Net Foreign Investment In Iraq Declines In 2024 And The First Quarter Of 2025
Money and Business Economy News – Baghdad Data released by the Central Bank of Iraq showed that net foreign investment in Iraq recorded a deficit of $8 billion in 2024, due to net foreign investment outflows of $7.6 billion, in addition to Iraqi investments abroad amounting to $400 million.
For the first quarter of 2025, data indicates a continued negative trend, with net outward foreign investment from Iraq exceeding $1.1 billion. This figure is broken down into:
- Net outward foreign investment of $1 billion.
- Iraqi outward investments of $133 million, registering a 21% increase compared to the last quarter of 2024.
Despite a 36% decline in net outward foreign investment, the index remains in negative territory, according to Al-Abidi. This means that investments continue to leave Iraq rather than flow into it,
reflecting the ongoing challenges facing the local investment environment.
Foreign direct investment—both inward and outward—plays a vital role in Iraq's balance of payments. Along with oil sales, it represents one of the primary sources of foreign currency. The higher the investment flows, the less pressure there will be on the local market's demand for dollars and other foreign currencies.
It's worth noting that the Iraqi government had previously announced attracting $63 billion in foreign investment over the past two years, but these figures were not actually reflected in the balance of payments data.
This is likely because these projects have not yet been completed or have not entered into actual financial implementation, meaning their monetary impact on the banking and financial system has been absent. 441 views https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=56899
