Thread: Archive News - Iraqi Dinar Think Tank - 06/05/09 - 04/09/09

Originally Posted by Seaview

Zubeidi: Iraq is close to resolving the debt of European

The Finance Minister Bayan Jabr said the Republic of Poland is ready to bring down the debt on Iraq, the latest European country to remain the creditor with the debt problem of the Arab and Islamic pending.

Zubaidi said in a press release today that the Polish government expressed its readiness to bring down the debt on Iraq, he said, adding that the Ministry is currently negotiating with them to resolve the 800 million dollars.

Zubaidi said he will remain on Iraq, the Arab and Islamic debt, indicating that he was shot down after Tunisia and the UAE remains the debt of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, pointing out that the debt will fall soon.

He Zubeidi, there is a dispute over how to deal with the Egyptian religion, which is divided into three categories, including the debt of the Egyptian labor and the Egyptian government debt, corporate debt and Egypt.

Noting that the Iraqi government would prefer to resolve in a single package, while the Egyptian government wants workers to pay off a debt and then negotiate the other debts.

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I was reading about on another forum,and that poster had the debt to the
european country at 700 billion dollars.

Iraqi Banks Association studies establishing a joint bank with a capital of billion dollars

The Chairman of the Private Iraqi Banks Association, Fouad Al-Hasani, said that the «Central Bank» of Iraq, the Ministry of Finance, the Association and Representatives of foreign banks operating in Iraq, are studying the draft of establishing a joint bank with a capital of one billion dollars.

He described this step as «very important because it is linked to the efforts of the Iraqi banking sector, to prompt a qualitative change in its reform».

He said that the government's committee for economic affairs has allowed the official institutions to open accounts in private banks, and to increase the credits from two million to $ 5 million dollars, and deposit the allocated amount in foreign currency at the bank without having to rely on the mediate of Iraqi Trade Bank, as well as to urge the self-financing companies to open accounts at the private banks, and calling for the establishment of a joint company to secure loans and purchase the troubled ones, to encourage lending operations in the future.

http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=9417

Iraq faces the mother of all corruption scandals
Allegations of kickbacks rock key government department as 1,000 officials face arrest and Trade Minister is forced to resign

Iraq plans to arrest 1,000 officials for corruption after a scandal which has forced the resignation of the Trade Minister and is threatening the food supply of millions of Iraqis.

Corruption at the Trade Ministry is an important issue in Iraq because the ministry is in charge of the food rationing system on which 60 per cent of Iraqis depend. Officials at the ministry, which spends billions of dollars buying rice, sugar, flour and other items, are notorious among Iraqis for importing food that is unfit for human consumption, for which they charge the state the full international price.

The scandal first erupted in April when police, entering the Trade Ministry in Baghdad to arrest 10 senior officials accused of corruption and embezzlement, were greeted with gunfire by the ministry's own guards. The shoot-out allowed several officials, including two brothers of the Trade Minister, Abdul Falah al-Sudany, time to escape out the back gate.

The political crisis over corruption has escalated after a video surfaced showing Trade Ministry officials at a party, apparently drinking alcohol, cavorting with prostitutes, and deriding the Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki.

The voice of the man shooting the video, widely viewed and sent from phone to phone in Baghdad, is heard shouting to the dancing girls: "You before Maliki". Guests at the party who were captured on the video are said to include one of Mr Sudany's brothers and the ministry's spokesman.

"We have the video of Trade Ministry officials hosting a party that is unethical and out of control," said Sabah al-Saadi, the chairman of the Commission for Public Integrity. "This party represents the impact of nepotism on the government and wasting of funds by senior officials' family members."

Mr Sudany, who has not been charged and denies all wrongdoing, resigned on Sunday soon after his brother and aide Sabah Mohammed, who had earlier escaped from the police, was arrested with his bodyguards when his car was stopped at Samawa, 140 miles south of Baghdad. Security and police officials said cash, gold and identity cards were found in the car.

Iraq is deemed the third most corrupt country in the world after Burma and Somalia, out of 180 countries, according to the corruption index compiled by Transparency International.

Although it is an important oil producer, many Iraqis are on the edge of starvation; 20-25 per cent of Iraq's 27 million people live below the poverty line on less than $66 (£41) a month.

Amid claims that Mr Sudany's relatives had made millions out of kickbacks from sugar purchases, Mr Maliki visited the leaderless Trade Ministry this week saying that his office would take over its functions. A committee is to take charge of Iraq's large import programme for grain and foodstuffs. "We will not keep silent about corruption after this day and we will chase all the corrupt and bring them before the judiciary," Mr Maliki said.

The Integrity Commission says it issued 387 arrest warrants in April, including warrants for 51 officials who are department heads. In addition, it has 997 arrest warrants not yet issued and Mr Maliki has told the security forces to arrest all those named.

