Foreign investments ebb blamed on security, SOFA – investors

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Stock Exchange (ISX) experts agreed that the decline in non-Iraqi investors’ shares is due to anticipation for the outcome of a proposed Iraqi-U.S. status-of-forces agreement (SOFA). “The security situation remains the factor that governs share trading. Moreover, everyone, be it Iraqi or non-Iraqi investors, are waiting for the outcome of the signing of the SOFA pact and that explains why they have taken a decision to put their investment on hold,” investor Habib Yaqu told IraqiNews.com. The Iraqi and U.S. sides have been negotiating during the past months a controversial long-term security deal that would govern the legal framework for the presence of the U.S. army in Iraq after the end of this year, when the international mandate granted by the UN Security Council (UNSC) for the U.S. military to intervene in Iraq is due to expire. Yaqu indicated that non-Iraqi investors, however, did not enter the ISX with all their weight due to the fact that it is their first experience with Iraqi stocks. Last week’s ISX trading operations went down as non-Iraqi investors’ demands did not exceed 14.5 million dinars over 8.3 million shares in the sectors of banking, hotels and industry through 10 contracts. The demands were more than 259 million Iraqi dinars over 182 million shares through 68 contracts in October 2007. AmR (S) 1