Iraqi Government, EU, IMF, UNAMI, and World Bank representatives participate at IBBC’s annual retreat in Windsor Dara Rasheed, Iraq’s acting Minister of Housing and Construction, Jan Kubis, Head of UNAMI and Special Representative of the United Nations for Iraq, Robert Bou Jaoude, World Bank’s Special Representative for Iraq, Patrick Simmonet, EU Ambassador to Iraq and […]
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday approved a three-year Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) for Iraq for SDR 3.831 billion (about US$5.34 billion, or 230 percent of quota) to support the government’s economic reform program. The Board’s approval enables the disbursement of SDR 455 million (about US$634 million). In July 2015, Iraq […]
By John Lee. Iraq has reportedly approved measures requested by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to unlock loans of $5.4 billion over the coming three years. An adviser to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told Reuters that the agreement is "on track". Among the measures approved is the settling of all arrears owed to foreign oil […]
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 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 […]
