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

A Law for Investment in Iraq

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02 January 2007 (Dar Al-Salam)
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The Iraqi Presidency Council issued Investment Law No. 13 of 2006, containing provisions for regulation, rights and encouragement for investors, encompassing Iraqis and non-Iraqis, designed for the phases of establishment and operation. The law aims to attract and encourage investment and the transfer of modern technologies to the country; to encourage both the Iraqi private sector and foreign investment in the country; to protect the property rights of investors and their profits, and the expansion of exports and enhancing the competitive edge at home and abroad.

The law covers all branches of investment, production and service activity, except for the extraction and production of oil and gas, banks, and insurance companies. However, it did turn out that the extraction activities for other minerals, in addition to the mineral refining and oil refining sectors, are covered by the law like other branches of industry, investment and other sectors like agriculture and tourism, health, etc.

The law does require the participation of an Iraqi partner with foreign investors, except for the purposes of licensing or enjoying tax exemptions and privileges and facilities. The law also stipulates the establishment of a National Commission for Investment to take up the task of implementing these provisions. It allows regions and governorates, provided they are not ensconced to the region, to form investment commissions in their own areas that enjoy licensing authority and the granting of exemptions and facilities and the management of investment projects there. In order to facilitate the licensing process, the bill authorizes the issuance of establishment approvals (investment licenses) through the establishment of the so-called 'single window' in the region or province.

The investor enjoys, regardless of nationality, all the advantages and facilities, guarantees and exemptions. In housing projects, the investor has the right to acquire the land needed for the project.

The rights, privileges and facilities in the new law include the following:

(1) Enjoying a tax exemption for a period of ten years from the year of operation, with an exemption on import duties for importing the requirements in the establishment phase, and the phases of expansion, development and modernization of equipment and machinery, means of transportation and materials, and the operational phase of the import of raw materials and intermediary and spare parts.
(2) Allowing capital and earnings in and out of the country and the opening accounts in banks inside and outside Iraq.
(3) Circulation in the Iraqi market for securities, bonds, equities, and the setting up investment portfolios.
(4) Rental of the land needed for the project for the period of 50 years; a renewable term. The right to own land also in housing projects.
(5) Facilitating the investor's enjoyment of additional advantages, especially according to the international bilateral agreements between Iraq and its government, or according to multilateral agreements. Including the right of the foreign investor to sell his project in whole or in part.

After nearly half a century of providing tax exemptions and generous assistance to the industry in Iraq, starting from the 1950s, the result was loss-making government projects that could only be resolved by selling them off. Project administrations, enterprises and factories became addicted to State assistance and protection. The projects were powerless to face up to competition, at home and abroad, accompanied by a qualitative and quantitative underdevelopment, and in terms of price, with unsustainable spin-off industries that feed key inputs into these sectors. They failed to catch up with the demands of the market for constant modernization and the fragmentation of demand. This also includes obsolete and marginal factories and declining investment rates from year to year, while the country gradually lost its ability to attract investments, and many bureaucratic complexities, and many of them administrative constraints, which prevent opportunities for progress, repressing the speed of response and wasting time and effort.

To what extent will the new law in this new phase achieve its objectives in attracting investments?

This depends primarily on the availability of advanced infrastructure, which, in turn, includes all the social, political and material factors, and not only the roads and bridges, and electricity and water; but also, the conditions of the parts and components manufacturers and the conditions of secondary, spin-off industries, and the availability of government management skills. Not to mention the tax system and the availability of transparency and the system of macroeconomic management, and the rates of education, training and the country's reserve of the educated, engineers and technicians, and population characteristics.

The availability of an infrastructure of this kind, along with the new investment law, will be a crucial factor in attracting investment.

The extent to which financial and administrative corruption is shrinking or expanding is another factor that attracts or repel investments.