The committee in charge of food purchases will draw its members from the Prime Minister's office, the cabinet secretariat, the corruption watchdog and the audit department. "It will buy foodstuffs in a swift and proper manner and sign agreements with the world's big companies to buy essential foodstuffs without the use of intermediaries," Mr Maliki said.

Iraqis will be sceptical about the anti-corruption campaign until they see senior officials convicted and punished. It is not only the Trade Ministry which is corrupt but the entire government system. Officials have often purchased their jobs, which they see as a way of making money through bribery or payment for awarding jobs and contracts. The last anti-corruption boss in Iraq was forced to flee the country.

And supply of tainted goods is not confined to the Trade Ministry. Refugees living in Sadr City, the great Shia slum with a population of two million in east Baghdad, were expecting food and clothing from the Ministry of Displacement and Migration but when the shipment arrived, the refugees were enraged to discover that it consisted of scratchy thin grey woollen blankets smelling of mould which were useless in the torrid heat of the Iraqi summer. There were also an assortment of children's shoes and 25 boxes of canned tuna. Locals suspect that officials had pocketed most of the money intended to help them.

The breakdown of the rationing system, started in 1995 under Saddam Hussein, threatens millions of Iraqis with malnourishment. The rations consist of items sold for a small sum of money at retail outlets on production of a ration card. They include rice (3kg a person), sugar (2kg), flour (9kg), cooking oil (1.25kg), milk for adults (250 grams), tea (200g), beans, children's milk, soap, detergents and tomato paste.

A survey by the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation found that 18 per cent of people had not received the full food ration for 13 months and 32 per cent had not received it for seven to 12 months.

When rations do come, they are often of poor quality and Iraqis say that the tea supplied tastes disgusting.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...s-1692571.html

Deputy PM invites Kuwaiti companies to invest in Iraq

Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh on Thursday said that it is the right time for Kuwaiti companies to enter Iraqi markets for investment services.

The remark came during his reception of the Kuwaiti chargé d'affaires, Salem Abdulhadi al-Shifa, in Baghdad.

"Investment opportunities are available to all international companies, particularly those from Kuwait," according to a statement released by Saleh's office and received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

"Iraq has made much headway towards security and stability and is about to take significant steps on its way to political stability," he added.

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZA...st%20in%20Iraq

Hayali optimistic adoption of the law of oil and gas during the month of

Was a member of the Energy Commission in the Iraqi Council of Representatives Noureddine Hayali was "optimistic" the possibility of ratification of the oil and gas law soon.

Hayali said in a press statement that "there is a desire among Iraqi political forces represented in Parliament and officials of the Governments of Baghdad and Erbil to find definitive solutions to political differences to pass the oil and gas, which caused the retreat behind the oil industry in the country," he said.

He pointed out that "with the approach of the parliamentary committee on constitutional amendments from the file of the settlement of all controversial points in the Constitution, particularly those relating to the powers in the management of natural resources for each of the central government and the territorial Government, the ratification of the oil law, within one month from now seems possible."

http://translate.google.com/translat...ate.google.com

Islamic banks in Iraq, urges reform of laws to support growth

Banking officials speaking on the huge opportunities for Islamic finance in Iraq and the Iraqi Central Bank said it was studying ways to encourage the growth of the sector in response to the demands of the Islamic banks. The order of Islamic banks in Iraq for the first time in the nineties and there are now seven of 42 banks in the country.

The harmful Kassem, chief adviser to the Central Bank of Iraq in an interview this week, "There is high demand for Islamic banks in Iraq. The problem is that the Iraqi banking law does not differentiate between regular banks and Islamic banks."

He said without giving a time frame, "the central bank is currently considering a new law for Islamic banks."

Iraqi society has become more religious since the nineties and has clergy and influential Islamic Organizations. Demand jumped from 1.3 billion Muslims around the world of investments that adhere to the provisions of Islamic law, according to industry estimates the value of assets in line with sharia law, up to a trillion dollars.

The movement of the Central Bank of Iraq in response to requests from the Islamic banks to ease rules on bank size and type of investment that can do compared to the capital and cash reserves. The aim of these rules to ensure that the bankruptcy of banks, Islamic banks, but derives most of its earnings from investments and distribute to the holders of the accounts rather than pay interest.

Qasim said the Iraqi law restricts investment in real estate - the focus of most Islamic banks in the Middle East, much of their cash in the past few years - not more than 15 percent of the capital. He said that was one of the items on the Iraqi banking law which is being reviewed.

And Abdel al-Hussein of the Islamic Bank's investment and financing activity that the bank jumped since it opened in 2006, but legal restrictions hinder the further growth. And another law restricting the total investment, less than 20 percent of the capital and cash reserves.

