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

ATM machines spread out in the streets of Baghdad

Took automated teller machines ATM gradually appearing in the streets of the Iraqi capital, where scores of Iraqis accept a day to withdraw cash from bank accounts via credit cards.

The French Press Agency that among the most active in the use of automated teller machines are Square Kilani central Baghdad where the movement of commercial diligent, and accepts many Baghdadis to use these machines that have been developed within the market.

The agency showed a picture of an Iraqi citizen is used one of these machines to withdraw cash payment from his bank account.

It is noteworthy that some Iraqi banks started providing credit card customers, while other banks announced they would adopt credit cards to customers soon.

I hope them poor souls & the immediate queue behind don't become easy sitting (or standing) ducks with their collected Dinars for those mad m o b i l e suicide bombers.

Great sign to see the ATM slowly making the scene...

I wonder if they would whisper, say a pray or two and then utter....: Open Sez Me!!!

Like Sinbad did....

Parliament: to vote on the law of provincial council elections on behalf of the Baath Party
A member of the Iraqi Parliament Watch that the Iraqi Accord Front deputy Khalaf Olayan Surprise members of the House during the voting process on election law provincial assemblies roll the top of his voice and told deputies all: I am going to vote on the law of provincial council elections on behalf of the Baath Party.

The deputy Kamal helped free space to claim that one member of the House of Representatives vote on the election law governorates on behalf of the Baath Party and form a shock reaction of the masses of political alliances with other forces to vote on the law.

It is noteworthy that the electoral law voted by the provincial assemblies 127 MP, reversing the Presidency of the Republic of law, returned to the House of Representatives in the hope of voting on it again, that happens after a national consensus on Article 124 on Kirkuk.

http://66.102.9.104/translate_c?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&langpair=ar%7Cen&u=http://www.baghdadtimes.net/Arabic/index.php%3Fsid%3D31241&prev=/language_tools&usg=ALkJrhhLMVufKuVk9Dt0WjejCxHcsFw gtw

Iraq's Central Bank maintains accredited interest rates

The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) on Tuesday announced that it will keep its accredited interest rates without changes, with a bank source saying that the bank gives an interest on deposits of 16 percent.

"The bank will use monetary policy tools to absorb the consequences of the external price shock in a manner that achieves the required stability in the national economy," according to a statement released by the bank and received by Aswat al-Iraq ­- Voices of Iraq - (VOI).

The statement did not reveal the interest rate paid by the bank on deposit accounts.

"The announcement was made following a slight increase had been reported in the annual inflation index for the month of July 2008, compared to the same month last year," the statement added.

Meanwhile, another bank source said that the interest rate paid by the bank on deposits is 16 percent, in comparison to 12 percent given by national banks to depositors.

Yesterday, a bank source told VOI that the annual inflation index reached 13.6 percent in July 2008 compared to 12.4 percent in June of the same year.

"The inflation started to affect the local prices," he underlined.
Meanwhile, the National Information Center said in a statement that the CBI will keep the interest rate unchanged after the increase in the inflation index during July.

Aswat Aliraq

Gulf unlikely to revalue currencies before union

Oil producers in the Gulf are unlikely to revalue their currencies against the US dollar before they launch their landmark monetary union and decide on the common currency unit for that scheme, experts said yesterday.

Although the dollar's recovery over the past few weeks could weaken speculation about an appreciation of the GCC currencies, economists said the increase would not affect any revaluation plans.

"An appreciation of the GCC currencies has nothing to do now with the recovery or the decline in the US dollar as such plans have become closely linked to the common currency under discussion," Mohammed Al Asumi, a Gulf economist, told Emirates Business.

"Any currency changes in the GCC are now associated more with the monetary policy than the dollar movements. I don't expect any major changes in the existing currencies before the creation of the monetary union. As for the common currency, my feeling is that it will likely be pegged to a basket of currencies, in which the US dollar will be the main component."

Speculation escalated in 2007 about a GCC decision to appreciate national currencies against the US dollar following a sharp decline in its value and a surge in domestic inflation, for which the weak dollar has been blamed as one of the main factors along with soaring rents and food prices.

GCC states, except Kuwait which quit the dollar for a basket of currencies last year, have sent conflicting signals on whether they would revalue their currencies or maintain the dollar peg. But speculation remained strong through the year, stoked by acceleration in inflation and further falls in the dollar.