In a Transparency Global (headquartered in Berlin) report, the State of Haiti ranked first among the most corrupt, and Iraq came in third. In his statement before the US Congress on February 8, 2006, former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said: "administrative and financial corruption in Iraq is omnipresent in all aspects of government administration and finance ". Even if this corruption recedes, there will remain a more deeply rooted problem, in the form of concepts, perceptions and attitudes inherited by the bureaucracy and in the government administrative cadres at all levels.

The new law has recommended adopting the so-called 'single window' to receive investment applications to decide on them. These recommendations follow the pattern of development and investment legislation in the developing countries for the purpose of simplifying procedures to save time, effort and money. Will the situation in Iraq become congenial to the establishment of this window? It is noteworthy that the General Directorate for Industrial Development in Baghdad applied this 'window' for more than a year. But what is being done by the aforementioned Directorate is just unifying the entity that receives applications (the formal side). As for the bureaucratic content, it remains the same as it was about 30 years ago or more, without change.

Certainly, Iraq will attract many investments after the issuance of the new law, but will the volume of these investments reach the desired ambition? As is the case in the South-East Asian countries, such as Singapore or Malaysia, for example, this also demands a revolutionization of the same concepts and ways of thinking and dealing with such topics. What is necessary is reliable economic administration that lays the foundations before the structure, and not vice versa, when it comes to handling development and dealing with investments. Only then can the new law achieve its goals and the aspirations of the country.

IMHO hightide3016, this is the FIL law in explanitation with a reporters Opinion I believe at the bottom. We already know that it is passed. Just waiting still for it to be implemented or enactment of it along with the HCL and others that it seems that they want to all do at once by all of our presumption. Good find of the FIL explanation.

Iraq is seeking to buy more than 1 million tons of gasoline

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02 January 2007 (Iraq Directory)
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Iraq put a tender on Tuesday for the purchase of about 1.04 million tons of gasoline, 1 million tons of gas oil (diesel) and 150 thousand tons of liquefied petroleum gas to be delivered during the period from the first of February until 30 in June.

The Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) requested the purchase 168 thousand tons of kerosene in bids mostly to be delivered by the end of March.

Iraq also requested the purchase of 85 thousand tons of gasoline, of 92 octanes, 100 tons of gas oil, 35 tons of liquefied petroleum gas and 24 thousand tons of kerosene transferred by tankers by land from Iran via the border gate of Al-Mundhiriyah.

SOMO said that it put a separate tender requesting the supply of 385 thousand tons of gas oil for operating the power stations in Baghdad.

It added that Iraq also sought to buy 675 tons of gasoline, of 92 octanes, 130 tons of gas oil, between 40 and 45 thousand tons of liquefied petroleum gas brought by ships through a port in south of the country. The Foundation also seeks to buy 48 thousand tons of kerosene received across the southern port by the end of March.

Iraq also required the purchase of 280 thousand tons of gasoline, of 92 octanes, 390 tons of gas oil and 75 tons of liquefied petroleum gas to be supplied from Iran via the border gate of Mehran-Alzerbatiah.

SOMO also requested the purchase of 96 thousand tons of kerosene delivered across the same route by the end of March.

The Foundation defined the 11th of January as a deadline for the submission of offers.

Iraq is rich in crude oil, however, it imports petroleum products duplicates.

Originally Posted by hightide3016

A Law for Investment in Iraq

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

02 January 2007 (Dar Al-Salam)
Print article Send to friend
The Iraqi Presidency Council issued Investment Law No. 13 of 2006, containing provisions for regulation, rights and encouragement for investors, encompassing Iraqis and non-Iraqis, designed for the phases of establishment and operation. The law aims to attract and encourage investment and the transfer of modern technologies to the country; to encourage both the Iraqi private sector and foreign investment in the country; to protect the property rights of investors and their profits, and the expansion of exports and enhancing the competitive edge at home and abroad.

The law covers all branches of investment, production and service activity, except for the extraction and production of oil and gas, banks, and insurance companies. However, it did turn out that the extraction activities for other minerals, in addition to the mineral refining and oil refining sectors, are covered by the law like other branches of industry, investment and other sectors like agriculture and tourism, health, etc.

