Thread: Archive News - Iraqi Dinar Think Tank - 01/10/09 - 27/03/10

Iraqi parliament begins to vote on the 2010 budget despite objections from the Kurdistan Alliance

A member of the House of Representatives Deputy nostalgia Qaddo Iraqi coalition that the council has now begun voting on the federal budget, despite some objections from the Kurdistan Alliance bloc.

Qaddo said in a statement to correspondent Objection that the Kurdistan Alliance on reducing the region's share of the federal budget, noting that Parliament past the process of voting this time.

http://al-iraqnews.net/new/siaysiah/52182.html

Urgent: Iraq's parliament to vote on (17) of the articles of the general budget

U.S. House of Representatives member Iraqi MP Sami Al-Atrushi of the Kurdistan Islamic Union from within the parliament that the council voted on (17) rule out (45) article of the General Budget Law.

Atrushi said in a statement to correspondent The meeting is still going to vote on the remaining articles of the budget until this moment.

http://al-iraqnews.net/new/ajeel/52192.html

Tariq Aziz appeared before the Criminal Court after leaving hospital

Oman and agencies (Drabin): Sources said that "Aziz like yesterday (Monday) before the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal in the case of the events that followed in 1991, in Diyala province, specifically, so he was able to address the judge."

The media sources said that Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, the former Tuesday that he left the U.S. military hospital in Iraq after the improvement of his health.

Announced close to Aziz, that he suffered a stroke in January 15 the transfer of impact to a hospital in the U.S. base in the country (70 kilometers) north of Baghdad.

Later, the U.S. military said Aziz enter the military hospital in Baghdad on January 14, without giving further details.

And the rule of Tariq Aziz for the first time in March 2009 to 15 years imprisonment after being convicted of "crimes against humanity" in the case of the ****ution of 42 Baghdad merchants in 1992 on charges of manipulating the prices of food at a time when Iraq was subject to UN sanctions.

The court also issued in August 2009, sentenced him to seven years in prison for his conviction on the issue of forced displacement of groups of Faili Kurds, Shiites from the provinces of Kirkuk and Diyala during the eighties of the last century.

But the court also announced in March 2009, a patent in the case of Aziz, "The events of Friday prayers," because of "lack of involvement or evidence of anything against him." And the form of Aziz (74 years), the only Christian in Saddam Hussein's team, the international face of the system and made many efforts with European capitals to prevent the invasion of Iraq.

And turned himself in April 24, 2003 to U.S. forces days after the entry into Baghdad, and constantly calls his family to release him because of his deteriorating health.

http://translate.googleusercontent.c...Pyx1arIWhNXTOQ

MP Adel Berwari: There are active steps within the parliament between the blocs in order to agree on a budget approval

MP Adel Berwari from the Kurdistan Alliance was unable to the House of Representatives approved the financial budget yesterday, and reflect on voting in the current session.

Barwari said in a statement to correspondent Yesterday, we could not approve the financial budget for 2010, but were approved yesterday the (7) laws and we hope to reach a final version to approve a budget in our meeting, noting that now there is active steps within the parliament between the parliamentary bloc to agree on a vote on the budget.

He said there Berwari new proposals submitted Through the National Coalition added to the Finance Committee He pointed out that most of the major obstacles that stood in front of the budget approval had been resolved and I expect to approve the budget during the current meeting.

http://al-iraqnews.net/new/siaysiah/52200.html

Central "is a law of e-banking"

The Director-General of the unity of the banking and credit of the Central Bank of Iraq and Idi Walid Abdul-Hussein told a news briefing, "the central bank is a law of electronic banking, and submitted to the State Advisory Council for discussion and approval.

In addition to preparing a new system of payments helps to provide advanced banking services, referring to the topic to facilitate handling of the provisions of Article 28 of the Banking Act which identified some activities are not permitted for private banks, and try to correct them to serve the Iraqi economy and banks.

He pointed at a seminar organized by the company, "the money for electronic banking services" to discuss the products, electronic banking and banking constraints in Iraq, the central bank has developed a system of 5 points, raising the level of assessment allows the banks that provide quality services, which assist him in obtaining a loan contract with an external State agencies and funds referred to him, "Trade Bank of Iraq."

He stressed that the central bank seeks to enhance the contribution of banks to GDP, which currently does not exceed 7 per cent. He called on Chief Adviser to the Prime Minister and former oil minister Thamer Ghadhban, to "a more vital role to the finance sector and banking activity which is a very important sign, in domestic economic activity," and to develop financing mechanisms required for development in the country. He explained that the private sector has an important and vital, particularly in the banking activity in the mechanisms and the introduction of modern methods.

http://www.alsabaah.com/paper.php?so...page&sid=97112

84 trillion dinars the current year budget

Chamber of Deputies passed the federal budget for the year 2010 financial expenditures of more than 84 trillion dinars. Parliament voted at its regular twenty-ninth held yesterday, chaired by Dr. Iyad Samarrai, a majority of the budget law.

