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 […]
Mr Frank Baker OBE, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Iraq; Ján Kubiš (pictured), the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq; and Robert Bou Jaoude, the World Bank’s Special Representative for Iraq, have accepted invitations from Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne to speak at the Iraq Britain Business Council’s (IBBC) annual weekend retreat at Cumberland […]
By Simon Kent. Iraq's Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari (pictured) and the IMF's Christian Josz (head of the IMF Iraq mission) have announced a standby loan for Iraq, following weeks of negotiations in Jordan. The loan is conditional on Iraq taking certain measures, for example, complying with an IMF monitoring scheme to reduce public sector expenditure and make […]
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. Dimitris Tsitsiragos, the Vice President of the World Bank's private sector investment arm, told Reuters on Thursday that the bank had arranged $375 million in financing for an Iraqi power company. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will provide a debt and equity package of $250 million, with another $125 million from Lebanon's […]
By Simon Kent. Iraqi Central Bank Governor Ali Al-Alak has said that Iraq is issuing bonds to the value of around $2 billion in the next few months, following last year's aborted issuance after investors demanded too high a yield. At the time, investors demanded an 11% yield on the bonds, and the issuance was handled […]
World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim (pictured) told a special session of the Iraqi parliament that the path to stability and shared growth in Iraq lay in empowering local governments, opening up and diversifying the economy, and improving the management of public finances by reforming the public sector and increasing accountability. The speech came […]
By John Lee. The World Bank has awarded Iraq's Ministry of Oil a certificate of appreciation for its efforts and success in reducing the flaring of associated gas. The award was made for the work of the Basra Gas Company (BGC), by the Bank's Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership (GGFR), a public-private initiative comprising international […]
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 Ali Mamouri, for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraq’s economic crisis is about to get worse. The government, which relies on oil for 90% of its revenue and 80% of foreign exchange earnings, faces plunging oil prices combined with rampant corruption and […]
Prime Minister Dr. Haider Al-Abadi met the President of the World Bank, Mr. Jim Yong Kim, and his accompanying delegation on Thursday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. During the meeting, they discussed the World Bank's support for Iraq with expertise and simplification of procedures and help to reform the banking […]
The World Bank expects the Iraqi economy to grow 3.1 percent in 2016, according its flagship "Global Economic Prospects" report released yesterday. This follows an estimated growth of 0.5 percent last year, driven by increased oil production. Growth rates of 7.1 percent and 6.5 percent are predicted for 2017 and 2018 respectively. These figures are […]
