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

Setting up a center for the development of the Iraqi economy in the South

Basra / Abdul Hussein Algarawi In Basra announced the establishment of the South Center for the development of the Iraqi economy has put a priority objectives of the service requirements of the Iraqi economy and its growth, and development and open the door for the enrollment of all southern provinces. He said Mr. Abdel-Karim Jaber Vice President of the Center for (long economic) that the Board of Directors included five members of the concerned oilfields various economic, or administrative body of the Center consisted of eleven members, and all working on a voluntary basis and they are the business efficiencies and economic and pointed out that the Center organization of professional economic enjoyed personality moral and financial and administrative autonomy a non-governmental, non-political and non-profit for businessmen or industrialists and traders for their projects in small and medium-sized enterprises and owners of industries and business and handicrafts. He added : that of the basic functions of the Center contribute to the reconstruction of Iraq through the development of the Iraqi economy and society and prepare a list of detailed requirements of the economic sectors in Iraq and providing training courses for businessmen to cope with the economic and scientific development, and provide support for investments and cooperation with donors, as well as to assist the Iraqi economic sector to upgrade the quality of production, import and services. The Deputy Chairman of the South Center for the development of the Iraqi economy, saying : restructuring of the Center consisted of several offices, including the Office of Management and media relations courses and the development of financial and accounting, investors, research and legal advice as well as conferences and symposia have been the work of the Center for those who wish to join him to be businessmen and industrialists and testing and the owners of trades and professions. He stressed that the center is preparing for a symposium on the subject of inflation, which will cover several economic issues including the concept of inflation and ways to measure and the causes, types and methods of treatment as well as a special focus Alerkodi inflation.

Translated version of http://www.almadapaper.com/

Originally Posted by Socata 850

Adster, Somehow I missed your link to the dinar spreadsheet. Could you please send it to me or refer me to a posting so I can download it. Thank you .

Here you go buddy. Merry xmas, enjoy!!!

Originally Posted by smillenace

and me too! thanks adster

As above.

Economy is booming
In what might be called the mother of all surprises, Iraq's economy is growing strong, even booming in places

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20 December 2006 (MSNBC News Services)
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It may sound unreal, given the daily images of carnage and chaos. But for a certain plucky breed of businessmen, there's good money to be made in Iraq. Consider Iraqna, the leading mobile-phone company. For sure, its quarterly reports seldom make for dull reading. Despite employees kidnapped, cell-phone towers bombed, storefronts shot up and a huge security budget—up to four guards for each employee—the company posted revenues of $333 million in 2005. This year, it's on track to take in $520 million. The U.S. State Department reports that there are now 7.1 million mobile-phone subscribers in Iraq, up from just 1.4 million two years ago. Says Wael Ziada, an analyst in Cairo who tracks Iraqna: "There will always be pockets of money and wealth, no matter how bad the situation gets."

Civil war or not, Iraq has an economy, and—mother of all surprises—it's doing remarkably well. Real estate is booming. Construction, retail and wholesale trade sectors are healthy, too, according to a report by Global Insight in London. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports 34,000 registered companies in Iraq, up from 8,000 three years ago. Sales of secondhand cars, televisions and mobile phones have all risen sharply. Estimates vary, but one from Global Insight puts GDP growth at 17 percent last year and projects 13 percent for 2006. The World Bank has it lower: at 4 percent this year. But, given all the attention paid to deteriorating security, the startling fact is that Iraq is growing at all.

How? Iraq is a crippled nation growing on the financial equivalent of steroids, with money pouring in from abroad. National oil revenues and foreign grants look set to total $41 billion this year, according to the IMF. With security improving in one key spot—the southern oilfields—that figure could go up.

Not too shabby, all things considered. Yes, Iraq's problems are daunting, to say the least. Unemployment runs between 30 and 50 percent. Many former state industries have all but ceased to function. As for all that money flowing in, much of it has gone to things that do little to advance the country's future. Security, for instance, gobbles up as much as a third of most companies' operating budgets, whereas what Iraq really needs are hospitals, highways and power-generating plants.

Even so, there's a vibrancy at the grass roots that is invisible in most international coverage of Iraq. Partly it's the trickle-down effect. However it's spent, whether on security or something else, money circulates. Nor are ordinary Iraqis themselves short on cash. After so many years of living under sanctions, with little to consume, many built up considerable nest eggs—which they are now spending. That's boosted economic activity, particularly in retail. Imported goods have grown increasingly affordable, thanks to the elimination of tariffs and trade barriers. Salaries have gone up more than 100 percent since the fall of Saddam, and income-tax cuts (from 45 percent to just 15 percent) have put more cash in Iraqi pockets. "The U.S. wanted to create the conditions in which small-scale private enterprise could blossom," says Jan Randolph, head of sovereign risk at Global Insight. "In a sense, they've succeeded."

