Iraq Business News brings you the latest on Iraqi government bonds, with information on developments and opportunities.
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 […]
Fitch Ratings has revised its outlook on Iraq's Long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to Negative from Stable 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: […]
By John Lee. Moody's Investors Service has today withdrawn its provisional rating of (P)Caa1 for Government of Iraq's planned USD bond issuance. The issuance rating has been withdrawn following statements made by Iraq's Deputy Finance Minister that the issuance plans have been put on hold. The last rating action was in September 2015 when Moody's […]
By John Lee. Reuters quotes Iraqi Deputy Finance Minister Fathil Nabi as saying that Iraq has abandoned its plan to issue international bonds because the yield it would have to pay was too high. The required return on the bonds reportedly forced Finance minister Hoshiyar Zebari (pictured) to halt the plan to raise up to […]
Moody's Investors Service has today assigned a provisional rating of (P)Caa1 to Government of Iraq's planned USD-bond issuance, with a stable outlook. The rating was initiated by Moody's Investors Service and was not requested by the rated entity. It is being assigned ahead of planned issuance of USD-denominated debt by the Iraqi government in the […]
By John Lee. Reuters reports that Iraqi officials are planning to start marketing a new Eurobond following the Labor Day holiday in the U.S., which falls on 7th September. Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase are to be the lead managers for the deal, which is expected to be unsecured. Iraq is hoping to raise […]
By John Lee. The Iraqi government has reportedly appointed three major international banks to advise on its first international bond issue in almost a decade. Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase will assist in placing $6 billion (7.2 trillion Iraqi dinars) of new government bonds, in an attempt to bridge the budget deficit. According to […]
Fitch Ratings issued its first rating on Iraqi sovereign debt, giving it the fifth-worst junk grade, due in part to the cost of the civil conflict and the global slump in oil prices. The rating comes as the country is planning a $5-billion bond issue towards the end of this year. The international ratings agency […]
