Thread: Archive - Latest News Think Tank - 15/01/09 - 04/05/09

Iraq opens Saddam's bedroom to honeymooners
Iraq is opening up the doors of one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces to honeymooners who can enjoy the macabre pleasure of spending their wedding night in the former dictator’s bed.

The tourism authority is still renovating the presidential palace in the town of Al Hilla, 60 miles south of Baghdad, but once complete it is planning to charge $223 for the chance to sleep in Saddam's former bedroom.

“We hope that many people will visit,” said a tourism official in the battle-scarred town, in an interview with UK daily The Times.

The palace, which boasts Roman columns, chandeliers and huge bathrooms, was occupied by US troops until 2005, who left their mark in the stonework with a variety of graffiti such as “Brian loves B.randy”.

However, its outlying buildings, which used to house Saddam’s special guard, have already been turned into luxury hotel rooms, with 32 suites to rent that come with widescreen T.elevisions and king-size beds.

The rest of the place is now being revamped, according to the tourism authority, which hopes that its close proximity to Babylon, fabled for its Hanging Gardens, and Baghdad will attract foreign tourists.

The palace is already a hit with locals, attracting 1,000 people a day, who pay a small fee just to look at the building and picnic in the grounds.

One of the main attractions is Saddam’s date tree, surrounded by a concrete wall, from which only the dictator, who was in power from 1979 to 2003, was allowed to eat its fruit.

“I never would have dreamt that one day Saddam would be gone and people could come here. Before, they would have been arrested,” said Hussam Kadhim, the palace's manager.

However, visitor Khalid Al Lizan, an Iraqi who recently went on his honeymoon to Syria, added: “I don’t think it would be an easy thing for newlyweds to sleep on the bed of a dead person.”

Furthermore, the area still has security concerns, a bomb recently exploded in Al Hilla and killing 10 people, and the road from Baghdad has been dubbed the ‘Triangle of Death.’

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/55268...o-honeymooners

The support of the British Ministry of Development of an international conference in London to promote investment in Iraq

Organize the Iraqi National Investment Authority and the support of the British Department for International Development, an international conference in London on April thirtieth of the current month in order to promote investment and trade in Iraq.

Reported in the Department for International Development, British Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to take part in the conference at the head of a delegation of ministers and senior officials in his government as well as more than a hundred British companies and international .... Adding that the conference will provide information on the major sectors available to the foreign direct investment and other investment opportunities in Iraq and seeks to establish joint ventures between British and Iraqi companies and international levels.

According to the British Department for International Development, the London conference will also highlight the recent positive changes, including improved security environment and its impact in opening new horizons for investments in Iraq, which pointed out that it represents a huge opportunity for investment and international trade because it contains abundant natural sources.

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Bank of the Daily Auction

A day-to-day public auction held by the Central Bank of Iraq one of trends in monetary policy since the 2006's and so far as the central bank used the auction as to the stability of the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar against foreign currencies during the revaluation talk with the Iraqi Central Bank data on the rates of increase in the price exchange rate increased to 25% of its value over the past three years and began to decline from the exchange rate of 1148 dinars to the dollar to 1116 dinars in the past that address in order to create stability for the Iraqi dinar exchange rate of the trend to a reduction in inflation, which strategic goal of the monetary policy adopted by the Central Bank Annual inflation has dropped the foundation of 34% in 2006 to 11.7% at the present time.

When referring to the daily auction sales of foreign currency, according to Central Bank data, which come to us daily noted that the amount of those sales amounted to about 25.7 billion dollars during the last year in 2008 while the value of purchases of the Central Bank from the Ministry of Finance alone about 43 billion U.S. dollars, while Bank forecasts say Central sales of the dollar through the daily auction of foreign currency during the year 2009 up to 35 billion dollars, while the expectations of the procurement from the Ministry of Finance of the foreign exchange about 12 billion dollars, taking into consideration the average sale of a barrel of oil this year, about 20 dollars per barrel according to the assumption that most cases of drop in oil prices in global markets and therefore, it reflected the outcome of the expected balance of international reserves of the Central Bank of Iraq for the current year will be Mamkdarh 25 billion dollars is the sum of sales of the Ministry of Finance and the expected amount of U.S. $ 12.5 billion plus the remaining balance of the international monetary reserve to be expected according to the circumstances in which may impact the global financial crisis on the balance of payments in Iraq.

Therefore, the impact of the auction the bank will have a daily main focus in the movement of the exchange market as an engine of the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar against foreign currencies, particularly the U.S. dollar as well as the stability of the exchange rate created by the daily auction, reflected the values of traded goods, which represent the proportion of 80% of the components of the total consumer price index, a commodity which is one of the most vulnerable groups, the movement of the exchange rate on the basis of which measured levels of inflation, with the balance of 20% of the value of the high exchange rate which is outside the scope of the Cart, a trade balance in the movement of the dollar effective The rate of exchange, a so-dollarization phenomenon, which seeks monetary policy through the daily auction for the elimination of an effort to restore public confidence in local currency.

http://translate.google.com/translat...ial%26hs%3Dx18

Iraq's parliament held a meeting today to elect a new president

Iraqi Council of Representatives held on Sunday, a new meeting to elect a new president to replace outgoing President Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, after he failed several times in an election.