Consider some less formal indicators. Perhaps the most pervasive is the horrendous Iraqi traffic jams. Roadside bombs account for fewer backups than the sheer number of secondhand cars that have crowded onto the nation's roads—five times as many in Baghdad as before the war. Cheap Chinese goods overflow from shop shelves, and store owners report quick turnover. Real-estate prices have risen several hundred percent, suggesting that Iraqis are more optimistic about the future than most Americans are.

There's even a positive spin to be put on corruption. Money stolen from government coffers or siphoned from U.S. aid projects does not just disappear. Again, says Farid Abolfathi, a Global Insight analyst, it's the "trickledown" effect. Such "underground activity" is the most dynamic part of Iraq's economy, he says. "It might not be viewed as respectable. But in reality, that's what puts money in the hands of the little people."

Meanwhile, Iraq's official economic institutions are making progress, improbable as that might sound in the context of savage sectarian violence and a seemingly complete breakdown of leadership and law. Yet it's a fact. A government often accused of being no government at all has somehow managed to take its first steps to liberalize the highly centralized economy of the Saddam era. Iraq has a debt-relief deal with the IMF that requires Baghdad to end subsidies and open up its gas-import market. Earlier this year the government made the first hesitant steps, axing fuel subsidies—and sending prices from a few cents a liter to around 14. "This has become one important way of institutionally engaging with Iraq," says economist Colin Rowat at the University of Birmingham. "If you lose that engagement, then that means a lot more people have given up on Iraq."

It goes without saying: real progress won't be seen until the security situation clears up. Iraq still lacks a functioning banking system. Though there's an increasing awareness of Iraq as a potential emerging market, foreign investors won't make serious commitments until they are assured a measure of stability. Local moneymen are scarcely more bullish on the long term. In Iraq's nascent bond market, buyers have so far been willing to invest in local-currency Treasury bills with terms up to six months, max.

Iraqna isn't the only success story. There is also Nipal, a money-transfer service that is the backbone of Iraq's cash economy, as well as a slew of successful construction firms in Kurdistan. Such companies are not waiting for Iraq's political crisis to resolve itself. Yet imagine how they would prosper if it did, and how quickly they would be joined by others. As things stand, Iraqna faces extraordinary difficulties. It builds towers but lives in constant fear that they will be blown up. It has to be careful about whom it hires, or where it assigns people to work. Whether Sunni or Shia, it doesn't matter; criminal gangs and militias regularly try to kidnap employees to hold them hostage for ransom, regardless of ethnicity. As for long-range planning? Forget it, says Ziada, the Cairo analyst. "It's a terrible situation for any company."

But again, that's the remarkable thing. In a business climate that is inhospitable, to say the least, companies like Iraqna are thriving. The withdrawal of a certain great power could drastically reduce the foreign money flow, and knock the crippled economy flat.

Negotiations fail between Baghdad and Kurdistan on oil contracts
Negotiations fail between Baghdad and Kurdistan on oil contracts
20/12/2006
Source: Translated by IRAQdirectory.com

The first round of negotiations between representatives of the central Iraqi government in Baghdad and the government of Kurdistan in Irbil has failed to reach an agreement on the power of concluding contracts with foreign companies to invest the oil in province; the Kurds have held on to this power while Baghdad rejected that. At a time when political sources said that the dispute was referred to political authorities for a settlement.

Political sources said that the governmental committee which is developing a draft bill for oil disagreed on granting the right of concluding contracts of foreign investment to the regions or to the central government, and the solution to this dispute is up to the political leaders.

Political sources close to the talks said that the main element of the dispute was the insistence of the Kurds, whose region contains the northern oil fields, on the right to control the unused reserves.

Deputy Prime Minister, Barham Salih who is a Kurd and heads the oil committee, said that there is one main issue which needs a political agreement, and we are trying to reach a settlement.

Assem Jihad, spokesman of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil, said that the law now awaits further talks between the Iraqi government and Kurdish area.
The oil sector is in great need for foreign investments to revive the devastated economy, which depends heavily on oil export revenues. Iraq has the third largest oil reserves in the world.

