Iraq Business News brings you the latest on Iraqi government bonds, with information on developments and opportunities.
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 […]
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. 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. […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. 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. 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 […]
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 […]
