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

Lower demand for dollar in CBI auction

Demand for the dollar dropped in the Central Bank of Iraq’s (CBI) auction on Wednesday, reaching $102.181 million compared to $112.950 million in the previous session.

“There was no demand on cash during today’s session, while foreign transfers outside the country registered $102.181 million, 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.

http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=112327

Iraq backs down to oil company pressure

The falling oil price has pushed the Iraqi government onto the back foot, allowing foreign oil companies to demand greater concessions. The Iraqi government has had to slash its 2009 budget from $80 bn to under $60 bn - and even this revised figure is based on an optimistic $50 a barrel.

Private companies such as BP and Shell have used Iraq’s financial weakness to boost their negotiating position in the two current bidding rounds. During consultation sessions in Istanbul on February 14, oil E.xecutives subjected Baghdad’s proposed contract terms to heavy public criticism, claiming that they would struggle to make the expected 20% return on investment. However, private comments by oil E.xecutives illustrated the power play - “With the price of oil where it is at the moment, I do not believe they [Iraqi government] can push that hard.” The same E.xecutive admitted that "There is tremendous interest in what is on offer. The quantity of reserves on offer is unheard of, its huge."

The pressure paid off, with the Oil Ministry readjusting terms in two important ways. Oil companies will now be able to take majority control of joint ventures, with the private take increased from 49% to 75%. Although this will not significantly change the division of revenue, it risks handing control over production rates, procedures and reservoir management to IOCs.

The revised terms also allow for a 5% decline rate in output per year. This will allow for more aggressive field development - as is usually seen in the Gulf of Mexico - rather than the lower depletion rates generally seen in Middle East, where engineers say they manage their reservoirs with kidgloves. The 5% rate is likely to significantly increase the
IOC's rate of return as they recoup costs faster. Depletion rates often highlight a point of fundamental conflict between national oil companies (more longterm thinking, protecting national resource for future generations) and the private oil majors (shorter-term drive to maximise production, shareholders' dividends).

Offering this level of control to private actors is highly controversial in a country where 95% of government revenue is generated from oil, as the current bidding rounds include access to Iraq’s super giant fields Rumaila, West Qurna and East Baghdad - some of which contain over 10% of Iraq’s proven reserves.

It seems that the Iraqi government is prepared to bend even further – at an OPEC seminar in Vienna at the end of March, Iraqi oil Minister Hussain Al-Shahristani announced that he is considering offering Production Sharing Contracts – previously accepted to be off the table – for a number of 65 new exploration blocks during its second licensing round.

Carbon Web Newsletter Issue 11 - April 2009

http://www.carbonweb.org/showitem.as...364&parent=354

Al-Maliki to head for Britain

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will start an official visit to Britain on Wednesday afternoon leading a high-profile delegation, a media source said.

“The premier will lead a delegation of Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Interior Minister Jawad al-Bulani, Trade Minister Abdulfalah al-Sudani, in an official visit to Britain,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

The official spokesman for the Iraqi government, Ali al-Dabagh, said on Monday (April 27) that al-Maliki and his British counterpart Gordon Brown will attend a conference in London on investment in Iraq on Thursday (April 30), which will also be attended by Iraqi and foreign businessmen and investors to discuss investment opportunities in the country.

“The premier will also visit France on Monday (May 4), where he will meet with President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister Francois Fillon,” he added.

“The visit is the first of an Iraqi prime minister to France,” he also said.

http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=112323

Kuwait seeks compensations for Iraq invasion

Kuwait declared that Iraq needs to settle 25.5 billion dollars as remaining compensations for 1990 invasion. Khaled Al Moudaf from the general compensations directorate said this sum approved by the United Nations has not been reimbursed.

