By John Lee. Reuters quotes a central bank spokesman as saying that the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has given its initial agreement to provide $3 billion in easy loans and grants to Iraq. Iraq earlier this month agreed a $5.4 billion standby loan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a deal that could unlock […]
By Omar Sattar, for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. On May 19, Iraq signed an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan for as much as $15 billion over the next three years. Observers are wondering how Iraq will […]
By John Lee. Central Bank chief Ali al-Allaq has said a possible deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may unlock $15 billion in aid this year and next. He told an interview in Beirut that he expects Iraq to receive $10 billion in assistance from the IMF and World Bank, with a further $5 […]
By John Lee. Reuters reports that the International Monetary Fund could approve a standby arrangement (SBA) with Iraq as early as June, unlocking $15 billion in international assistance over the next three years. The head of the IMF’s mission in Iraq, Christian Josz, said on Tuesday that the package of assistance, nearly one third of it […]
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. According to a report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the fall in oil prices is causing a sharp deterioration of Iraq's fiscal position. The analysis finds that the budget deficit increased from 6 percent of GDP in 2014 to 15 percent of GDP in 2015 and a projected 10 percent of […]
By John Lee. According to a report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the fall in oil prices since mid-2014 is expected to shift the current account balance from a surplus of 1 percent of GDP in 2014 to a deficit of 7 percent of GDP in 2015 and 6 percent of GDP in 2016. […]
The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) for Iraq covering the period of November 2015-December, 2016, on which the authorities and staff had reached ad-referendum agreement in November 2015 (see Press Release No. 15/509). Iraq is facing a double shock arising from ISIS attacks and the sharp drop […]
By John Lee. According to a report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the external outlook for Iraq has worsened since the latest Article IV consultation assessment (May-June), mainly owing to a further weakening of global oil prices. The analysis finds: "Lower capital spending on the back of falling oil revenue is expected to contract […]
By John Lee. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected to finalize an agreement with Iraq in the coming days for a program to monitor its economy. The fund's Middle East director, Masood Ahmed, told Reuters the program would establish a track record of effective performance from the Iraqi authorities which could lead to a […]
By John Lee. The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), Ali Mohsen Ismail (pictured), has said that he expects Iraq’s foreign currency reserves to total about $60 billion by the end of the year. According to the report from Bloomberg, that is higher than the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts, and sufficient to […]
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Christian Josz visited Amman from November 1–10, 2015 to discuss a Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) with the Iraqi authorities. At the end of the visit, Mr. Josz issued the following statement: “Iraq continues to face a number of challenges. Key among those is the ongoing armed conflict with […]
