The Private Sector Development Centre (PSDC) in Iraq in partnership with Chamber Trade Sweden and the support of The World Bank and SIDA carried out a 2-day workshop at the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad on the 2nd and 3rd of September 2013. Presentations were made by Swedish experts on: Labour Market Regulations – Good Practices. […]
The Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) has announced its third Mansion House Iraq Day conference, which will be attended by UK Energy Minister, Michael Fallon; UK Foreign Minister, Alastair Burt; Iraq’s Communications Minister, Torhan al-Mufti; and, Deputy Social Affairs Minister, Dara Reshid Yara. Other speakers include Brian Redford, Regional Director, UK Borders Agency (UKBA), and […]
By Marc Snaid. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has announced that the introduction of the new Iraqi currency has been further delayed due to teething problems with the cutting-edge technology that it will employ. Radical new functionality including fingerprint recognition and near-field communication (NFC) promises to create a world-leading new monetary system, which will […]
The U.S. Embassy, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and working with the Government of Iraq (GOI) and private sector leaders, has launched the second phase of the Iraqi Solutions for Administrative and Regulatory Reform (ISRAR) project at Nahrain University. The Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council Dr. Thamer Al Ghadhban, and […]
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a $70 million loan to help renovate a cement factory in Iraq, part of an effort to support the local building sector and aid in the country’s reconstruction. The financing will allow Kerbala Cement Manufacturing, a subsidiary of France’s Lafarge, to rehabilitate a state-owned plant […]
By John Lee. World Bank Group support for Iraq over the next four years will focus on job creation, social inclusion and building stronger institutions. The Country Partnership Strategy which was discussed today by the World Bank Board of Executive Directors is a four-year engagement framework with a planned US$900 million in support to Iraq. […]
Izumi Kobayashi, Executive Vice President of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) -- the political risk insurance arm of the World Bank Group -- will visit Iraq, Jordan, and the West Bank and Gaza in early November. During her visit, she will discuss opportunities for private sector investment and raise awareness of how MIGA's investment […]
The World Bank says it expects Iraq's gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 12.6 percent in 2012, and 10.2 percent in 2013, following a growth of 9.6 percent last year. If achieved, this would give a compound growth of 36 percent in just three years. This follows a downward revision of growth expectations for […]
The World Bank’s investment arm plans to pump about $800 million into Iraq’s energy and banking industries over the next three years to help boost development in the private sector, a senior official said on Wednesday. Reuters reports that Rashad Kaldany, vice president of the International Finance Corporation, said between $300 million and $500 million […]
A new World Bank report released today, Republic of Iraq Financial Sector Review, highlights that while reforms are ongoing in the financial sector, the country needs to push further to ensure that a system still characterized by state-domination and lack of transparency reaches its full potential. The report stresses the critical importance of the financial […]
Reuters reports that it's a tough road ahead for Iraqi private banks required to raise their capital to boost business as they battle against decades of state dominance to win a slice of the asset base from government-run enterprises. It blames a poor credit culture, the lack of a modern banking system, and the dominance […]
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is supporting economic growth and expanded access to telecommunications services in Iraq through a landmark $400 million, seven-year debt facility for Zain Iraq, the country’s largest mobile phone operator. Zain Iraq is a subsidiary of Kuwait-based telecommunications operator Zain Group, a longtime IFC partner. Zain is the […]
