Thread: Iraq/Dinar News. 09/05 to 01/14/07

Originally Posted by Jola

Just to say my opinion: I would never believe a reval at $3 for one dinar will happen. While I would certainly love to cash in at that rate, I just feel it is too much...

I take it more as 1 dinar = 31 cents, so it would be the other way around: 3 dinars for one dollar - to begin with...and maybe the rate will raise from there up...

Do you guys believe that the dinar will jump from 1460 for one dollar to 3 dollars for one dinar?

I guess that is hard to swallow by their neighbors...and others, including US...especially with the US dollar situation right now on the market...JMO...but as I said...what do I know?

I hear and understand your point of view. The reason Baghdad Bank used .31 NID to 1 USD in their 2004 report to shareholders is because that's what the CBI told them to use!

How's that for making your heart go pitter-patter?

Originally Posted by kiko

Ok, there is a new rumor from the other forum about Egypt black market buying dinars for $ 0.50.

I thought I post it because after all some rumors can be true.

I posted this one in the rumor section or else Neno and all other mod will be mad at me.

Please discuss it there if you want to discuss.

Here is the link: http://www.rolclub.com/rumors-predic...tml#post135335

What do they know...... would that be 1 dinar= 50 cents....

13 November 2006 (CBNNews.com)
While other parts of Iraq remain mired in unrest, the northern region known as Kurdistan is touting itself as an oasis and aggressively courting businesses and tourists.

The push for development includes a Western-style advertising strategy with ads on cable TV, in radio and magazines, and a new investment law approved by the region's National Assembly to attract money from foreign investors. The region's economy already is one of the strongest in the Middle East.

But the semi-autonomous ethnic enclave - the ads call it “the other Iraq,” — is faced with realities that could undermine its aspirations.

Kurdish terrorist groups with separatist goals and a deadly history have taken responsibility for recent bombings. That fact, tied to the violence in greater Iraq and a government with a reputation for corruption, has dampened investment enthusiasm.

Full-court press

The U.S. ad campaign, which has a counterpart in Europe, is underwritten by the Kurdistan Development Corporation, with offices in London, Berlin and Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan. It emphasizes a region ready for economic development.

In a TV commercial, people of all ages are seen building a community — planting trees, driving bulldozers, working in a laboratory — in images meant to convey a model of modernity, an area bustling with industry.

“See the promise,” intones the ad's narrator. “Share the dream,” says a young girl, who walks toward the viewer bearing a bright, glowing globe.

On a companion Web site, investors and tourists are invited to “a place where the universities, markets, cafes and fair grounds buzz with progress and prosperity.”

Bayan Rahman, chairman of the corporation, said the ad campaign's purpose was “to raise awareness of the Kurdistan region among the grassroots of America, to make people aware that the Kurdistan region exists - some people still mix us up with Kyrgyzstan and Kazahkstan — and that the region is peaceful and stable, and we are rebuilding.”

“There’s a misperception of what northern Iraq is,” said Sal Russo, president of the Russo, Marsh & Rogers ad agency, which created the ads. “This is going to be a long-term project, to educate Americans to the realities of the region."

Business and tourism

Under the new investment law, foreign investors have the same rights as Iraqi investors, with full ownership of their projects. Companies may transfer profits or income abroad without having to pay taxes or customs.

The law also gives foreign investors major incentives, including exemptions from all noncustoms taxes and duties for 10 years. Imported equipment, machinery, tools, parts and other expenses are now largely exempt from taxes.

Iraqi Kurdistan also hopes to increase tourism to its historical attractions — museums, castles, mosques and other architectural sites, some dating to the 12th century.

‘An emerging market’

Several U.S. companies have paid a visit, including Ford, General Motors, Cummins, Motorola, Federal Express and DaimlerChrysler. Investors from the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Lebanon, already are in the region. The leading British trade association, representing engineering, healthcare and oil production companies, also has visited.

The oil-rich north, the heart of Iraqi Kurdistan, is certainly an incentive for investment. One Kurdish oil official estimated the region has reserves of 45 billion barrels of oil, and 100 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. But some U.S. oil companies have been reluctant to invest in refineries there because of fears of sabotage or injuries to their workers.

“We are interested and they are interested,” Shell Oil Co. president John Hofmeister said in July, of Shell's investment in the region, depending on safety for its employees. “We need those conditions in place to take it to the next level,” he said. “It's too soon to make a judgment on how close we are. I suspect we could be a few years away.”

“The Kurdistan region is secure,” Rahman insists. “It doesn't mean we're immune from terrorist attacks but in terms of all-out civil war, there's no insurgency, there's no terrorism.”

“Property prices are going up. People who invested a few years ago are doing very well,” said Rahman, who is based in Iraqi Kurdistan. “Today we have five universities and soon we'll have six. Compare that with 1991, when we had one.”

“People recognize that Kurdistan represents an emerging market,” she said. “There are risks that go with that.”

