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

Demand for dollar up, exchange rate stable in daily auction

Demand for the dollar was up in the Iraqi Central Bank's auction on Thursday, registering at $77.270 million compared to $39.110 million on Wednesday.

"The demand hit $10.270 million in cash and $67 million in money transfers outside the country, all covered by the bank at an exchange rate of 1,202 Iraqi dinars per dollar, the same for the 4th session in a row," according to the central bank's daily bulletin which was received by Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).

The 15 banks that participated in the auction offered to sell 850,000 dollars, which the bank bought all at a rate of 1200 dinars per dollar.

Speaking to VOI, Ali al-Yasseri, a trader, said that demand for dollar was expected to increase to double yesterday’s demand and the increase in remittances and bids in the session, raising the overall demand for the dollar.

Aswat Aliraq

Iraq Provincial Elections might be adjourned

While Iraqi Parliament has not yet ratified provincial elections law, reports evoked yesterday the possibility of adjourning provincial elections.

Iraq provincial elections might be adjourned | Iraq News | Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV Network

Iraq bloc changes name to participate in provincial elections

Liberation and reconciliation bloc has changed its name to Iraqi Arab bloc to register in Higher Elections Commission in order to participate in provincial elections due in October. The new front which was presided by Meshaan Al Jibouri is now headed by Abdul Karim Abtan holding in Liberation and Reconciliation bloc as well as unified nation party.

Iraq bloc changes name to participate in provincial elections | Iraq News | Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV Network

And here we go again and again and again.........

Kurdistan Affirms Oil Contracts are Legal

In its 11th session part of the second legislative quarter, Iraqi Parliament discussed and approved a number of laws. The session discussed mechanisms to cancel previous resolutions of the revolution command council while it voted on the law of compensation for damaged people from war operations and military oversights as well as terrorist operations after introducing amendments thereof. The session called as well to promote the role of legal support committee in Parliament which is responsible for reviewing laws before passing them to Parliament.

On the other hand, Kurdistan Prime Minister Neshervan Barazani affirmed that oil contracts concluded by Kurdistan’s government with foreign companies are part of a legal and constitutional framework noting that the regional government is prepared to pass these contracts to the federal court and the public opinion. Barazani affirmed the region’s willingness to add 100,000 barrels to Iraqi oil exports.

Kurdistan affirms oil contracts are legal | Iraq News | Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV Network

Oil Prices Decrease Slightly

Oil prices decreased today from the record price, $120 per barrel, it reached in the former session. However, dealers expected crude oil reserves in USA, biggest oil consumer in the world, to increase.

However, the market is still instable because dollar keeps on depreciating, Nigeria supplies are facing some hindrances and it is feared that labors strike in a Scottish refinery would affect North Sea oil output.

Oil prices decrease slightly | Economics News | Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV Network

MGK gives Green Light for talks with Iraqi Kurds
Turkey's top political leaders and military commanders have discussed relations with neighboring Iraq and given the green light for talks with Iraqi Kurds after having refused for several years to have dialogue with the Kurdish groups on suspicion that they support the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

"Activities in the legislative field, which constitutes the basis of national consensus in Iraq, and developments toward restoration of Iraq's standing in the region have been assessed, and it has been considered that it will be beneficial to continue consultations with all Iraqi groups and movements," a statement released after a regular meeting of the National Security Council (MGK) said yesterday afternoon. The statement also said prospects for the deepening of bilateral cooperation with Iraq, particularly in the field of energy, were discussed at the meeting.

Ankara maintains low-level talks with Iraqi Kurds running autonomous northern Iraq but refuses to have senior-level dialogue, urging them to condemn and isolate the PKK in their region first. News reports have recently suggested that Turkish officials are planning talks with Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of the autonomous regional Kurdish administration. Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdish administration, has also softened his usually harsh tone while describing the state of relations with Turkey in recent speeches.

The MGK statement also said Turkey's efforts to fight the PKK terrorists will continue.