According to a statement issued by the information department of the Council of Representatives that the budget revenues are estimated at (61735312500) thousand dinars (sixty-one thousand seven hundred and thirty-five billion, three hundred and twelve million five hundred thousand dinars), is allocated an amount of (84657467556) one thousand dinars (four and eighty thousand and six hundred and fifty-seven billion, four hundred and sixty-seven million five hundred and fifty-six thousand dinars) for expenditures for the fiscal year / 2010 is distributed and the amount of $ (23676772604) one thousand dinars (three and twenty thousand, six hundred and seventy-six billion seven hundred and seventy-two million six hundred and four thousand dinars) for the expenses of the investment projects, and the amount of $ (60980694952) thousand dinars (sixty thousand, nine hundred and eighty billion, six hundred and ninety-four million nine hundred and fifty-two thousand dinars) for operational expenses.

The total planned deficit of the public budget amounted to $ (22922155056) one thousand dinars (two and twenty thousand nine hundred and twenty-two billion, one hundred and fifty-five million and fifty-six thousand dinars) that covers the shortfall of cash retained from the Federal budget for the year / 2009 and from internal and external borrowing . The president of the parliament after the vote on the budget end of the second legislative term, declaring that he will be called for an extraordinary session in case of agreement to vote on the draft laws necessary.

http://www.alsabaah.com/paper.php?so...page&sid=97132

This article is dated December 30th 2010. I know I have read it, but when I did a search on the forum I could not find it. So I am posting it again in case I read it but didn't post it previously.

Is foreign investment the answer to Iraq's banking needs?

A muscular banking sector will make or break whether Iraq is to rebuild and prosper. And while there are increasing levels of capital inflow into the region, local banking infrastructure remains limited, leaving the sector wide open for foreign investment. Writer Courtney Fingar in Baghdad.

Rebuilding a war-torn country, reshaping a former state-run economy and creating a private sector out of thin air are challenging enough. Doing so in the absence of a robust financial infrastructure to underpin it all is nigh on impossible. All three objectives hinge upon the creation of a banking system ready and willing to help consumers purchase goods, to assist companies in buying capital equipment and to fund expansions.

Iraq's financial architecture to support a growing, privatised economy is a bottom-up operation. The country remains a cash economy with a thriving black market. Private banks are thin on the ground, lending is sparse and there is no ingrained credit culture. State-owned banks hold 80% of deposits. Earning assets as a share of total deposits is on average less than 5%. Credit to the economy as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) is a mere 3.7%, among the lowest in the world. Iraqi business owners and entrepreneurs tend to rely on retained profits, their own wealth, or loans from friends and family.

Local focus

In terms of commercial banking in the country, the landscape is principally local Iraqi banks and joint-venture banks. Products offered are in four main areas: remittances/cash transfers and some foreign exchange; trade finance; commercial lending; and securities and stockmarket trading. Activity in all of these areas is fairly limited.

In the trade finance arena, letters of credit (LCs) are available. The public-sector Trade Bank of Iraq has been active in trade finance and in issuing LCs. The sticking point remains that for LCs the Iraqi private banks have very limited access to clean lines of credit from international banks. Private sector importers typically have to deposit the full amount of the LC as cash collateral. Meanwhile the exporter, if an international firm, will require a confirmation by a reputable bank. Many of the private-sector banks in Iraq have established correspondent banking relationships with major global banks, but few of them have yet to receive clean lines of credit.

Lending potential

Iraqi banks do very little lending overall, including commercial lending, preferring instead to invest customer deposits in treasury bills issued by the Central Bank of Iraq, which for quite some time was earning them more than 18% a year and was deemed a safer bet than providing loans. That may begin to change given that the central bank has lowered the interest rate to just under 7%, but it remains to be seen whether the loss of that attractive arbitrage will incentivise the banks to lend commercially and whether the shareholders of the banks, having seen the returns plummet, will put pressure on the bank management or support the management to begin lending.

Private banks that do lend to companies typically do so for a term of up to one year maximum, and only if real estate is put up as collateral (which they value very conservatively); charges can be upwards of 20% a year. Commercial lending, in any case, is a loose term in Iraq as commercial, corporate and private banking tend to be intertwined.

Public-sector organisations are trying to plug the gaps. The government agency USAID's Tijara Provincial Economic Growth Programme, designed to support improved access to finance and business development services in the micro and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sectors, says that since its inception less than two years ago, the level of microfinance and bank financing has more than doubled from the baselines set by Tijara's predecessor, the Izdihar project, and innovative financing mechanisms - such as SME-focused lending units in a few private banks - are helping expand financial services offerings where they never existed before.

A progress report published in September 2009 says that under Tijara, cumulative small, medium and micro enterprise loan disbursements have reached $344m. SME lending units in nine private banks affiliated with the Iraqi Company for Bank Guarantees have been launched in 34 branches in 16 provinces, shelling out for more than $16m in loans. Meanwhile, the Iraqi Company for Financing SMEs came into being this summer and in its first two months of operation made 200 loans totalling $3.5m.