While Saudi Arabia's Central Bank (Sama) has more than once hinted at a revaluation, the UAE has repeatedly indicated there are no such plans on the grounds the drop in the dollar is only temporary.

"There is no intention for the time being to unpeg our currencies from the US dollar because if you look at currencies worldwide, you will find that all of them keep fluctuating, rising some times and declining later. So the decline in the dollar is a temporary phenomenon and we should not build long-term monetary decisions on short-term issues. In other words, we cannot look for long-term solutions for short-term problems," UAE Central Bank Governor Sultan bin Nassir Al Suweidi, said recently.

"The dollar was steadily rising and with it, the GCC currencies were rising. It was a period of nearly 10 years while it has weakened for nearly three and a half years now. If we compare this period to the previous period, we find that it is a relatively short period. Our hope is that the dollar will rise again."

Suweidi said a decision by GCC states, which control 45 per cent of the world's oil, to detach their currencies from the dollar is not easy.

"Leaving the dollar is a very complicated issue and is even more complicated that you can imagine..It is not a simple matter that 'let's peg today and let's unpeg tomorrow'...this issue requires deep and long studies."

In Saudi Arabia, a financial analyst said he still believes there is a need for an appreciation of GCC currencies but opposed to unpegging.

Mahmoud Mohammed Shams, quoted by the Saudi Arabic daily Al Riyadh, said a revaluation of the Saudi riyal would support government efforts to tackle inflation, which is expected to soar to double digits this year.

"I am with a revaluation but not with unpegging," he said. "Unpegging the riyal from the dollar will hit the purchasing power of the riyal and this will have a major impact on the Saudi market. It will also sharply increase speculation on the riyal and this requires a highly qualified and experienced team at Sama to keep an eye on the riyal movements and global interest rates every minute. At present, Sama lacks this team so we cannot talk about an unpegging now."

Another expert said he believed GCC revaluation plans have become less likely following the recovery in the US dollar.

"Calls for a revaluation have largely receded. I believe that even if the dollar regains two thirds of the value it had lost over the past year, it will be better for Saudi Arabia to diversify its sovereign asset portfolio to include more currencies. This is much more feasible than unpegging."

In a recent study on the impact of a revaluation of GCC currencies, a US economist in Saudi Arabia warned the move would hit their foreign assets as a large part of them are in US dollar.

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZAWYA20080819062404

DIFC Report Assesses Progress towards GCC Monetary Union
Report identifies key policy issues to be addressed before GMU launch

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) today released a report assessing the progress being made by GCC countries to achieve the convergence criteria for a GCC Monetary Union (GMU) that were endorsed by the Supreme Council of the GCC at its 27th session held in Riyadh in 2006.

The report is the first in a series of reports to be released by the Centre focussing on issues affecting the region's economy.

The report, "An Assessment of the Progress towards GCC Monetary Union", states that GCC countries remain on schedule to meet the imposed requirements by 2010, but identifies four key policy issues which need to be addressed for the successful launch of the GMU.

• "Firstly, there needs to be an institutional and governance framework to ensure smooth, transparent and effective decisions on the conduct of monetary policy and other central bank policies, including the mode of operation of the GCC Central Bank.

• Inflation should be the priority item on the policy agenda: there is need for a change in monetary policy towards inflation targeting, with monetary policy geared to maintaining inflation within an announced target range.

• The GCC countries will need to invest in building their statistical capacity, in order to provide harmonized, comparable economic and financial data, to support the GMU and the Gulf Common Market.

• The GMU, if it is to be achieved and serve its purpose, needs to be supported by investments in financial infrastructure (including legal and regulatory), payment systems and the development and linkage of money markets and capital markets to ensure a uniform interest rate and the swift transfer of funds throughout the GCC."

However, once these issues are addressed, the report states that the GMU will add significant value to the region's economies: "The GMU will strengthen the commitment of GCC countries to regional economic integration. The GMU should be the central policy anchor, extending the benefits of currency stability to financial markets, industries and citizens, by fostering more intense trade relationships, linking the capital markets and attracting international capital."

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZA...000D0B74A0D7C/

Stable demand for the dollar on Tues.

Demand for the dollar was stable in the Central Bank of Iraq's (CBI) auction on Tuesday, registering at $77.28 million compared to $76.91 million on Monday.