Last February, Kuwait has said it has received 13.3 billion dollars in compensation from Iraq but it is still seeking tens of billions more.

http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News...-invasion.html

Bureaucracy and corruption prevented Iraq Banks from developing

Minister of Finance Baker jabber AL Zubaidi affirmed during a Conference to study and asses the performance of Iraqi Banks that the bureaucracy used in the country banking system during the last two decades and the financial and administrative corruption prevented these banks from developing.

http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Economics...eveloping.html

Exclusive agent of Mercedes announced its launch in Baghdad

Company Gharghour Conciliation and children exclusive agent for Mercedes - Benz in Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon and Syria, to Baghdad was launched to include the head of the family name of a new Iraqi Riahin Baghdad.

The move comes in partnership with a group of Iraqi Alaftan to become the official distributor in Baghdad and the sale of specialized service and maintenance trucks, Mercedes - Benz new and used German, in addition to the sales of original spare parts and guaranteed in Baghdad.

Nadim Gharghour said board chairman of the company during the opening of the new Center, "We are proud to partner with a group Alaftan, which is one of the most leading companies in the transport sector, transport and trade in Iraq, indicating that this partnership is the cooperation of the nucleus contributes to the long building a new Iraq and a better future, according to the described.

"This partnership is a new step in the expansion strategy pursued by the Gharghour locally and regionally, with a view to providing the best products from the German company Mercedes cars and trucks to the Iraqi market.

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The presence of more than 250 international companies .. London Investment Conference opens today amid optimism formal

Iraq opened its Investment Conference on Thursday in London was attended by over 250 international companies and 500 by the draft amid optimism official and popular out desired outcomes of this conference would open the door of foreign investment in Iraq.

Involved high-level Iraqi delegation headed by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and a number of ministers, parliamentarians and a number of businessmen and workers in the private sector. And looks forward parliamentary and popular circles and experts to the Iraqi government should be invested for this new trend of openness leading global companies to invest in Iraq and promised to shift the quality of the Conference of the Iraqi economy.

For his part, the spokesman of the Kurdistan Alliance list Raundozi: that the establishment of such conferences, contribute to broadening the base of European participation in Iraq, after which the security situation improves. To the member of the Foreign Relations Committee in the House of Representatives, Tania Talat expressed optimism that the Iraqi officials, visits to contribute to European countries, in achieving the full support of Iraq.

Talat described Maliki some European nations (positive step), pointing out that the importance of this tour and the previous rounds, they are coming from, plus support of attempts to repair relations Baghdad internationally and regionally. The parliamentary visits that will open up wider horizons in the relationship between Iraq and European countries. Political analyst Aziz Jaber, he saw in a press statement that Europe was in the recent period that Iraq is a promising market, a place where the investment can be everything, in the light of the economic crisis experienced by Europe and the world in general. Jabr said Iraq, for its part, wants to prove to others that become different from Iraq before 2003. Gabr concluded that the opening up of the Iraqi government to European countries is a major achievement, and the response of Western countries, with Iraq is something that is encouraging, because Iraq is in need of capital to the Union, as well as the European experience, as well as the policy positions of Europe, which started at the center of an important global polarization very.

In the meantime, a senior government source revealed on the upcoming visit to Paris to track down the owners of the investment conference in London aimed at the completion of what has been discussed with the French President Sarkozy during his visit to Iraq last February.

The source said it is hoped that a number of previous projects and stalled, he said, referring to the agreements signed with the former regime, which had not been implemented because of international sanctions, including projects with the oil companies Total and Iirab France before a merger, to develop the oil field, the age of two rivers, a capacity of 600 thousand barrels per day, a crazy and a capacity of half a million barrels a day.

And political circles consider this tour to Iraq on the basis that they complete the process of openness and communication of Iraq, led by Maliki and other world countries.

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Oil announces investment of oil fields on the basis of entrepreneurial

The Ministry of Oil to invest a number of oil fields on the basis of the contractor with international companies.

"The Under-Secretary for the extraction and export Laibi Abdul Kareem told a news briefing on Wednesday that one of the fields in which to invest is the Brick and Nasiriyah, Iraq, stating that it would be in phases.

He explained that the ministry approved an urgent plan for the remainder of this year and next year, with a view to halt the decline in production equipment and a relative increase in rates.

He said the ministry introduced a number of towers to invest in drilling new wells in addition to its contract with international companies to provide technical services and engineering and consulting to achieve an increase in production and quickly.

