Iraq Stock Exchange

Background

Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the country's stock exchange was called the Baghdad Stock Exchange and was operated by the Iraqi Ministry of Finance. Now it is a self-regulated organization similar to the New York Stock Exchange, owned by the 50 or so member brokerages.

As of 2005, the ISX was Iraq's only stock exchange. It opened in 2004 with 15 companies, and now lists more than 100 companies. Turnover of shares in 2005 was approximately $5 million USD per trading session. Major stocks included Bank of Baghdad, Baghdad Soft Drinks Co, Iraqi Tufted Carpets Co, Hader Marble, and Altherar Agriculture.

Aswat al-Iraq news agency covers every trading session with reports published on the web in English and Arabic.

Growth

Originally, trading was with pen and paper. Buyers shouted at or called into their brokers, who stood near their whiteboards that listed each company's share buy and sell price.

Trading was suspended for several months in 2006 due to violence, and is subject to power outages.

In 2006, 92 trading sessions were held (an average of 2 per week), 57 billion shares were traded (at a value of 146 billion dinars), and 38,000 trades were consummated. The trading floor is currently open six hours a week: Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.

The ISX opened to foreign investors on August 2, 2007. It was unaffected by the 2008 financial crisis.

On April 19, 2009, the ISX switched to electronic trading. Currently, only five companies are available for electronic trading, but more will be added over the next few months.

In the first quarter of 2018, the ISX became one of the world's top performers due to the influx of investors encouraged by the defeat of the Islamic state. Companies listed on the market increased by 10 percent, anticipating economic recovery due to recent developments. This is particularly notable since the performance defied the violent swings experienced by global markets in the same period. The ISX, however, still faces a number of challenges, which include political instability as demonstrated by the 7 percent loss in value during the May election, sporadic conflicts, and the price of oil, among other economic grievances.

The Iraq stock Exchange is a member of the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges.

References

References

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2. Talmon, Stefan. (2013). "The Occupation of Iraq: Volume 2: The Official Documents of the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Iraqi Governing Council". Bloomsbury Publishing.
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5. Daragahi, Borzou. (May 24, 2005). "Putting stock in Iraq Baghdad exchange is a whirlwind of fierce optimism". sfgate.
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11. (January 30, 2010). "سوق العراق للأوراق المالية". www.isx-iq.net.
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15. [https://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/04/19/ap6308108.html Forbes.com – Iraq's Stock Exchange goes electronic] {{webarchive. link. (April 22, 2009)
16. (2018-04-01). "Worried About a Global Markets Meltdown: Try Iraqi Stocks". Wall Street Journal.
17. England, Andrew. (May 24, 2018). "Iraq's new government hamstrung by old economic woes".