernable country". It says: "The economy, meanwhile, is unravelling. The government gets most of its money from oil sales, but the price of the stuff has collapsed. Parliament passed a budget of 107 trillion dinars ($100 billion) for 2016—and projects a […]
At the Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC)'s Spring Conference in London last week, there was a general feeling that the downturn in oil prices is temporary, and that Iraq's finances will rebound in due course. Referring to the long-term trend in oil prices, Vikas Handa of Weir Group was adamant that "there is only one […]
By Simon Kent. Iraq's representative to OPEC Falah Al-Amri has announced that plans are underway for a second round of talks on freezing OPEC output in June. Currently, Iran is now the sticking point in any such deal, aiming for 4 million BPD by March, and one Iranian official has called talks by non-OPEC members of […]
By John Lee. Reuters reports that the International Monetary Fund could approve a standby arrangement (SBA) with Iraq as early as June, unlocking $15 billion in international assistance over the next three years. The head of the IMF’s mission in Iraq, Christian Josz, said on Tuesday that the package of assistance, nearly one third of it […]
By John Lee. The CEO of Standard Chartered in Iraq has said that the bank is in talks with Iraq’s Finance Ministry to take part in a $2-billion bond sale this year. Andreas Meletiou also told Bloomberg that the London-based bank is also holding talks with other government institutions about their financing needs. A planned […]
By John Lee. The US government has said it will allow the Iraqi government to postpone the payment of $2.7 billion for arms purchases. On a visit to Baghdad, US Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk (pictured) met with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, Speaker of Parliament Saleem al-Jibouri, and the governors of Diyala, Salah ad-Din, Ninewa […]
