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

Barham Salih, inflation is expected to reach 10% in 2009

Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh said Thursday that Iraq's inflation is expected to fall to ten percent in 2009 from 12 percent last year.

He said the benefit of the investors in the conference to urge the British and international companies to invest in Iraq, said the growth of nine percent in 2008 and that members of the Paris Club wiped away 80 percent of Iraq's debt to them and he hoped that other countries follow their footsteps. He said "The government is working to persuade other countries to take similar steps." Saleh said that "Iraq is now funded almost entirely by the reconstruction." But the financial situation of the country's weak because of the sharp decline in oil prices from their peak of close to 150 dollars a barrel last year to around 50 dollars.

http://209.85.229.132/translate_c?hl...nQTFKMl0b7uOYw

Iraq sets out a pitch for major foreign investment

* Iraq seeks to attract major oil, non-oil projects
* Ministers promote new laws on investment, hydrocarbons
* Despite foreign interest, some say it's still too early

Iraq tried to sell itself as a trade and investment hotspot at a London conference on Thursday, but while 300 businessmen and financiers came to listen, their broad response was "let's wait and see". Iraq's prime minister, oil minister and several dozen senior officials involved in business, banking, finance and trade came to tell the story that the worst is over in Iraq after six years of conflict and the country ripe for major investment. With a well-educated population approaching 30 million, the world's third-largest proven oil reserves and a burgeoning, entrepreneurial middle-class, Iraq had the potential to become an economic powerhouse in the Middle East, they said. While that may be true, and while available data point to growth of nearly 10 percent this year, with $10 billion of British projects already in the pipeline, there remains too much legal and security uncertainty for many long-term investors. More than 200 people have been killed in the past eight days in a series of suicide attacks in Baghdad and elsewhere.

"There's still quite a lot to be sorted out, especially in the oil industry," said Mike Major, the chief ****utive of the Energy Industries Council, an oil trade association focused on the oil services industry.

"The conditions are getting better in Iraq, but I don't think we're there yet. Security is improving, but it's not on a straight line. I think it's going to happen -- investment is going to boom -- but we're not there yet." Money is beginning to flow into the country, especially from the private sector, particularly expatriate Iraqis based in the region, in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon.

PRIVATE EQUITY FLOWS

U.S. and British-based private equity funds are also eyeing up investment opportunities in Iraq. Sectors like pharmaceuticals, agriculture, fertilisers and grains and construction are all on the hunt for risk-hungry capital.

The Trade Bank of Iraq, a state-run project finance and investment bank set up in July 2003, has seen business soar, with profits up more than 40 percent last year and total assets rising to $10 billion, from just $2.8 billion in 2006. So confident is the bank in Iraq's prospects that it plans to set up its own $250 million private equity fund to invest in mid-size Iraqi-operated ventures. Ashur, an Iraqi-owned investment bank, is also investing heavily in the country.

But while Iraqi investors may feel confident about opportunities and the legal lay of the land, foreign investors still need convincing. Iraqi officials spent much of Thursday's conference propounding the benefits of Iraq's recently redrafted investment law. But judging from some of the questions from investors, work still needs to be done to make the framework reassuring.

And a hydrocarbons law, which will govern Iraq's oil assets and how the proceeds are distributed, is still some way from being finalised. Major oil companies, such as Shell, BP and Exxon want to see the details in the law before they proceed with multi-billion-dollar investments. Fawzi al-Hariri, Iraq's minerals minister, told Reuters the law would be finalised by September this year, but other officials played down that forecast, and privately some concede that it could be well into 2010 before parliament approves it.

Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani told the conference that if the law wasn't passed in time, any contracts riding on it would just be ratified by the cabinet, but that reassurance was not sufficient to placate some of the major oil investors.

"We don't want to rush anything and we'll just have to let the Iraqi process take its course. But at the moment it's an obstacle for us," a representative of one of the major oil companies looking to invest in Iraq said.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LU977994.htm

Al-Maliki: No peace in Iraq without economic growth

London - "Without economic progress we cannot keep the peace in Iraq," Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a major investment conference in London on Thursday. "Security and economic development must have equal amounts of interest," al-Maliki said, stressing that the security situation in the country had improved beyond the depths of the post-coalition invasion civil war.

The world has seen how fair the (January 2009) provincial elections were, al-Maliki said, adding Iraq is democratic, a place where freedoms and the rule of law is respected."

On Thursday British troops were preparing their final withdrawal from the country, and US forces are due to withdraw to bases by June. Iraqi security forces have assumed responsibility for a majority of the country's provinces.

Al-Maliki said that his government had set down laws to secure and develop investment, stabilize the currency and fight corruption.

"We need more than ever at this time an effective private sector to revive economic life," he said.

Al-Maliki told the conference of some 520 British, Iraqi and international business leaders that his government was taking steps to both capitalize on the country's massive oil wealth (proven reserves of some 115 billion barrels) and diversify Iraq's sources of income.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/s...ic-growth.html

Shahristani: the oil market is on its way to stability

Iraq's Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said on Thursday that world oil market appear to be in the way of stability and commitment to OPEC cuts production at levels well.

