“What is clear is the influx in foreign capital to Iraq,” he said.

“The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) report, which details an increase in attacks in Iraq against US military targets, is only part of the story; the real story is the massive increases in foreign investment into the country, and the opportunities that are there for investors,” said Qaragholi.

“Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first six months of this year has exceeded the total FDI in 2010,” he pointed out.

Qaragholi said that there has been a doubling in FDI from this point last year, and that Iraq in 2010 already attracted seven percent of all FDI into the Middle East — making it the fourth-ranked country for FDI.

The investment, he notes, is not sector-specific, but across the board in portfolio.

“The Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) is up about 40 percent this year, making it one of the top performing stock indices globally. We’re going to see the telecom IPOs, which may double or triple the market value of the ISX in the near future,” he believes.

Apart from oil and gas, Qaragholi said Iraq offered other interesting investment opportunities in housing, telecom downstream and hospitality sectors.

And in terms of sovereign credit risk, he is positive too.

“The Iraq sovereign bond, the Iraq 2028s, is yielding 6.70 percent when compared to Russia and Mexico at 7.50 percent and 8.30 percent respectively, and Iraq’s five-year CDs is at 335 bps when compared to Dubai at 815 bps.

Meanwhile, a senior central bank official said Iraq plans to redenominate its dinar currency by knocking three zeros off the nominal value of bank notes to simplify financial transactions.

Central Bank Deputy Gov. Mudher Kasim said he expected the new currency to be used in the market in three years and it would have no impact on inflation.