The law does require the participation of an Iraqi partner with foreign investors, except for the purposes of licensing or enjoying tax exemptions and privileges and facilities. The law also stipulates the establishment of a National Commission for Investment to take up the task of implementing these provisions. It allows regions and governorates, provided they are not ensconced to the region, to form investment commissions in their own areas that enjoy licensing authority and the granting of exemptions and facilities and the management of investment projects there. In order to facilitate the licensing process, the bill authorizes the issuance of establishment approvals (investment licenses) through the establishment of the so-called 'single window' in the region or province.

The investor enjoys, regardless of nationality, all the advantages and facilities, guarantees and exemptions. In housing projects, the investor has the right to acquire the land needed for the project.

The rights, privileges and facilities in the new law include the following:

(1) Enjoying a tax exemption for a period of ten years from the year of operation, with an exemption on import duties for importing the requirements in the establishment phase, and the phases of expansion, development and modernization of equipment and machinery, means of transportation and materials, and the operational phase of the import of raw materials and intermediary and spare parts.
(2) Allowing capital and earnings in and out of the country and the opening accounts in banks inside and outside Iraq.
(3) Circulation in the Iraqi market for securities, bonds, equities, and the setting up investment portfolios.
(4) Rental of the land needed for the project for the period of 50 years; a renewable term. The right to own land also in housing projects.
(5) Facilitating the investor's enjoyment of additional advantages, especially according to the international bilateral agreements between Iraq and its government, or according to multilateral agreements. Including the right of the foreign investor to sell his project in whole or in part.

After nearly half a century of providing tax exemptions and generous assistance to the industry in Iraq, starting from the 1950s, the result was loss-making government projects that could only be resolved by selling them off. Project administrations, enterprises and factories became addicted to State assistance and protection. The projects were powerless to face up to competition, at home and abroad, accompanied by a qualitative and quantitative underdevelopment, and in terms of price, with unsustainable spin-off industries that feed key inputs into these sectors. They failed to catch up with the demands of the market for constant modernization and the fragmentation of demand. This also includes obsolete and marginal factories and declining investment rates from year to year, while the country gradually lost its ability to attract investments, and many bureaucratic complexities, and many of them administrative constraints, which prevent opportunities for progress, repressing the speed of response and wasting time and effort.

To what extent will the new law in this new phase achieve its objectives in attracting investments?

This depends primarily on the availability of advanced infrastructure, which, in turn, includes all the social, political and material factors, and not only the roads and bridges, and electricity and water; but also, the conditions of the parts and components manufacturers and the conditions of secondary, spin-off industries, and the availability of government management skills. Not to mention the tax system and the availability of transparency and the system of macroeconomic management, and the rates of education, training and the country's reserve of the educated, engineers and technicians, and population characteristics.

The availability of an infrastructure of this kind, along with the new investment law, will be a crucial factor in attracting investment.

The extent to which financial and administrative corruption is shrinking or expanding is another factor that attracts or repel investments.

In a Transparency Global (headquartered in Berlin) report, the State of Haiti ranked first among the most corrupt, and Iraq came in third. In his statement before the US Congress on February 8, 2006, former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said: "administrative and financial corruption in Iraq is omnipresent in all aspects of government administration and finance ". Even if this corruption recedes, there will remain a more deeply rooted problem, in the form of concepts, perceptions and attitudes inherited by the bureaucracy and in the government administrative cadres at all levels.

The new law has recommended adopting the so-called 'single window' to receive investment applications to decide on them. These recommendations follow the pattern of development and investment legislation in the developing countries for the purpose of simplifying procedures to save time, effort and money. Will the situation in Iraq become congenial to the establishment of this window? It is noteworthy that the General Directorate for Industrial Development in Baghdad applied this 'window' for more than a year. But what is being done by the aforementioned Directorate is just unifying the entity that receives applications (the formal side). As for the bureaucratic content, it remains the same as it was about 30 years ago or more, without change.