A distinguished source in the oil sector said that the first round of talks failed and we are now waiting for the second round.
The Oil Committee, which includes the minister of oil, agreed on more than 90% of the items of the law.
Salih showed optimism about the Iraqi officials overcoming the difficulties facing them and said that the talks would be resumed within a few days. He said that the committee agreed on sharing oil revenues and on restructuring the sector which is considered one of the key issues.

He added that we did not fail. The talks will be resumed in a few days, pointing out that the oil law is a priority for the government.

Iraqi officials have claimed that the law will be submitted to parliament for ratification by the end of December, and Saleh said that the officials are working hard to stick to that date.

Head of Stock Exchange Trustees: it is time to implement the Investment Law Head of the Iraqi Stock Exchange Trustees: it is time to implement the Investment Law
20/12/2006
Source: Translated by IRAQdirectory.com

Head of the Iraqi Stock Exchange Trustees, Talib Tabatabai, confirmed that security situation is what hinders the Stock Exchange more than anything, and it is the reason behind the considerable challenges faced by the investor... However, he pointed out that the current situation is temporary and exceptional; therefore, the performance must be maintained consistently, as illustrated by general indicators, which confirms that the development in performance continues to be a salient feature in the march of the market.

Tabatabai added in a press statement: that the investment law being not activated, its members are not appointment and working by it has not started, created a great disappointment among investors in the Iraqi bourse, particularly that efforts have been made by workers in the bourse to update its performance; electronic equipment and supplies are being installed and Stock Exchange rooms are being organized for this purpose. He added that such electronic boards are used for the first time in Iraq...

Tabatabai expressed his hope that many factors will help the investments by shareholders better than it is now. In the forefront of these factors is the security situation.

Tabatabai pointed out that the number of shares that have been circulated in the month of September amounted to 4,212 billion shares, at an average of 527 million shares in a session, registering an increase of 54, 9% on last August. As for the volume of transactions in the month of September, Tabatabai said that they amounted to 8,422 billion dinar; that is 1,052 billion dinar in a session; and the number of contracts executed in the same month, increased to reach 2928 contracts for the month of August.

Tabatabai also stated that the banking sector is the main engine of the market, as this sector has achieved greater relative importance.

Najirfan Barzani : We have good positive results with the Iraqi government
From Hamid Zebari
Arbil - (Voices of Iraq)

The President said the government of the Kurdistan Najirfan Barzani in Irbil today, Tuesday, that "good positive results" achieved during the talks with the central government in Baghdad, on a number of disputed issues between the two sides.

He added Barzani during a press conference held this evening, immediately after his arrival in Irbil international airport, returning from Baghdad after a week-long visit, "we have good results. The agreement grants (17%) of the budget of Iraq to the Kurdistan region. "

He continued : "... And on Thursday (the day after tomorrow) will send the resolution to the Iraqi parliament, and we expect to solve this problem without hindrance. "

The head of the government of Kurdistan to the Iraqi government "will bring to the government the amount of territory
(364) million dollars remaining from the budget of 2006, "pointing out that this amount" remains with the Iraqi government committed a result of an arithmetical error in calculating the budget, will amount to the Iraqi Kurdistan region until the end of the year on three meals. "

This is the second visit by the Najirfan Barzani to the Iraqi capital within two weeks.

With regard to the oil issue of contention between the territorial government and the Center, Barzani said during the conference, "after lengthy discussions and come to positive results and good, is scheduled to be examined by the
Iraqi Cabinet during the coming days, the oil bill.

The transformation of the House of Representatives for approval.

"In response to a question about the control of oil matters, the Chief of the government of Kurdistan, saying "the government's right to discuss the issue of Kurdish oil investment with foreign companies.

And oil imports will be distributed to the regions according to the population. " He added, "according to the law. The right of the territorial government research projects with the oil companies with the participation of the representative of the Iraqi government, and will be the first to sign oil contracts in Kurdistan. Then sent to Baghdad to retreat by a high-level committee of experts would be the future. "

Barzani explained, "After giving opinions and observations on contracts (by the Committee of Experts) will be the final signing in the Iraqi Kurdistan region."
He added that this measure "in order to give the transparency of contracts, and the prevention of corruption or granted for the companies is not up to the required level."

