By John Lee. Iraq's Ministry of Finance announced on Friday the issuance of the third tranche of reconstruction bonds, named "Sukuk Al-Imar," totaling 2 trillion dinars [$1.5 billion]. This issuance is in accordance with Budget Law No. 13 for the fiscal years 2023-2024-2025, covering the period from December 31, 2023, to January 30, 2024. The […]
From the World Bank: Statement on the Iraq Economic Monitor Spring/Summer 2023 The World Bank identified an error in the reporting of debt data for 2022 and projections for ensuing years reported in the recently published Iraq Economic Monitor (IEM) Spring/Summer 2023 issue. As a result, the debt-to-GDP ratio in 2022 was corrected from 53.8 […]
DNO ASA, the Norwegian oil and gas operator, has completed the private placement of USD 400 million of new five-year senior unsecured bonds with a coupon rate of 7.875 percent. The placement met strong investor demand across international markets and was significantly oversubscribed, leading the Company to upsize the new bond issue from USD 300 […]
From Middle East Monitor, under a Creative Commons licence. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraq asks IMF for debt deferment due to coronavirus crisis The economic and finance adviser to Iraq's Prime Minister has revealed that talks are taking place […]
By John Lee. Simon Hinrichsen, a PhD student at the London School of Economics (LSE), has published an analysis of Iraq's sovereign debt over the years. The full 51-page report can be downloaded here. (Source: LSE)
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This study seeks to better evidence and understand the scale, terms, sources, uses, and social dimensions of household debt within conflict-affected communities in northern Iraq, with a view to inform ongoing and future CCI relief and recovery programming. The research was carried out in two conflict-affected districts in the Ninewa governorate – […]
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, which includes exempting Iraq from 75% of its debts within the support funds provided to Arab countries, scheduling the remaining amount and paying for its contributions to the budget of the General Secretariat of the […]
By John Lee. The Al-Bayan Center for Planning and Studies has just published a new report from our Expert Blogger Ahmed Tabaqchali. Entitled "Understanding Iraq’s debt: An overview of its status, outlook and origins", the report argues that much of that debate about Iraq's debt is out of context, mixes loosely related facts and figures […]
By John Lee. Following Iraq's successful return to the bond markets earlier this year, it is now reportedly planning a $2 billion sovereign bond issue in 2018. The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), Dr. Ali Mohsen Ismail Al-Allaq [Alak] (pictured), told Reuters that the plan is currently awaiting parliamentary approval. He added […]
By John Lee. Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) announced this morning that $500 million worth of company bonds are to be converted into equity, diluting current shareholders to a stake of just 5 percent of the company. The company's shares fell another 40 percent in early trading, and a new Chairman, Keith Lough, has been appointed […]
By Simon Kent. Iraqi Central Bank Governor Ali Al-Alak has said that Iraq is issuing bonds to the value of around $2 billion in the next few months, following last year's aborted issuance after investors demanded too high a yield. At the time, investors demanded an 11% yield on the bonds, and the issuance was handled […]
By Simon Kent. After months of talks, the Kurdish Regional Government says it has authorisation from Baghdad to issue bonds, in a move aimed at easing growing financial pains in the semi autonomous region. According to Bloomberg, the region needs approximately $1.4 billion to balance its books. Quoting IBN blogger Robert Tollast, the report noted how the KRG […]