‘A virtual oasis,’ or not

Americans, Russo added, “haven't heard the story, the heroic story, of Iraqi Kurdistan. It's a virtual oasis in the middle of an area with pretty nasty neighbors.”

But other observers don't buy such rosy scenarios. For them, the main obstacle to more U.S. investors is Iraqi Kurdistan’s government and its history of corruption.

The region's government is controlled by the Barzani family, which includes President Massoud Barzani, who leads the ruling Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party, and Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani. Both are descendants of Mustafa Barzani, who founded the party in 1946.

The Barzani tribe has been accused of using murder, torture and intimidation to solidify its hold on power. In 2005, mobs believed to be KDP sympathizers stormed the offices of another rival, the Kurdistan Islamic Union, killing some of that group's members.

Last October, the KDP’s intelligence service, the Parastin, arrested and imprisoned a Kurdish journalist for writing articles critical of the government. The Parastin has also been blamed for arrests of other scholars and intellectuals for criticizing the Barzani dynasty.

On Sept. 1, Massoud Barzani banned all government offices from flying the Iraqi tricolor flag.

‘The elephant in the room’

“In a lot of ways it's like a Mafia-run state,” said Michael Rubin, a Middle East scholar with the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.

“Corruption is a huge problem in Kurdistan — it's the elephant in the room,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that foreign investment won't work out. Investors want a return on their money. Big businesses will want some protection from shenaningans in the ruling family. With foreign investments, the more the better. But there are still unresolved questions about the rule of law.”

“It's sort of like investing in Chicago in the 1930's,” Rubin said, comparing the region to the American city where organized crime once ran rampant. “It's not a capitalist paradise yet.”

Originally Posted by laurenr

and confusing us Brits too.

We use decimal points to signify fractions of a currency,

eg: 0.55 = 55 pence

or 199.55 = 199.55 pence

Then we use commas to make it easy to read larger numbers,

eg: 19,957.23 = 19 thousand,957. 23 pence

or 1,423,456.17 = 1 million, 423 thousand, 456.17 pence


We apply this to any numbers, whether it is a currency or not.

I hope this helps.

Thank you laurenr I will do better from now on

Originally Posted by webinvestor

I hear and understand you're point of view. The reason Baghdad Bank used .31 NID to 1 USD in their 2004 report to shareholders is because that's what the CBI told them to use!

How's that for making your heart go pitter-patter?

That's what I love about that darn report!! LOL
CBI did not do that for nothing. They have been preparing for this right from the beginning.


But you know, I am not greedy, I am just needy - as my hubby would say! That's why I go for the lowest and hope for the highest!

Originally Posted by bultn

No, it probably will not jump to that in one big leap, but their goal is to get it to that rate in the future. The banks have kept their books at that rate all the time (as below).

Did i read somewhere about the rate being brought up with those exchange rates of the surrounding states........

Originally Posted by Jola

That's what I love about that darn report!! LOL
CBI did not do that for nothing. They have been preparing for this right from the beginning.


But you know, I am not greedy, I am just needy - as my hubby would say! That's why I go for the lowest and hope for the highest!

I can feel a wooooooot coming on........

Originally Posted by Dinar Duchess

I can feel a wooooooot coming on........

I hear that sister!!!

KRG.org , 7 Nov 2006
Austrian Airlines to start scheduled flights to Kurdistan

Erbil, Kurdistan-Iraq (KRG.org) - Austrian Airlines announced on Monday that it will start scheduled flights to Erbil International Airport on 11 December.

Peter Katzlberger, the company's representative in the Kurdistan Region, said, "Austrian Airlines is proud to announce that it is the first western regular scheduled carrier operating in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq." The airline said that it will operate two scheduled flights a week between Vienna and Erbil, and tickets can be booked at any Austrian Airlines office around the world or in Erbil, or through an IATA (International Air Transport Association) member travel agent.

Falah Mustafa Bakir, the minister in charge of the KRG's Office of Foreign Relations, said, "We are pleased that the Austrian foreign ministry amended its Iraq travel advice to show the true picture that the Kurdistan Region is safer." He added, "I hope that other scheduled carriers will start to recognise that Kurdistan's air travel market is growing and ripe for investment."

Charter carriers have been operating direct flights to the Kurdistan Region since July 2005, with routes including Frankfurt, Stockholm, Istanbul, Dubai and Amman. Austrian Airlines is the first western scheduled carrier. The Kurdistan Regional Government is improving aviation infrastructure by expanding the airport to accommodate 1.5 million passengers and 35,000 tonnes of freight a year. The new airport is due to be completed in 2007.


I guess if Iraq RV's the dinar at a measely rate, you can always catch a plane to Kurdistan and buy up some business'... thanks to Austrian Airlines.

Originally Posted by Dinar Duchess

I can feel a wooooooot coming on........

and I feel a..........oh what is it.......

FARM JIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!