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GCC ministerial meeting to discuss Europe's free trade agreement & the situation in Iraq

GCC ministerial meeting began with the common European 19 Wednesday in the Omani capital Muscat and will last for one day.

A Gulf source said an official of the General Secretariat of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf that the meeting will discuss the cooperation agreement between the European and Gulf States will be high on the free trade agreement between Gulf states and Europe, joint discussions.

The source said that talks between the two sides also include the situation in the Middle East, which is in the fight against the financing of terrorism as well as to discuss the situation in Iraq.

He said the ministers would discuss the effects of the global financial crisis in the light of the decisions of the twenty-held in London in addition to discuss the issue of piracy on the Somali coast and the threat they pose to vessels transporting oil and the global maritime traffic.

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Chaired an extended meeting of the Directors of banks and governmental jurisdictional Finance Minister: We will not accept and will not tolerate with those who extort citizens

Chaired by His Excellency Mr. Minister of Finance Baqir Jabr Al-Zubaidi, an expanded meeting of the Directors of banks and government specialist, and managers of the branches in Baghdad and officials of the southern and central regions and the North.

The Minister of Finance, in his opening speech, that this meeting comes within a series of meetings to be held later, "he said, adding that" Our main task is concentrated in the service of citizens and respect and the prevention of blackmail. "

The Minister of Finance said in this regard, "We will not accept and will not tolerate with those who blackmails people for the benefit of a private non-legitimate," he take stern action against the offenders, in addition to the Accounting Branch Manager and the Director-General. "Stressed the Minister of Finance on the importance of respect for the citizens during the course of its bank branches and gain confidence, "Although we are working on the development of banks through the application of the overall system, which now represents (30%), and the trend towards relying on the smart card for each branch, but what we Is respect for the citizen within the bank branches, "he said. His Excellency the Minister of Finance that" the banks dormant during 2003 and we think the liquidation of Bank of Iraq, because profit was approximately Of (50) million dollars a year ", which is the equivalent of profit a commercial market in any country, but we are through the efforts we have been able to develop the work of the bank increased profit even to the (700) million dollars a year."

His Excellency the Minister of Finance, pointed out the importance of the expansion card in the work of the consolidated bank branches, similar to other countries, Even Aithml Iraqi citizens carry the risk of money, as well as "on the application of the Global System Who is now the link (155) section "of the Bank of Iraq, where the citizen can now move easily.

The Minister of Finance has signed a number "of bank contracts" with the company (Visa Card) for the purpose of adoption in the banking, praising the "experience of the Bank of Iraq Trade in this regard. In the framework of the fight against financial and administrative corruption HE the Minister of Finance and the punishment of four employees of the real estate capital in the bank to withdraw the hand ", pointing out that the Land Bank and, despite the negatives, which we found to our visit to the Land Bank, but he was able to recover the amounts of loans granted by the former ", and to contribute to the granting of loans of" real citizens ". He praised the Minister for Finance the steps he has taken in and given the Agricultural Bank (50) A loan "of the peasants in 2008, expressing" the hope to increase the number of loans to (60) A loan for this year. His Excellency the Minister stressed the importance of the selection of Trustees, and to know good from bad employee, addressed the need to raise each section of the report of the Director of monthly to the Director-General.

His Excellency said, "We We do not want to hear about the lost or branch can not give credit, particularly since the report of the Office of Financial Supervision wonder if the branch is not to lose profits if it works, why? "

For his part, promised banks adviser in the Ministry of Finance Mr. Zia Habib Alckheon Minister to work hard and sincerely to Providing the best banking services to citizens, to be an example of the bank employee "shall be Efficient, stressing "that the directives of His Excellency the Minister of Finance will be a guide for action for all branches of the banks.

Also reviewed Inspector-General of the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Zia Hassan several important points in the work of banks, such as restructuring the profit of commercial banks, specialized banks, and take their role in the overall development of the particular and the state on the verge of a variety of projects in the private sector and the mixed, and the banks work to activate the provisions.

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