Barzani pointed out that all Iraqi government officials, including Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, "showed full readiness to work on the implementation (Article 140) of the Iraqi Constitution" on the normalization of the situation in Kirkuk.
He said, "committees have been formed. These committees need for the implementation of the Platform for internal functions, the budget has been allocated to it. "

And would meet the troop s, the head of the government of Kurdistan that s, "according to the Iraqi Constitution of the order, and its mission to protect Iraq's Kurdistan region. It must be allocated a share of the budget of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense. "
The Barzani said "call for the share of the budget of the Ministry of Defense to s ... Because they are part of the defense force to Iraq, who guards the Kurdistan region. "

He pointed out that a committee was formed for this purpose, includes the Kurdish party of President territorial government, and his deputy, Rose Nouri Shaways, the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih, explaining that, so far, "the Committee did not reach any agreement. But we are determined to devote part of the budget of the Ministry of Defense of the Iraqi forces s. "

On the other hand, described the president of the government of the Kurdistan situation in Baghdad "tragic" and said,
"Difficult conditions in Baghdad to a large degree. And regret it, and we are working to be part of the solution and improving the situation. "
He added that the Kurds did not want to be "in favor of any one of the Iraqi political parties" conflicting in Baghdad.

ßÑÏÓÊÇä- äíÌÑÝÇä- ãÈÇÍËÇÊ :: Aswat al Iraq :: Aswat al Iraq

Go Iraq, Go Dinar in the beginning of 2007!!

International Relations

Iraq’s top Shia cleric inches towards coalition
By Kirk Semple and Edward Wong

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BAGHDAD, 20 December 2006 (New York Times)
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Iraq’s most venerated Shiite cleric has tentatively approved an American-backed coalition of Shiite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish parties that aims to isolate extremists, particularly the powerful Shiite militia leader Moktada al-Sadr, Iraqi and Western officials say.

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein the cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has been the spiritual custodian of Shiite political dominance in Iraq, corralling the fractious Shiite parties into an alliance to rule the country.

But Ayatollah Sistani has grown increasingly distressed as the Shiite-led government has proved incapable of taming the violence and improving public services, Shiite officials say. He now appears to be backing away from his demand that the Shiite bloc play the dominant political role and that it hold together at all costs, Iraqi and Western officials say.

As the effective arbiter of a Shiite role in the planned coalition, the ayatollah is considered critical to the Iraqi and American effort.

American officials have been told by intermediaries that Ayatollah Sistani “has blessed the idea of forming a moderate front,” according to a senior American official. “We wouldn’t have gotten this far without his support.”

President Bush’s national security adviser, Stephen J. Hadley, wrote in a classified memo last month that the Americans should “engage Sistani to reassure and seek his support for a new, nonsectarian political movement.” In recent weeks, President Bush has received Shiite and Sunni politicians at the White House to encourage them to move forward with the coalition, officials said.

Since the American invasion of Iraq, Ayatollah Sistani has refused to meet with anyone from the American government but receives messages through intermediaries.

In meetings with Shiite politicians at his home in Najaf about two weeks ago, the reclusive ayatollah laid out conditions that the new coalition would have to meet to win his full approval, according to Sheik Humam Hamoudi, a senior Shiite legislator.

A principal demand, Mr. Hamoudi said, was that any political realignment “preserve the unity” of the 130-member Shiite parliamentary bloc, the United Iraqi Alliance.

But officials say that stipulation can be interpreted broadly to mean that the Shiite bloc be preserved in name only, with its various parties forming their own coalitions with Sunni Arabs or with Kurds. The new coalition could lead to the effective fragmentation of the ruling Shiite bloc because it is unlikely that Mr. Sadr, the militia leader, will sign on, Iraqi officials say.

Such an open split would weaken Shiite control over the government and increase tensions between rival Shiite militias, which have periodically clashed.

Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki and his Shiite party, Islamic Dawa, are hesitant about signing on to the coalition. Dawa members say they are concerned that rival Shiite parties are trying to oust Mr. Maliki. They also suspect the Sunni Arabs’ real goal is to erode Shiite power.

“I think it’s a leap into the unknown,” said Sami al-Askari, a Shiite legislator who advises Mr. Maliki. “The negative things are clear, but no one can explain exactly what the positive things are.”

Shiite officials acknowledged in interviews that the disintegration of the Shiite bloc was already under way. Ayatollah Sistani formed the alliance in late 2004 to ensure that religious Shiite parties would present a united front in national elections. But the bloc is split by internal rivalries that have intensified.

Mr. Sadr, who controls 30 seats in Parliament and 6 of 38 cabinet positions, ordered his loyalists to withdraw from the government last month to protest a meeting in Jordan between President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki, who is beholden to Mr. Sadr for political support. Mr. Sadr has also clashed politically and militarily with the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, Mr. Hamoudi’s political group.

