Thread: Archive Latest News - Think Tank - 15/04/08 - 26/08/08

Iraqi Parliament Establishes Committee for Investigating Issue of Provincial Elections Law

The Iraqi parliament has set up a committee to investigate the factors which led the Iraqi Presidency Council to reject the Iraqi provincial elections law, Iraqi lawmaker from the Islamic Iraqi Supreme Council Bloc, Raza Jawad Taqi told PUKmedia today.

He also indicated that the committee has convened to discus and amend the law.

“The committee includes several members of the legal committee, the committee for the regions affairs’ inside the Iraqi parliament and several members related to Kirkuk issue,” He added.

The committee should present its recommendations to the Iraqi parliament within 48 hours, head of the Iraqi Regions and Provinces Committee, Hashim al-Taie inside the Iraqi parliament told PUKmedia.

PUKmedia :: English - Iraqi Parliament Establishes Committee for Investigating Issue of Provincial Elections Law

Spokesman: "Talabani is a Legitimate Elected President"

The Official Spokesman of the Kurdistan Alliance Bloc, Frayd Rawanduzi, today in response to statements by the Iraqi MP Khalaf al-Alyan, the leader of the National Dialogue Council (NDC), said that al-Alyan is free since "Talabani is a legitimate elected President".

“Al-Alyan Aims to stimulate feelings of the Iraqis in general and kurds in particular. Talabani is a legitimate elected president and he is the protector of Iraq’s unity,” Rawanduzi told VOI.

“Al-Alyan should not forget that there is a state of order, law, and constitution,” he added, indicating that they are hope for re-voting the Iraqi provincial elections law soon.

PUKmedia :: English - Spokesman: "Talabani is a Legitimate Elected President"

Massum: Al-Amiri will Change his Opinion

Dr. Fuad Massum, head of Kurdistan Alliance Bloc at the Iraqi Parliament said “our bloc relation with the Unified Coalition doesn’t rule by temporarily stances”, in pointing to statement of Parliament member Hadi al-Amiri.

In an interview with Radio Sawa, Massum added “al-Amiri was insisting to remain at the Parliament session to vote on the provincial elections law. He is an important figure at the Coalition. I’m sure that he will change his opinion and vote on the law in its new form.”

Meanwhile, Massum described Khalaf al-Elaian’s statement, when he requested President Talabani to resign, as nonsense.

It’s worth mentioning that Hadi al-Amiri condemned the walk-out of the Kurdistan Alliance Bloc from the Parliament’s session and described it as a wrong choice. He also said that he remained at the session and voted for the law to protest the walk-out of the Alliance Bloc.

PUKmedia :: English - Massum: Al-Amiri will Change his Opinion

President Barzani: Passing the Provincial Elections Law is a Dangerous Act

The President of Kurdistan region Massud Barzani received yesterday, Ryan Croker, the U.S. Ambassador in Baghdad and his accompanying delegation which included Ambassador Thomas Krajiski and Ambassador Robert Ford.

They discussed passing the Provincial Elections Law and the stances of the parties towards the Law, the Presidency Council Veto against it and the rights and demands of the Kurdish People.

President Barzani expressed his and the Kurdish People’s concern towards the stance of some parties in the Parliament emphasizing that it will be a breach of the Constitution if it was motivated by fundamental attitude, it will not be accepted by the People of Kurdistan. He described passing the aforementioned law as dangerous.

On the other hand, President Barzani received General Helmick, the Aid of the General Commander of the Coalition Forces in Iraq. They discussed the security in Iraq in general and the process of training and qualifying the Iraqi army.

PUKmedia :: English - President Barzani: Passing the Provincial Elections Law is a Dangerous Act

VP stresses the necessity of preserving Iraq's currency policy

The Iraqi Vice President (VP) Adel Abdul-Mahdi on Saturday stressed the necessity of preserving the Iraqi currency policies, praising the economic and administrative achievements accomplished by the Iraqi Central Bank.

"Abdul-Mahdi received Sinan al-Shibebi, the Iraqi Central Bank's governor, and they discussed currency issues and economic progress in Iraq, in addition to the rebuilding efforts," said a release issued by Abdul-Mahdi's office and received by Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).

"Abdul-Mahdi praised the achievements that have been accomplished by the Iraqi Central Bank economically and administratively to serve the country's interest," it said.

"He stressed the necessity of preserving the Iraqi currency policies," it noted.

From his side, al-Shibebi noted that "the most dangerous threat to the state's progress is the instability of goods' prices, especially big differences between offer and demand," according to the release.

He added that "the Iraqi Central Bank specified this issue since the beginning, and is working with the Iraqi government to avoid it."

Aswat Aliraq

ISX index higher on Sun

Iraq's Stock Exchange (ISX) index went up by 0.502 percent to settle at 38.021 points at the closing of Sunday's session, the first this week.

Traded shares in Sunday's session exceeded 880 million at a total value of over 1.9 billion Iraqi dinars (1 U.S. dollar = 1,119 Iraqi dinars) by implementing 160 contracts.

Non-Iraqi investors participated by implementing 37 contracts.
According to the daily analysis of the capital market, 26 companies were traded in Sunday's session out of 94 companies registered in Iraq's stock exchange, of which five indexes went up, five dropped, and 16 maintained their previous price.

The Iraqi Stock Exchange, established under Law No. 74 of the year 2004, held its first session on June 24, 2004. The stock market holds three sessions a week: Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

Aswat Aliraq

Jordan plans regional railway, oil link with Iraq

Jordan is seeking six billion dollars from international donors to build a railway link with its neighbours and plans to import Iraqi crude oil by rail, the transport ministrytransport ministry said on Sunday.

The railway would link Jordan's Red Sea port of Aqaba in the south with the Syrian border, through Amman and then the industrial city of Zarqa, the ministry said in a report carried by the official Petra news agency.

