An official spokesman for the government said that the bill is aimed at creating a better environment for investments in the country and will put foreign investors in the same position as Iraqi investors.
'The bill will amend investment law number 13 of 2006. Foreign investors will be allowed to own state, public, and private properties, according to a special payment system for the purpose of housing projects,' said Ali al-Dabbagh of the Cabinet Office.
The bill will also offer foreign investors the freedom to deal in the Baghdad Stock Market and to join partnerships in private and public companies.
Development is booming in Iraq. It is estimated that the country needs millions of new homes and the Iraq's investment commission hopes to attract $500 billion of foreign capital by 2015.
The news comes at the same time as a new survey indicates that Iraq is increasingly regarded as a future property hotspot. On-line property group Simplyzigzag asked real estate investors if they were willing to invest in more volatile locations.
Almost half of those questioned, some 44.6% said they would put Iraq as the top former volatile country to invest in followed by 17.9% for Croatia and 16.1% for Costa Rica.
'Iraq, once a crazy idea, has been become an ideal place for investment. Its economy though plagued by war is dominated by oil, agriculture and tourism,' said Raya Mamarbachi, Simplyzigzag director.
'Despite the volatility in the market huge returns can still be made. Kurdistan's capital, Erbil, has seen huge rises in foreign direct investment. Investors are swopping allegiances with more traditional places for high risk areas,' Mamarbachi added.
But it remains to be seen whether foreign property investors will abandon traditional markets for the riskier options of Iraq and Costa Rica.