"The demand hit $21.82 million in cash and $55.46 million in foreign transfers outside the country, all covered by the bank at a stable exchange rate of 1,187 Iraqi dinars per dollar," an official source from the bank told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).

None of the 10 banks that participated in the auction offered to sell dollars.

The Iraqi Central Bank runs a daily auction from Sunday to Thursday.

Aswat Aliraq

Islamic National Bank to open branches in Arbil, Karbala

The Islamic National Bank said that preparations are currently underway for the inauguration of two branches in the provinces of Arbil and Karbala.

"As part of its banking activities in Iraq, the Islamic National Bank will soon open two branches in Arbil and Karbala," the bank's authorized director, Sadeq al-Shamri, told Aswat al-Iraq- Voices of Iraq- (VOI).

Shamri explained that Islamic banking transactions have flourished worldwide, with total assets of $500 billion, including 25 percent in the Middle East.

Iraq has six Islamic banks: the Kurdistan Bank, the Tigris and Euphrates Bank, the Islamic National Bank, al-Bilad Islamic Bank, Elaf Bank, and the Iraqi Islamic Bank, in addition to 25 other national banks all over the country.

Also written Erbil or Irbil, Arbil is believed to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited in the world and is one of the largest cities in Iraq. The city lies eighty kilometers (fifty miles) east of Mosul. In 2005, its estimated population was 990,000 inhabitants. The city is the capital of the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, only isolated, sporadic violence has hit Arbil, unlike many other areas of Iraq. Parallel bomb attacks against the Eid celebrations arranged by the PUK and KDP killed 109 people on February 1, 2004. Responsibility was claimed by the Islamist group Ansar al-Sunnah, and stated to be in solidarity with the Kurdish Islamist faction Ansar al-Islam. Another bombing on May 4, 2005 killed 60 civilians. Despite these bombings the population generally feels safe.

Karbala, with an estimated population of 572,300 people in 2003, is the capital of the province and is considered to be one of Shiite Muslims' holiest cities.

The city, 110 km south of Baghdad, is one of Iraq's wealthiest, profiting both from religious visitors and agricultural produce, especially dates.

It is made up of two districts, "Old Karbala," the religious centre, and "New Karbala," the residential district containing Islamic schools and government buildings.

At the centre of the old city is Masjid al-Hussein, the tomb of Hussein Ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad by his daughter Fatima al-Zahraa and Ali Ibn Abi Taleb.

Imam Hussien's tomb is a place of pilgrimage for many Shiite Muslims, especially on the anniversary of the battle, the Day of Ashuraa. Many elderly pilgrims travel there to await death, as they believe the tomb to be one of the gates to paradise. On April 14, 2007, a car bomb exploded about 600 ft (200 m) from the shrine, killing 47 and wounding over 150.

http://www.aswataliraq.info/look/eng...=2&NrSection=2

Representatives of Political Parties to Discuss De Mistura’s Proposal

The Representatives of the political parties in the Iraqi Parliament will meet in the next few hours, to reach a national accordance on article 24 of the elections law. The meeting will also discuss the promotion of U.N Envoy’s Proposal in order to be acceptable by all blocs.

“The meetings between the political parties are going on in order to find national accordance concerning the Elections Law for the Provincial Councils”, Muhammad al-Khuzaae, the member of the Parliament from al-Fadhila Party stated to (al-Sabah) newspaper.

Al-Khuzaae, also said that there is a willingness to promote the Proposal of Staffan De Mistura, the U.N Envoy to Iraq, and to grant legal guarantees to all parties particularly those who voted on the elections law and article 24 which concerns Kirkuk province.

PUKmedia :: English - Representatives of Political Parties to Discuss De Mistura’s Proposal

KRG and Jordanian Pricewaterhouse Coopers Co. Ink Agreement

According to the Jordanian (Al-Rai) newspaper in its issue today, the KRG inked a 5.3US$ worth contract with the Jordanian Pricewaterhouse Coopers Company to develop in two years the KRG strategic database.

Al-Rai, added that the KRG Prime Minister Nichervan Barzani, is convinced with the importance of the project, he said “Information and communications, represent strategic potentials. The technology of information and communications is a main factor to push forward the development wheel in the area.”

PUKmedia :: English - KRG and Jordanian Pricewaterhouse Coopers CO. Ink Agreement