Iraq Business News brings you the latest on Iraqi government bonds, with information on developments and opportunities.
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 Moody's Investors Service has today withdrawn its provisional rating of (P)Caa1 for Government of Iraq's planned USD bond issuance. The issuance rating has been withdrawn following statements made by Iraq's Deputy Finance Minister that the issuance plans have been put on hold.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 […]
Kurdistan Region Council of Ministers on Tuesday held its ordinary meeting, chaired by Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani and attended by Deputy Prime Minister, Qubad Talabani. Prime Minister Barzani shed light on the latest developments in the relations between Kurdistan Regional Government, KRG, and the Iraqi Federal Government, highlighting the differences between the two sides over […]
By John Lee. According to a report from TR Zawya, Iraq is planning to issue a total of $11 billion (13 trillion Iraqi dinars) in bonds in the next two months to cover the state budget deficit. Acting central bank governor Ali Al-Allaq told the news agency that the government would issue around $5 billion in domestic bonds […]
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 […]
By John Lee. BasNews, citing an anonymous source, reports that one German and one American bank have expressed interest in lending to Erbil, if it proves its ability to repay the loan and interest. The KRG Parliament recently passed a bill allowing the government to borrow up to $5 billion (6 trillion iraqi dinars), at […]
By John Lee. Reuters reports that Iraq is approaching credit rating agencies to obtain a sovereign credit rating as it prepares for its first international bond sale for nine years. Finance Minister Hoshiyar Zebari (pictured) told the news agency: "We started the process ... The banks are also trying to help us in that direction.” […]