Rubaie said: "We have problems with the Central Bank. I want to participate in the development and investment in Iraq, but I can not have a ceiling on investment," he said, adding that the Islamic banks in Iraq, urges the lifting of the ceiling to 50 percent.

It also urges the reduction of reserves to the Islamic banks to 15 percent of the capital from 25 percent now, the easing of rules for capital adequacy. In 7000 the Bank of the country about the holder of the accounts and deposits rose to around 358 billion dinars (306 million dollars) by the end of 2008, compared with 58 billion dinars a year ago. And doubled its capital four times to 100 billion dinars since its inception and is expected to reach 200 billion dinars in 2010.

Although these figures are small by global standards, but the Iraqi private banks starting from a low base after years of war. The banks also face a daunting task in the competitive banking Rafidain good government and the larger and better funded. The Boston Consulting Group, which advises financial institutions operating in the area of services of Islamic banks in the Middle East and Asia looking for opportunities in Iraq.

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Vice-Chairman of the Economic Committee of the Parliamentary (EYBENS): to take important steps in the way of ratification of the oil and gas

Vice Chairman of the Economic Committee in the House of Representatives Yonadam Kanna, we had been the agreement between the parliamentary blocs during the last meeting to pay the oil and gas law to the Iraqi front in order to vote for approval.

He said we were told the independent press (Iba) today, Saturday, that the Act is one of the five laws of contention between the central government and provincial government, prompting the political blocs in parliament to meet and discuss the important points and to work out an acceptable formula that satisfies all parties and achieve national interests.

He added that the law of interest to all political parties to determine their conviction that the future of the national economy and regulating the work of the oil sector. Maithar out about the existence of political differences within the parliament delayed the adoption of the law.

He pointed out that we had observations of the Government of the Kurdistan region, depending on the interpretation of the Constitution with regard to article "115" of the Constitution for giving.

It should be noted that points of contention between the government and the Kurdistan region, according to observers were the main reason for the delay in the adoption of the law.

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Ministry of Finance denies tension relationship to the Central Bank of Iraq

And expressed surprise at the Ministry of Finance's deputy Hussein al-Falluji, on the deterioration of the relationship between the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank of Iraq.

A statement issued by the Information Office of the Ministry has received a copy of "The Ministry Linked to the Council of Ministers and Central Bank of Iraq is linked to the House of Representatives are working in full coordination in the areas to extinguish the debt and the relationship with the International Monetary Fund has integrated the work of a team during the last period, and expressed his surprise Falluji of the statement, which he said The Ministry of Finance wants to control the reserves of the Central Bank of Iraq, denying No basis for this decision, noting that the law prevents a central bank has full independence, as well That the ministry can not be dominated by one dollar from the central bank reserves.

"The statement added that "the decision of the Council of Ministers through the Ministry of Finance will be the treasury remittances by three billion dollars for the sale to the private sector banks, public and any investor, including an independent central bank to buy some of these transfers to take advantage of the basket interest on the money orders which are higher than interest rates, which invest Central Bank and abroad will be the Council of Ministers to the House of Representatives first For approval and then put money orders in the market to buy.

"The statement concluded, "The Finance Ministry believes that there is both private and public investment in the wish of treasury remittances, particularly private banks, government and the national pension funds to invest in the Fund for the purchase of retired treasury money secured in order to achieve high profitability to increase the secured assets of the Fund of retirees."

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Zubeidi: Bologna expressed its readiness to bring down the debt owed by Iraq

The Finance Minister Bayan Jabr said the Polish government expressed its readiness to bring down the debt owed by Iraq.

Zubaidi said in a press statement published Saturday that Poland is the European country last fall Dwinha of Iraq.

Zubeidi clear that he was shot down after Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates on Iraq debt leaves Egypt and Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, he said, adding that negotiations are continuing in this regard, pointing out that Morocco debt will fall soon.

http://209.85.227.132/translate_c?hl...u8I5C89cA2-lxQ

Originally Posted by Seaview

Zubeidi: Bologna expressed its readiness to bring down the debt owed by Iraq

The Finance Minister Bayan Jabr said the Polish government expressed its readiness to bring down the debt owed by Iraq.

Zubaidi said in a press statement published Saturday that Poland is the European country last fall Dwinha of Iraq.

Zubeidi clear that he was shot down after Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates on Iraq debt leaves Egypt and Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, he said, adding that negotiations are continuing in this regard, pointing out that Morocco debt will fall soon.

http://209.85.227.132/translate_c?hl...u8I5C89cA2-lxQ

Poland ready to waive Iraqi Debt

In a press conference, Baqir Jabr Al-Zubeidi Iraq's finance minister has announced that Poland has agreed to write off the Iraqi debt. Regarding this, Al-Zubeidi said, “Our talks with that country are underway to end the matter of $800 million.”

http://pukmedia.com/english/index.ph...11284&Itemid=1