Iraqi Kurdistan: KRG in financial straits

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is looking to borrow up to $5bn to pay for infrastructure projects as its financial crisis worsens. Chairman of the Kurdish parliament’s finance committee Izzat Sabir Ismael was quoted on 6 February by news website Rudaw as saying parliament was awaiting a report from the legal committee and would then vote on whether to proceed with the loan, understood to be from Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank. The KRG has been considering a loan for some time, and conducted a roadshow in October 2014, when Kurdish officials led by deputy prime minister Qubad Talabani met investors in London.