The MGK discussed the new Cyprus reunification process as well. The statement said Turkey fully supported efforts to reach a just and lasting solution on the island and emphasized that the settlement must be based on the principle of political equality for both sides. Today's Zaman

PUKmedia :: English - Home

Japan to Carry out Electricity, Oil and Harbor Projects in Iraq

Baqir Jabir al-Zubaidi, the Iraqi Minister of Finance received Japanese ambassador to Iraq, Kenjiro Monji.

During a meeting they discussed the mechanism for carrying out the 8 projects that were recently signed between Iraq and Japan. The projects are related with developing electricity, oil, harbor, irrigation, fertilizers and finally roads and bridges sectors.

Minister al-Zubaidi emphasized that another 2 contracts will be signed in Jun to develop Basrah water and Kurdistan Region’s electricity.

Al-Zubaidi asserted the Iraqi Government wish to develop all aspects of its relation with Japan and to get advantage from the Japanese technology and experience to carry out the projects and rehabilitant the Iraqi qualifications.

http://pukmedia.com/english/News/news96.htm

Italian energy giant Eni eyes Iraq Contracts

Italian energy giant Eni is considering investing in Iraq with the expected passage of new legislation on oil revenue distribution, the daily Corriere della Sera reported Monday.

"It will be possible to sign contracts in a new legislative framework," Eni CEO Paolo Scaroni was quoted as saying on the sidelines of an energy meeting in Rome.

The Italian company would initially go in for three- to four-year engineering projects, Corriere said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said during a visit to Brussels last week that his country was close to adopting a key energy law to encourage investment, notably from the European Union.

The energy law is considered an essential step for national reconciliation in Iraq and to help attract investment in the sector.

Iraq lies atop the world's third largest reserves of crude oil, estimated at some 115 billion barrels, but is sorely lacking in infrastructure and the latest technologies, to which it was denied access under years of international sanctions.

The draft law stipulates a fair distribution of oil revenues between Iraq's 18 provinces, a very sensitive matter in a country wracked by inter-communal violence.

International oil companies have hesitated to invest in Iraq until the new law is passed and implemented.

Iraq Development Program - Italian energy giant Eni eyes Iraq contracts

'Disneyland' comes to Baghdad with multi-million pound Entertainment Park

Llewellyn Werner admits he is facing obstacles most amusement park developers never have to deal with – insurgent attacks and looting.

When you are building an amusement park in downtown Baghdad, those risks come with the territory.

Mr Werner, chairman of C3, a Los Angeles-based holding company for private equity firms, is pouring millions of dollars into developing the Baghdad Zoo and Entertainment Experience, a massive American-style amusement park that will feature a skateboard park, rides, a concert theatre and a museum. It is being designed by the firm that developed Disneyland.

“The people need this kind of positive influence. It’s going to have a huge psychological impact,” Mr Werner said.

The 50-acre (20 hectare) swath of land sits adjacent to the Green Zone and encompasses Baghdad’s existing zoo, which was looted, left without power and abandoned after the American-led invasion in 2003. Only 35 of 700 animals survived – some starved, some were stolen and some were killed by Iraqis fearing food shortages.

In the years that followed, the zoo and the surrounding al-Zawra park became an occasional target for insurgent attacks. But in recent months, families have begun to return cautiously for weekend picnics. Renovations have already begun on the zoo, with cages being repainted and new animals arriving, including ostriches, bears and a lion.

Mr Werner, who has been sold a 50-year lease on the site by the Mayor of Baghdad for an undisclosed sum, says that the time is ripe for the amusement park. “I think people will embrace it. They’ll see it as an opportunity for their children regardless if they’re Shia or Sunni. They’ll say their kids deserve a place to play and they’ll leave it alone.”

Ali al-Dabbagh, a spokesman for the Government, is equally optimistic: “There is a shortage of entertainment in the city. Cinemas can’t open. Playgrounds can’t open. The fun park is badly needed for Baghdad. Children don’t have any opportunities to enjoy their childhood.” Mr al-Dabbagh added that entry to the park would be strictly controlled.

The project will cost $500 million (£250 million) and will be managed by Iraqis. Under the terms of the lease, Mr Werner will retain exclusive rights to housing and hotel developments, which he says will be both culturally sensitive and enormously profitable. “I wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t making money,” he said. “I also have this wonderful sense that we’re doing the right thing – we’re going to employ thousands of Iraqis. But mostly everything here is for profit.”