Certainly, Iraq will attract many investments after the issuance of the new law, but will the volume of these investments reach the desired ambition? As is the case in the South-East Asian countries, such as Singapore or Malaysia, for example, this also demands a revolutionization of the same concepts and ways of thinking and dealing with such topics. What is necessary is reliable economic administration that lays the foundations before the structure, and not vice versa, when it comes to handling development and dealing with investments. Only then can the new law achieve its goals and the aspirations of the country.

A huge event! Exciting to see what happens on the ISX when it opens on the 8th. A law I know they have wanted for a long time. So, the question is: "Will they allow the stock to continued to purchased so cheaply"?

Kuwaiti economy to witness a boom in 2007: Economists02 January 2007
KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait will witness an economic development in 2007, especially as companies with huge capital have been able to reduce their loss in 2006, says Chairman of Iraq Holding Company (IHC) Mohammed Al-Naqqi.

The government should be clear with BOT projects and the Disclosure of Ownership Law as these will affect investment opportunities in the country, he adds.

Al-Naqqi also said termination of BOT contracts has negatively affected Kuwait's economy leading to a decline in the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE)Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE)Loading... index, adding "the recent volatility faced by the stock market was a result of cancellation of such contracts." A supervisory committee must be formed to monitor investment funds and ensure they comply with the relevant laws to avoid losses and help them take the right investment decisions, he noted.

Several prominent economists predicted that Kuwaiti economy will witness a boom in 2007 when compared to last year's economic failure when many people lost their investment in the stock market. In view of the positive factors KSE index will go up and compensate for the losses of 2006, they said.

Indicating the revenues, profits and dividends paid by many companies were poor in 2006, they said "the recent fluctuations in the stock market have affected the profits of many companies in the country, especially after the passage of the Declaration of Ownership Law."

Above all termination of BOT contracts signed by the government with different companies - including Agility Company - has negatively affected their performance and created an environment of fear that the government will cancel more such contracts, they said.

Executive Chairman of Al-Safat Investment Company (SIC) Basim Al-Otaibi said "Kuwait will experience more economic movement in 2007 as a result of the change in oil prices in the international market."

He said oil prices have crashed following Opec's decision to pump more oil to stem the soaring prices witnessed in late 2006, adding "the first quarter of 2007 will decide the investment process in the country. The trend in the rest of the new year will follow that of the first quarter."

Urging small investors to change their investment tactics, he said "they must be careful in selecting the right shares to buy. KSE index will increase in the new year, especially as the political and security instability witnessed the region has abated."Customer Service Manager at Securities House Musaed Al-Qadhi said "the bourse needs high liquidity investments, which will increase trading activities."

Claiming activities of the bourse in the new year will depend on several issues - including profits and revenues of various companies, he said "I expect the KSE index to reach 12,000 points, provided no new obstacles comes in the way."

© Arab Times 2007

WELL WE HAVE ALL KNOWN THAT SOME OF THOSE 'ALREADY' RICK FOLKS WERE JUST WAITING FOR THE RIGHT TIME TO INVEST IN IRAQ STOCK - LOOKS LIKE THEY ARE GETTING READY TO BUY.

Settled 723 lawsuits related to property issues in Wasit
Abdel Jabbar Safrani
Wasit - (Voices of Iraq)

A source in the property disputes in Wasit governorate today, Tuesday, that body (723) settled a lawsuit related to property in the province since it was founded on the 10th of August in August 2004 until the 31st of December last December.

The source, who requested anonymity, told the News Agency (Voices of Iraq) Independent today, "The branch in the Wasit governorate that since its inauguration in August 2004 to the end of 2006 to resolve a lawsuit (723) of the (2523) received the lawsuit from citizens."

The source added that "all the issues that had been resolved concerning the citizens of their property confiscated during the rule of the former regime without legal authority."

He pointed out that property confiscated or seized on the real estate and housing and agricultural land forcibly taken from their owners for one reason or another.

He explained, "that according to the laws of the Commission's work so far has been settled (723) lawsuit concerning the registration of real estate owners and the issuance of special resolutions to compensate the bulk of them."

