BAGHDAD, May 8 (Reuters) – In a shabby, rusty train that had
just left Baghdad for the southern city of Basra, Riyadh Saleh
moved restlessly from carriage to carriage, searching for a
comfortable, air-conditioned seat.

Saleh was one of about 200 passengers taking a 25-year-old
diesel train to Basra last week; he was enticed by fares as low
as 7,500 dinars ($6.50) for a seat on the 600 kilometre (375
mile) journey. But like many others, he felt the experience -
especially the train’s top speed of 60-70 km/hour – left much to
be desired.

BAGHDAD, April 3 (Reuters) – When a recent lecture for a
group of Baghdad university students started with the question,
“What is the Iraq Stock Exchange?”, only one young participant
put up her hand to respond, and got the answer wrong.

Last month’s scene at the headquarters of the Baghdad bourse
revealed the struggle which Iraq faces to modernise its
financial system: it must overcome primitive, ultra-conservative
savings habits born of decades of war and political instability.

BAGHDAD, March 7 (Reuters) – The Iraqi parliament passed the
country’s 2013 budget on Thursday despite a boycott by Kurdish
members in protest at the amount allotted to pay oil companies
operating in the autonomous north, lawmakers said.

Iraq’s cabinet approved the 138-trillion-Iraqi-dinar ($118.5
billion) budget in October, but differences between Shi’ite,
Sunni and Kurdish factions repeatedly thwarted attempts by
lawmakers to pass the draft legislation in parliament.

DUBAI/BAGHDAD, March 3 (Reuters) – Kuwait telecom operator
Zain may be the sole seller in its Iraqi unit’s IPO
which could substantially cut its stake while maintaining its
majority control.

Zain Iraq must float a quarter of its shares and list on the
Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) as part of its $1.25 billion licence,
as were Iraq’s two other national operators.

BAGHDAD/DUBAI, Feb 4 (Reuters) – Shares in Iraqi mobile
telephone operator Asiacell jumped the maximum 10 percent in
their Baghdad bourse debut on Monday after investors in the
company raised $1.24 billion in Iraq’s largest-ever share offer.

The shares were at 24.2 dinars at 0707 GMT on the
Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX). A total of 780,000 shares had changed
hands as of that time; the stock is allowed to trade within a 10
percent range up or down, according to bourse rules.

BAGHDAD, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Foreign investors bought more
than two-thirds of Iraqi mobile operator Asiacell’s
$1.35 billion share sale, with parent Qatar Telecom
expected to have increased its stake.

The share offer was one of the Middle East’s biggest in the
last few years, and was seen as a test of investor confidence
for future deals as Iraq recovers from years of war, political
instability and financial sanctions.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Al Qaeda’s Iraqi wing on Thursday urged Sunni protesters to take up arms against Shi’ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, adding fuel to growing sectarian unrest in the world’s fastest-growing oil exporter.

Al Qaeda’s local affiliate Islamic State of Iraq said “peace and patience” were useless for dealing with the Shi’ite-led government they see as oppressors of Iraq’s Sunni minority.

BAGHDAD, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Qatar Telecom (Qtel)
plans to raise its stake in Asiacell as part of the Iraqi unit’s
$1.35 billion share sale, a Baghdad bourse official said on
Thursday, as the Gulf telco seeks greater control of its foreign
affiliates.

Asiacell will be the first of Iraq’s three mobile operators
to carry out a listing, the first major offering since a
U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

BAGHDAD, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Qatar Telecom (Qtel)
will raise its 53.9 percent stake in subsidiary Asiacell as part
of the Iraqi firm’s $1.35 billion share sale, the largest ever
stock listing on the Baghdad bourse, an exchange official said
on Thursday.

Qtel’s broad strategy has been to take greater control of
its foreign units; since last year it has spent $2.16 billion to
raise its holdings in Tunisiana and Kuwait’s Wataniya
to 90 percent or more.

BAGHDAD, Jan 29 (Reuters) – Iraqi mobile company Asiacell’s
$1.35 billion share sale was fully subscribed, bookrunner Rabee
Securities said on Tuesday, four days before the closing date of
the country’s largest ever stock market listing.

The Asiacell sale is the first major share offering in Iraq
since a U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003 and
will test confidence in the country’s economy after years of war
and sanctions.