Perhaps resigned to the frailties of Shiite politics, Ayatollah Sistani has not made any recent public statements urging Shiite unity, nor has he been able to halt the violence.

“He is very sad,” Mr. Hamoudi said. “He feels he should do something to save Iraq and keep the unity of Iraq and preserve the blood of the people.”

Mr. Sadr’s rise to power, mostly on the strength of his Mahdi Army militia, has presented something of a challenge to the authority of Ayatollah Sistani as Iraq’s most revered Shiite cleric. In spite of Mr. Sistani’s preaching of tolerance toward Sunni Arabs, the Mahdi Army has been a driving force in the bloody cycle of retributive violence, which is killing more than 100 people a day in Iraq.

Ayatollah Sistani remains profoundly influential among Shiites, and the country’s top Shiite leaders still feel obligated to visit his home — tucked away in downtown Najaf’s narrow winding streets — to seek his guidance. Mr. Maliki is planning to send a delegation from his party to discuss the nascent coalition with the ayatollah, according to a Shiite politician close to Mr. Maliki.

The idea of a coalition bridging the major sects and ethnicities first arose in the spring during a weeks-long crisis surrounding the selection of a prime minister. As the discussions dragged on, the leader of the Supreme Council, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, approached Kurdish and Sunni Arab politicians about supporting a single candidate, according to Iraqi and Western officials.

But Ayatollah Sistani blocked the proposal in favor of preserving the Shiite bloc, the officials said. “The word from Najaf then was, ‘Thou shalt not do that,’ ” said an American official familiar with the discussions.

The idea of the coalition was revisited in recent weeks as a way to revive the political process and perhaps move the country beyond the vicious sectarian politics reflected in the relentless violence in the streets. “It’s a light of hope in a sky filled with clouds,” Mr. Hamoudi said.

The talks are taking place among the two main Kurdish groups, the Sunni-led Iraqi Islamic Party and Mr. Hakim’s religious Shiite party, the Supreme Council, which has long sought to lead the government.

American officials have been frustrated with Mr. Maliki’s political dependence on Mr. Sadr, who supported his bid for prime minister. The Americans have tried to reassure Mr. Maliki that the range of participating parties gives him the necessary political support to break from Mr. Sadr.

Mr. Maliki has expressed strong interest in the coalition but wants initially to welcome all political parties into its fold rather than to limit membership, Iraqi and Western officials say. That would provide additional political cover for any break with Mr. Sadr.

The prime minister’s proposal, Mr. Hamoudi said, “is to start with a very wide door and gradually close it.”

Ayatollah Sistani’s growing disillusionment with politics is apparently evident to those who visit him.

A prominent Shiite legislator, Shatha al-Mousawi, said she and other Shiite lawmakers met with him recently in his home to try to resolve an issue within the Shiite bloc. The ayatollah wanted nothing to do with the matter, she said. “He said, ‘It’s up to you,’ ” she recalled.

Since winning 130 of the 275 seats in Parliament, the Shiite bloc has never coalesced as Ayatollah Sistani intended it to, and factional rivalries have deepened, particularly over the past several months. A law enabling provinces to form autonomous regions, approved in October, was supported by Mr. Hakim but bitterly opposed by Mr. Sadr and members of the Fadhila Party, a Shiite group close to Mr. Sadr.

The Shiite infighting has paralyzed the government. Since Mr. Sadr’s loyalists began boycotting the government last month, the Parliament has been unable to form a quorum, preventing the passage of laws.

The new coalition is aimed at circumventing that kind of conflict, its leaders say, which is probably why Ayatollah Sistani is willing to lend his support.

The Iraqi Central sells $ 22 million today
Baghdad - (Voices of Iraq)

The demand for dollar in the auction the Central Bank of Iraq today, Wednesday, recording 22 million and 230 thousand dollars from 10 million and 605 thousand dollars on Tuesday.

He said the Central Bank of Iraq in a statement that the purchase orders were distributed by one million and 270 thousand dollars in cash and 20 million and 960 thousand dollars in the form of Holat outside the bank full coverage at 1373 dinars Banhafad seven dinars tone yesterday.

He pointed out that nine banks participating in the auction today made offers for the sale of two million and 500 thousand dollars for the Central bought full price of dinars in 1371, compared to offers of sale amounted to 10 million and 880 thousand dollars yesterday bought Central at 1378 dinars.

ÏæáÇÑ- (ÇÞÊÕÇÏ) :: Aswat al Iraq :: Aswat al Iraq

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