By John Lee. Iraq’s (Caa1 stable) credit challenges include very weak institutions and governance that limit policy effectiveness, constrain the government’s capacity to respond to external and domestic shocks and weigh on economic competitiveness, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report this week. It says last year’s improvement in the fiscal and external balances was […]
Tag Archives | Iraqi Government Bonds
Iraq Business News brings you the latest on Iraqi government bonds, with information on developments and opportunities.
Moody’s affirms Iraq’s Caa1 ratings
By John Lee. Moody’s Investors Service has affirmed the Government of Iraq’s long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings at Caa1 and maintained the stable outlook. The decision to affirm Iraq’s Caa1 ratings reflects credit challenges posed by very weak institutions and governance that in Moody’s view, will continue to limit policy effectiveness, constrain the government’s […]
Iraq plans New Bond Issue in 2018
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 […]
Tags: bonds, Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), currency reserves, Debt, featured, forex reserves, Iraq Budget News, Iraqi Government Bonds, Sovereign Debt
Huge Demand for Iraqi Govt Bonds
By John Lee. Iraq opened the books yesterday on its first independent bond sale in a decade. “Investor demand was huge,” writese Marcus Ashworth at Bloomberg. “The deal was seven times oversubscribed.” The $1-billion, dollar-denominated bond, maturing in March 2023, was expected yield 7 percent, but demand enabled that to be cut to 6.75 percent. […]
Tags: bonds, Citibank, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, featured, Fitch, fitch ratings, Iraqi Government Bonds, JPMorgan, Sovereign Debt, Standard and Poor
Iraq to sell new USD Govt Bonds
By John Lee. The Financial Times reports that Iraq has appointed Citi, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan as joint bookrunners for a new five-year government bond. The issue is described as a dollar-denominated, long-dated, benchmark-scale bond; investor meetings scheduled over the coming days. In January, Iraq raised $1 billion of five-year bonds, guaranteed by the US, […]
Tags: bonds, Citibank, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, featured, Iraq Budget News, Iraqi Government Bonds, JP Morgan Chase, Sovereign Debt
Fitch Revises Outlook on Iraq to Stable; Affirms at ‘B-‘
Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlook on Iraq’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to Stable from Negative and affirmed the IDR at ‘B-‘. The Country Ceiling has been affirmed at ‘B-‘ and the Short-Term Foreign-Currency IDR at ‘B’. KEY RATING DRIVERS The revision of the Outlook reflects the following key rating drivers: Iraq’s fiscal […]
Govt Issues $1bn Sovereign Bond with US Guarantee
Iraq has successfully closed on its offering of a $1 billion sovereign bond issuance guaranteed by the United States of America. This loan guarantee underscores the strong and enduring commitment of the United States to support the government of Iraq in this critical moment in the fight against Da’esh. As part of a comprehensive international […]
Tags: bonds, featured, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Iraq Budget News, Iraqi Government Bonds, Sovereign Debt, United States
Fitch Affirms Iraq at ‘B-‘; Outlook Negative
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Iraq’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘B-‘ with a Negative Outlook. The Country Ceiling is affirmed at ‘B-‘ and the Short-Term IDR at ‘B’. KEY RATING DRIVERS Political risk and insecurity in Iraq are among the highest faced by any sovereign rated by Fitch. Progress has been made in pushing […]
Iraq plans $2bn Bond Sale
By John Lee. Reuters reports that Iraq expects to sell $2 billion in eurobonds in the last quarter of this year, when international aid starts coming in, helping lower its cost of borrowing. Finance Minister Hoshiyar Zebari (pictured) told the news agency that Iraq expects to receive $600 million in September from the International Monetary […]
Tags: bonds, featured, Fitch, fitch ratings, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Iraqi Government Bonds, Moody's
CBI Increases Interest Rate on Local Bonds
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 […]
Iraq sells $1.3bn in Local Bonds
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 […]
Is it time to Invest in Iraqi Bonds?
By John Lee. Boutique investment bank Exotix Partners has issued a “buy” alert on Iraqi benchmark U.S.-dollar 2028 bonds on Tuesday, following a “sell” notice in September. The company says: “It seems that an extra level of country risk is being embedded in Iraq specifically, perhaps because the market views its debt as unsustainable. Having once […]