Special report: Kurdish region, so suited to nationhood, so far from independence

Peshmerga resistance to the advance of Islamic State (IS) has enlarged the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)’s zones of operation, as well as reinforcing Erbil’s relations with allies of convenience from the United States to Iran. The KRG’s bullish forecasts for oil and gas production have fuelled growth in Erbil and Sulemaniyah, while the recent (now postponed) mandate for Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs to raise a $500m-1bn bond issue suggested the Kurdish Region of Iraq was capable of quasi-sovereign borrowing.