Shahristani did not rule out that OPEC cut production again at its next meeting scheduled on May 28 if the data showed that global demand for oil to ease further.

http://209.85.229.132/translate_c?hl...Zhh5KBvgAw5tdw

Iraq may be open for business but only the brave will risk it

Is it really possible to invest in Iraq now? Yes, but a lack of clear laws may be an even bigger obstacle than violence. The worry, to judge by yesterday’s huge Iraqi trade fair in London, is that the Iraqi Government may be keeping that uncertainty alive, desperately wanting investment but unwilling, when it comes to the crunch, to give away clear rights to assets.

Yesterday in 10 Downing Street, standing by the side of Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Gordon Brown declared that British combat operations had ended and that all troops would leave in a few weeks. His tone was not so much “mission accomplished” as “we’re out of there”. Iraq was a success story, Mr Brown said briskly, declaring that the country was “open for business”.

A mile north and an hour later, at the Invest in Iraq trade fair in Marylebone, “open for business” was also the boast from Hussein al-Uzri, president of the Trade Bank of Iraq. Al-Maliki, his oil minister and a dozen senior officials tried to make the case to 300 oil E.xecutives and financiers that Iraq was the next great investment chance of the emerging world.

Good luck to them. It’s not the easiest case to make a day after two car bombs in Baghdad killed at least 41 people, and when at least 200 have been killed in the past nine days. The core of the ministers’ pitch is that Iraq, with a well-educated population of nearly 30 million, and the world’s third-largest proven oil reserves, should be a magnet for funds that have been pulled out of other precarious markets.

Their motive in trying now is transparent, too: as the oil price has fallen by two thirds Iraq cannot easily fund its own reconstruction and modernisation. They have had some initial success, particularly in getting funds from Iraqis abroad in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon. The Trade Bank, a state-run finance house set up three months after the US invasion, has seen its assets rise to $10 billion (£7 billion) from $2.8 billion in 2006. But given the sums needed – most estimates are in the hundreds of billions – this is small change.

What is not clear is whether al-Maliki and his ministers are prepared to make the necessary concessions to investors. Judging by the Shia-led Government’s reluctance so far to make important concessions to the Sunni and Kurdish minorities there is good reason to be sceptical. Above all, it has failed for three years to pass a crucial oil law that shares the country’s resources between its provinces. Without that clear title not only will oil investors stay away but minorities will keep fighting and the violence will continue.

Yesterday the legal uncertainties seemed to be at least as much of a deterrent as the violence. “No chief E.xecutive wants to be thought to be casual about the safety of workers, particularly Iraqi staff,” said one consultant to a potential oil investor. “But the violence has dropped enough that – at least in a good week – you can regard security as just another cost.” Mike Major, chief E.xecutive of the Energy Industries Council, an oil services lobby group, acknowledged that security was improving “but it’s not on a straight line”.

The greater scrutiny is on the question of Iraq’s fuzzy or no-nexistent laws. “There’s still quite a lot to be sorted out” about how foreign oil companies operated in Iraq, Major said.

Yesterday brought few good answers. Fawzi al-Hariri, the Minerals Minister, said that the oil law would be finalised by September but other officials played that down, talking about 2010 before it is approved by parliament. Hussain al-Shahristani, the Oil Minister, attempted to reassure the hall, saying that any contracts which depended on the law would be ratified individually in advance by the Cabinet.

But E.xecutives from oil companies were sceptical. “You don’t need to be a lawyer to see the constitutional challenge to that,” said one, arguing that it would be better to wait.

Those who claim that Iraq is the most exciting opportunity in the region will probably be proved right – eventually. Their bold claim will look good in retrospect when the spotlight is on the few winners and when the many losers, bruised by Iraq’s violence and uncertainty, have slunk into the shadows. The winners may well come from the pool of those with an unusual tolerance for risk, even to the point of recklessness.

Without an oil law, though, and without other key agreements between Shia, Sunni and Kurds, Iraq has a shaky claim even on calling itself a proper country. For many investors, Iraq at the moment represents too great a leap in the dark. Open for business? We’re listening but we’ll probably wait and see, was yesterday’s response.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/com...cle6201895.ece

Originally Posted by Seaview

Fire devours department of “Contracts and Licenses” in Ministry of Oil

A well-informed source told PUKmedia website that a fire devoured the department of “Contracts and Licenses” in the headquarters of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil today April 30th, 2009.

“The reasons behind the fire are still unknown. The fire damages and casualties are still unknown as well”, the source added.

Details to be posted as soon as available.

http://pukmedia.com/english/index.ph...10738&Itemid=1

The Oil Ministry has denied the President the building a fire

Denied Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad, the oil covered by the news media and the incidence of fire in the Division contracts and licensing in the building of the Ministry of Oil.