A $1 million skateboard park, the first phase of the development, will open in July. Parts for 200,000 skateboards and materials to build ramps will be shipped from America to Iraq for assembly at state-owned factories and distributed free to Iraqi children along with helmets and knee pads.

The larger entertainment park, designed by Ride and Show Engineering Inc, will follow in phases, part of a strategy launched two years ago by the Iraqi Government and the US to attract private investment into the country’s 192 state-owned factories.

The factories were closed in 2003 by Paul Bremer, then the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, who believed that private enterprise would take their place. Instead, industries withered and half a million skilled workers were left jobless.

A task force headed by Paul Brinkley, Deputy Under Secretary of Defence for Business Transformation, is now attempting to revive Iraq’s factories – a task undermined by persistent violence.

But Mr Werner, whose company manages several hundred million dollars of equity, sees Iraq as a great opportunity. “Iraq to me is an open field. I have never in my life seen an opportunity with the potential that Iraq has with its skilled workforce and oil reserves.” He has begun partnerships with several Iraqi factories in the last year, investing tens of millions of dollars in joint ventures. But the Baghdad Zoo and Entertainment Experience could prove the most ambitious. General David Petraeus, head of US forces, is said to be a “big supporter” of the project, according to Mr Brinkley.

“There are all sorts of investment opportunities all over Iraq. But it’s not just hydrocarbons. Half the Iraqi population is under the age of 15. These kids really need something to do,” Mr Brinkley said.

Iraq Development Program - 'Disneyland' comes to Baghdad with multi-million pound entertainment park

Iraq Investment Summit Concludes with Signing of Key Cement Contracts

This week’s ‘Investing in Iraq’s Industry’ Summit concluded in Dubai with a prestigious signing ceremony featuring Minister of Industry & Minerals Fawzi Hariri, who presided over the formal completion of joint venture contracts within the Iraqi cement sector.

The summit, which took place in Dubai on 19-20 April, was organised by the Iraq Development Program under the Iraqi Ministry of Industry & Minerals with the express purpose of generating private sector investment to develop Iraq’s various state owned enterprises (SOEs), with the signing of two production sharing agreements seen as an example of the summit’s mandate at work.

Over 45 SOE Director Generals formed part of a delegation of 85 Iraqi officials at the summit, the largest seen at any commercial event. These DGs were here to hold discussions with international operators over potential joint ventures within the construction, engineering, petrochemical, food and pharmaceutical, industrial service and textile sectors.

The ceremony saw Minister Hariri act as signatory for two new private-public partnerships for Al Qaim Cement and Al Kirkuk Cement Company, both plants within the Iraqi Cement Company, which operates under the Construction Sector Directorate.

The bid to restart the Al-Qaim cement plant in the far western region near the Syrian border has been secured by a consortium featuring the Iraqi company Al-Jawhara al-Khalijiyah and its Romanian partner Uzen, while another Iraqi company, Al-Sharq al-Awsat leads a German-backed consortium to take over the plant in the northern oil hub of Kirkuk.

"We are making all of Iraq's state-owned enterprises available for partnerships with the private sector," Hariri said. “For the last three to four years, there has already been a stable market in the North, and recently we have had a positive indication that these Northern business ventures are moving into Baghdad.

“We have signed two very important contracts today for the cement industry, whereas in fact following the meetings of the past two days, I could have signed ten other similar deals,” he added. “But as a government body the rule is that the minister cannot just come and sign a contract. It has to follow due process in Iraq. But we have signed these cement contracts within ten months, which is fast for Iraq.”

The signing of joint ventures within these sectors is of particular importance to Iraq as the country undergoes a construction boom as a result of funds pledged for reconstruction, with cement in extremely short supply. The objective is for the signing of such partnerships to improve productivity within Iraq's 13 state owned cement plants, which have been estimated to be only functioning at around 25% of design capacity, a common problem within Iraq's aging infrastructure and one that Minister Hariri is looking to address through the Ministry’s ongoing process of commercialisation.

http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=5973