Covering more than 1,000 kilometres (600 miles), the railway would also link the Saudi and Iraqi borders with Jordan's northern city of Irbid as well as the northeastern towns of Mafraq and Azraq.

The report recommended that Iraqi crude oil be carried via rail, scrapping plans to build a 260-million-dollar pipeline between the two countries.

"Lack of funds is the only problem facing the project, which should be completed by 2013, and any delay would increase the costs," Petra quoted the report as saying.

Amman and Baghdad agreed last year to study the possibility of building an oil pipeline from Iraq's Haditha pumping station to Aqaba.

At the end of 2004, Jordan said it would conduct a feasibility study into building a pipeline between Haditha and Jordan's sole refinery in the industrial city of Zarqa, northeast of Amman.

The kingdom was entirely dependent on Iraq for its oil before the 2003 toppling of Saddam Hussein, importing 5.5 million tonnes a year by road, half of it free of charge and the rest at preferential rates.
In June, Iraq agreed to renew a 2006 deal to provide Jordan, which imports 95 percent of its energy needs, with between 10 and 30 percent of its daily oil requirements of around 100,000 barrels at a preferential price.

Jordan plans regional railway, oil link with Iraq - Middle East News

the planning: the formation of a committee to review the economic feasibility ORDER

A committee of owners in the advanced planning in the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development Cooperation to review instructions economic feasibility studies and technical development projects for the year 84 19 rate stated by authorized source at the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation.

The source said that the purpose of this study is to make it fit with the new directions for the new Iraq and to facilitate the establishment of development projects and achieve the desired goals of these projects for comprehensive and sustainable development and to enable ministries and non-related to the Ministry and the provinces and territories to adopt these studies to guide development projects according to specific frameworks and priorities guiding the establishment of these projects .

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Demand for IPOs to rise in Mideast

Dubai: Surging petrodollar liquidity, robust eight per cent GDP growth and economic liberalisation in the region is set to fuel the demand for initial public offerings (IPO), according to analysts.

The burgeoning Middle East IPO pipeline shows few residual effects from the regional stock market crash of 2006. In the crash four out of seven exchanges lost more than 35 per cent in value. Despite the lacklustre secondary market, the demand for primary issues continues to remain strong, according to Ernst & Young.

"Tightly controlled by regulatory authorities, the Middle East IPO markets are becoming less volatile because the regulators are learning and developing quickly," said Phil Gandier, Middle East IPO leader of Ernst & Young.

The IPO market started the first quarter of 2008 strongly, with 13 companies raising $3.8 billion. In the second quarter, 13 firms raised $4.72 billion.

"There were 52 IPOs during 2007 and in the first half of 2008 there have been 26. The total capital raised in the first half of 2008 amounted to $8.69 billion compared to $4.83 billion from 33 IPOs during the same period last year," said Azhar Zafar, head of mergers and acquisitions, Ernst & Young Middle East.

The trend in the market is fewer but larger IPOs. Although the drop in number and amount of capital raised in IPOs has been more severe in mature global markets, the region has shown some resilience as a result of liquidity created on the back of record oil prices. In addition, analysts said liberalisation of rules on foreign participation in the markets is also helping the revival.

Right direction

"The regional regulations are moving in the right direction in most of the Gulf markets. Things are becoming a lot easier from an ownership point of view and what can be offered to the public in terms of percentage of total shares. With abundant liquidity the outlook for the region looks very promising," Kerim Mitri, Deputy CEO of Shuaa Capital, told Gulf News.

The valuations and earnings multiples of Middle East companies have been strengthened by the robust economies. With the changing investor perceptions, companies that have either withdrawn or postponed IPOs could consider going public.

Demand for IPOs to rise in Mideast - Middle East News

Expert: economic progress and "breakthrough" investment in Iraq last June

A member of the economic expert committee overseeing the auction Central Bank of Iraq, Tuesday, the month of June, last seen progress in the Iraqi economy and the "surge" in attracting many of the huge investments, because of the security evolution witnessed in the country. He said Dr Mazhar Mohammed Saleh: "The month of June last, has witnessed a shift in capacity to implement projects in Iraq, also saw a surge of investment in attracting many of the huge investments into the country." Saleh pointed out that these economic developments "have made increasing demands on the auction Central Bank of Iraq to grow significantly during the last two months, recording very high levels of demand."

He added that "the average demand for the auction did not exceed ten million dollars a day, at the opening of the auction four years ago. While increased to (60) million last year, hitting an average of fewer than a request (100) million dollars a day, during the months of June, And July of the year (2008) instant. "

He pointed out that the economic expert in high rise in demand "was also due to the large budget for the year (2008), in addition to the supplementary budget, which is the lifting capacity of spending in government departments and the private sector."

He stated that "the growing demand placed on the bank responsible for providing the dollar for daily dealings with the Iraqi market."

The budget, during the current year (2008), about (48) billion dollars, an increase of (18%) from last year's budget (2007). The government referred to the parliament a supplementary budget is estimated at (21) billion again, what makes the budget is the biggest in the history of the Iraqi state.

The statement said the Iraqi government: the beginning of last June, the balance of this year, which was approaching (70) billion dollars after the addition of the supplementary budget, constitute "an important breakthrough in the history of the budgets of the Iraqi state," pointing out that the budget was "a result of the rise of Iraq's resources From oil exports, and that will effect positive changes in concrete economic movement and services in the country. "

Saleh said that the auction Central Bank "is allocated limits (80) percent of the foreign currency remittances of Foreign Affairs, as most transfers are to cover the import process for the Iraqi market, which is witnessing the largest active. Addition to other external obligations which require the transfer of large amounts of foreign currency more than Domestic spending of those currencies. "

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