The jihad in a press release the news of "irresponsible" because they "did not accurately foresee the deployment of such news, as required by professional media work.

The website of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the party quoted a source familiar with the outbreak of fire in the Division contracts and licensing in the building of the Ministry of Oil, which is one of the most important people of the ministry as it has contracts and licenses entered into the ministry with a number of international oil companies to develop Iraq's oil fields and that the cause of the fire and the damage caused by the not yet known.

http://209.85.229.132/translate_c?hl...qOIqSdq08rKEXA

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister determines the positions of the GCC, Iraq

The Vice-Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad al-Sabah said in a speech to the Ministerial Meeting of 19 EU GCC, which concluded recently in the Omani capital Muscat, the positions of the GCC, Iraq.

The morning in his speech to respect the unity, sovereignty and stability of Iraq and non-interference in its internal affairs, rejection of all that might lead to fragmentation.

The minister to condemn the terrorist acts and criminal acts of sectarian killings and the need to disband all militias and armed groups, disarmament and the cessation of forced displacement.

He called for the implementation of the Gulf Cooperation Council Tzamha to the reconstruction of Iraq and urged the United Nations to continue its efforts to achieve security and stability there, Stressing the need for Iraq's implementation of Tzamath also in accordance with international resolutions and conventions and the establishment of relations based on the principles of good neighborliness and mutual cooperation.

http://209.85.229.132/translate_c?hl...9ZXM-dYs8JhWZw

British Airways is considering the possibility of flights from London to Baghdad

British Airways said, "BMA" Friday it is studying the possibility of running a direct line between London and Baghdad, but it has not yet received government approval. His comments came as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's visit to London.

The company, in a statement published on its Web site after the conference in London aims to attract investments to Iraq, said the company "met with senior officials in the Iraqi government and told them it was ready and in a good position to provide flights between the two countries."

In the event that the implementation of the proposal made by the British company, the flights will be the first Stassirha between Britain and Iraq for nearly 20 years. There are no direct commercial flights between the two countries since the first Gulf War in 1991.

http://209.85.227.132/translate_c?hl...OGz31PioUTW1iA

Conference on "Invest in Iraq 2009" concludes in London

Scheduled to close on Friday in London of the "Invest in Iraq 2009", which was witnessed by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and other senior officials.

The Conference was also attended by about 400 investors and a representative of the governmental bodies and institutions, private investment and put through more than 500 investment project in Iraq of more than $ 500 billion U.S. dollars,

In a press release about the conference, he said, Lord Peter Mandelson, British Secretary of State for the sector of the economy and business: "This conference established a new chapter and a new era of development in Iraq, the situation has improved very much, which encouraged British companies to increase their investment in that country. The 19 resulted in a visit by the delegations of British businessmen to Iraq, investments worth 19 billion U.S. dollars."

Mandelson said: "We expect that the economy is ruined building policy. Transboundary harm the economy, and investments to the various countries in Iraq. British economy will do what it can do for the development of the global market and actively participate in it."

The British minister said: "We are building our economic cooperation and openness to all. I expect that Iraq is gripped by a new era of economic cooperation, which reflected well on the Iraqis."

http://209.85.227.132/translate_c?hl...Un-7F3yppK-aug

About Bilateral agreement between Iraq and Britain

Today we read the newspapers this Friday, 1-5-2009 Mr. Nuri al-Maliki Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq announced the signing of a cooperation agreement with Britain areas include security, economic, investment, culture and education during his visit to Britain, which began on Monday to participate in an international investment conference at the head of a delegation that included a number of ministers did not participate and minister of trade, finance or who are planning addresses an important investment.

It should be noted that this bilateral agreement with Britain, not previously disclosed did not stop one of the details, except for some very short signals that have emanated from here and there late last year after the US-Iraqi security agreement controversial and which has faced widespread opposition by the Iraqi people, but I Despite all these objections. The important question here is the details of the bilateral agreement with Britain, which recalls some of the news that it does not need to be submitted to the Iraqi parliament.

Is not the Iraqi people is the word and details must be the security side in particular in the Iraqi press, particularly in conditions of occupation and in a return to the violence of ugly again, and come to Iraq from Chapter VII, despite all the promises.

After completion of the mission of British forces in Iraq, said that officials will do what hundreds of Iraqis who are British in Basra? Is this included in the present Convention, and why did not announce them, and their role in Iraq and in Basra, southern Iraq specifically?

Note that this reflects the great concern that we are Iraqis, which we can not be happening, and no negligence Iraqi public opinion, because the emergence of the phenomenon of state at a later date to Atnsjm with the official statement out of British troops from Iraq would be to his people through the House of Representatives and Abbarssalib protest of the right to be exercised can preserve Iraq's sovereignty experiencing these days, many of the violations by the U.S. side, who signed a security agreement with Iraq. Iraqis Hddwa sensitive to such acts, which reveal a lack of commitment to the sovereignty of Iraq.

http://209.85.227.132/translate_c?hl...ZBhmTAB4t2h9ow