The source said that Parliament will be opened for the nomination before the House prior to the commencement of the election according to a secret ballot, and said that "The parliament session will be devoted to the selection of the Speaker of the Parliament to replace Mashhadani would be the first to open the door for nominations to the Web."

He added: "We hope that the matter will be resolved today to choose the most qualified among the candidates in order to enable the Parliament to move towards the adoption of important laws for the unexpired term in the life of the parliament, which will expire later this year."

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Dollar sales up to 145m on Sunday

Demand for the dollar was higher in the Central Bank of Iraq’s (CBI) auction on Sunday, reaching $145.085 million compared to $94.510 million in the previous session.

“The demand hit $8.500 million in cash, covered by the bank at an exchange rate of 1,176 Iraqi dinars, and $136.585 million in foreign transfers outside the country, covered by the bank at an exchange rate of 1,173 Iraqi dinars per dollar,” according to a CBI news bulletin received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

None of the 10 banks that participated in today’s session offered to sell dollars.

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

http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=111790

Local commission calls to remove obstacles to investments

Karbala’s Investment Commission on Sunday called to remove all obstacles facing investors and to speed up the allocation of land for investment projects in the province.

“MPs Hashem Rida and Madhhar al-Hakeem have been acquainted with the investment situation in Karbala province and the obstacles facing the commission…,” according to a statement released by the commission and received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“The commission has signed several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with international, Arab and Iraqi companies to implement various projects in the province, but none of these projects has seen the light of day due to a lack of zoned land,” the statement added.

The holy Shiite city of Karbala lies 110 km southwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=111785

Decline in the sales of the Central Bank of the dollar

Central Bank of Iraq from the U.S. dollar at an auction on Monday after a total price of the auction, the bank Mapall 98840000 dollars.

The daily bulletin of the Bank has received the Independent Press Agency (EYBENS) a copy of which was that the sale price of money (1173) dinars / dollars, including the commission of the Central Bank in the amount of (3) JD Dollarroan each cash sale price (1176) dinars / dollars, including the commission of the Central Bank in the amount of (6 ) dinars per dollar, and the quantity sold, the amount of cash (11290000) and transfers the amount of $ (87550000) dollars.

The bulletin said the price basis, which won the auction for sale 1170 dinars to the dollar, and the number of banks contributing to the auction (12) banks.

The Central Bank shall receive a commission of $ (3) dinars per dollar on the amounts purchased.

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Iraq stock exchange adds electronic trading

The Iraq stock exchange has switched to electronic trading. Abdul-Razaq al-Saadi, chief of Iraq's stock exchange said the switch to electronic trading which 'will speed up the process from nearly two weeks to only a few minutes'. Al-Saadi added that only five companies, three banks and two hotels have been listed to trade electronically, while others will be added in two to three months.

http://www.ameinfo.com/193237.html

Invitation to speed up restoration of frozen Iraqi funds to the countries of the world

The Member of the Board of Directors of the Investment Baghdad Tha'ir Alfeli the need to speed up the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Finance in the restoration of frozen Iraqi funds to the countries of the world, and the prosecution brought by the government on a number of companies.

The Alfeli told reporters Monday that the cabinet had formed a committee to follow up Iraqi assets in addition to what is being done by the Ministry of Finance's role in this area where there are large amounts of Ataatoazin with the size of the current moves.

And Alfeli the proceedings brought by the Iraqi government recently a number of companies, this aspect needs to be coordinated with the Development Fund and the United Nations for the return of such funds and transferred to the budget of the State Assembly.

A Alfeli it through one of the issues we saw the money on Iraq found that it was 3 billion, a large amount must be used to move the national economy, noting that the total funds can contribute to bridging the deficit exceeded the expected, or an economic slump.

He added that the money of the Iraqi public in the accounts of the States is not a considerable ability compared to the amounts recorded the names of other companies or persons acting on behalf of the former regime, where the company received the money for the 33 decades of the Development Fund for Iraq and has established after the U.S. courts, it is a fictitious contracts delivered to the Fund.

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70 wells drilled for investment and another 400 in two years

Ministry of Oil announced that it will require investments of international companies to drill more oil wells as it did not have the capacity to increase the self-production, which currently ranges between 2.3 and 2.4 million barrels a day more than doubled.

Said Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani told a news briefing that Iraq has 70 wells ready for commencement of new production over the next two months, but lacks the infrastructure and resources to add more than 100 wells in the southern fields, without foreign investment. He added: the Ministry of 70 new wells are now ready to pump crude oil and pipelines will be connected through one or two months.

And that the ministry has purchased 24 new rigs, which will help to dig more wells to boost production, and all of these activities will add urgency to 300 from 200 thousand barrels per day to production capacity in two years.

And on previous statements by officials that the Southern Oil Company plans 400 new wells drilled during the next two years, al-Shahristani said that Iraq needs to such a serious issue, at least to assist it in achieving its objective to increase production capacity to six million barrels per day within five or six years.

He continued, but the ministry will not be able to achieve this a number of our own self-drilling, and the number of new wells to be drilled over the next two years depends on the willingness of companies to work in Iraq. And Iraq opened the door to foreign oil companies this year through two rounds of offers service contracts for the fields and called for foreign companies to compete for contracts to develop other fields.

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