The source did not mention the amount of compensation and when that would be received by their owners.
But he went on to say, "the decisions taken currently awaiting a decision by the Court of decisiveness discrimination resolution to be in accordance with the law then in force."

According to Iraqi law, the decisions of the competent courts can be brought to the Court of Cassation thirty days after the issuance of the decision to acquire class pieces are enforceable.

The source, "all citizens who have already during the rule of the former regime found first on the laws of the administration prior to the commencement of litigation in order to avoid falling into any legal ambiguity."

Although the resolution of disputes ownership is the one directly linked to the Council of Ministers was formed after the fall of the previous regime, which is meant to look into the allegations of the individuals concerned who have been confiscating their property or were blocked for political reasons or racial, as well as issues involving property seized without allowance or possessing obscene Bgben Contrary to the proceedings of the ownership during the period from July 17 July 1968 until April 9 April 2003.

æÇÓØ - ãáßíÉ :: Aswat al Iraq :: Aswat al Iraq

Originally Posted by hightide3016

Iraq is seeking to buy more than 1 million tons of gasoline

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

02 January 2007 (Iraq Directory)
Print article Send to friend
Iraq put a tender on Tuesday for the purchase of about 1.04 million tons of gasoline, 1 million tons of gas oil (diesel) and 150 thousand tons of liquefied petroleum gas to be delivered during the period from the first of February until 30 in June.

The Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) requested the purchase 168 thousand tons of kerosene in bids mostly to be delivered by the end of March.

Iraq also requested the purchase of 85 thousand tons of gasoline, of 92 octanes, 100 tons of gas oil, 35 tons of liquefied petroleum gas and 24 thousand tons of kerosene transferred by tankers by land from Iran via the border gate of Al-Mundhiriyah.

SOMO said that it put a separate tender requesting the supply of 385 thousand tons of gas oil for operating the power stations in Baghdad.

It added that Iraq also sought to buy 675 tons of gasoline, of 92 octanes, 130 tons of gas oil, between 40 and 45 thousand tons of liquefied petroleum gas brought by ships through a port in south of the country. The Foundation also seeks to buy 48 thousand tons of kerosene received across the southern port by the end of March.

Iraq also required the purchase of 280 thousand tons of gasoline, of 92 octanes, 390 tons of gas oil and 75 tons of liquefied petroleum gas to be supplied from Iran via the border gate of Mehran-Alzerbatiah.

SOMO also requested the purchase of 96 thousand tons of kerosene delivered across the same route by the end of March.

The Foundation defined the 11th of January as a deadline for the submission of offers.

Iraq is rich in crude oil, however, it imports petroleum products duplicates.

IMHO, as we know, they have been buying refine petro for awhile now. This is because their own refineries are still not up to par on producing enough to get them off the ground as of yet. At least we see that they are having purchasing power by going outside the country and buying from others, it is also good to see that the other countries are selling to them. I would say then that, they are now able to spend Capital on these Purchases.

Originally Posted by Wm.Knowles

A huge event! Exciting to see what happens on the ISX when it opens on the 8th. A law I know they have wanted for a long time. So, the question is: "Will they allow the stock to continued to purchased so cheaply"?

Have we determined that the ISX is opening up on the 8th for sure yet? Their was some reponse yesterday from a couple members about April07. Just clarifying up my thoughts here. As I have always seen that the ISX opening is Hugh.

Hi Neno, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get everyone excited over nothing. After I read the article the second time, I saw where it said "after the issuance of the law". Guess I'm jumping the gun, I'm expecting things to take off and run. Again I apologize.

Originally Posted by neno

Have we determined that the ISX is opening up on the 8th for sure yet? Their was some reponse yesterday from a couple members about April07. Just clarifying up my thoughts here. As I have always seen that the ISX opening is Hugh.

I think it is been mistaken with ISX normally trading and the new electronic trading, which I believe would be up and running on 1 april 2007.

I got an e-mail from ISX department from Warka about it.
"The ISX will resume its trading activities on the 8th of January 2007."