But clearly there is wide scope for foreign financial institutions to move in and serve this under-banked market.

Opportunity knocks

Since 1992, 37 private banks have been established in Iraq: 30 commercial banks and seven Islamic organisations. Three foreign banks have representative offices: Standard Chartered Bank (in Erbil), Arab Banking Corp and TC Ziraat Bank (both in Baghdad). The central bank has given preliminary approval to other foreign banks - including Bank Melli Iran, Commercial Bank of Kuwait, Arab Bank of Jordan, Housing Bank for Trade & Finance Jordan and Ahli United Bank of Bahrain - but it is not thought likely that these would open 'independent' operations in Iraq in the immediate future. It was recently announced that the government of Syria is also working on a joint-venture bank in Iraq. Lebanon's Byblos Bank and Bank Audi have presences in Kurdistan.

"The opportunities are endless to run a profitable countrywide banking and financial services network," says Dijlah & Furat Bank for Development and Investment in a market report on Iraq. "The need for real and proper financial intermediation is omnipresent, ie, to attract savings and time deposits and lend funds to the creditworthy enterprises, expediting trade and economic development."

Dijlah & Furat - which started operations in 2006 and states as its mission "to become Iraq's premier Islamic bank" - has two branches in Baghdad, one branch each in Sulaymaniyah, Karbala and Erbil, and will soon have operations in Basrah, Anbar, Samarra and Dahuk.

"The private banks that succeed will be the ones which develop market-driven liability and asset products and market them efficiently to all classes of customers. This will be backed up with trained bankers, modern systems and technology, and an extensive branch network," the bank concludes.

Islamic finance is indeed a growing area in Iraq. A half-dozen Islamic banks have established in the past five years. "Islamic banks are coming in and they are being relatively aggressive in their lending," says Hussain Ali Qaragholi, senior vice-president and Iraq business head for one of those banks, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.

Making a play

Given the high level of investor interest in Iraq and the increasing levels of capital inflows, an influx of banking players and the introduction of new financial products in a range of areas is a near certainty. The stock market is attracting growing regional interest and investors are seeking ways to enter the equity market through the Iraqi Stock Exchange, which now trades in 39 listed companies in banking, insurance, investment, manufacturing, industrial, hotel and service sectors.

"Politico-economic trends are moving in a positive direction for business in Iraq," says Mr Qaragholi. "On the political front we have had democratic elections and on the economic front we have had major announcements from international and regional companies concerning planned investments in Iraq.

"We have had announcements from the Iraqi government on infrastructure projects - ports, railways, power stations, housing - and there is a lot of appetite for more projects from strategic and financial investors. Funding will be critical for the success of these projects.

"From a bank's perspective, we are positive that there are significant first-mover advantages in getting involved in asset-based commercial lending and project finance in Iraq."

http://www.thebanker.com/news/fullst...t_page=NO_PAGE

The inhibitor: the need to resolve problematic expansion of investment projects after the budget approval

welcomed the adoption of an economic expert for the House of Representatives budget year. Called to solve the problems and the administrative obstacles that prevent the expansion of investment projects.

Dr. Ali Al-Manie told the independent press (Iba) on Wednesday that "the flexibility in the program and appropriate plans to facilitate the procedure by the competent authorities will be the main backer of the budget through the exploitation of customizations Alasttmarip contained in the second part of the expenditure as well as to give opportunity to the private sector to play its role in national economy."

The inhibitor that "there is an impetus to the investment opportunities available for investment in Iraq, but the real challenge which faces most of the conferences that the convening of the Investment Authority is the difficulty of application on the ground, which requires specific organizational policy."

He stressed "the need to provide the Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative in embassies abroad cadres help from the national investment promotion to draw up plans to invest at the level of each State is willing to come to Iraq and within the strategic sectors."

Inhibitor called "the development of economic and trade relations between Iraq and the different agencies and direct investments to and activating the role of the private sector in promoting economic development and entering into partnerships, associations with foreign private sector."

It should be noted that the Iraqi parliament approved the state budget for the year 2010 after long debates.

http://www.ipairaq.com/index.php?nam...onomy&id=20516

CBI sells $71 million on Wednesday

The Central Bank of Iraq’s (CBI) dollar sales dropped to $71.710 million in its daily auction on Wednesday, compared to $125.416 million in the previous session.

“The demand hit $3.110 million in cash, covered at an exchange rate of 1,170 Iraqi dinars per dollar, and $68.600 million in foreign transfers outside the country, covered at an exchange rate of 1,173 Iraqi dinars per dollar,” according to a CBI news bulletin received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

None of the 9 banks that participated in today’s session offered to sell dollars.

http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=125955

Hussain al-Shahristani: Iraq will present new ideas on criteria for new quotas of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani said that Iraq would provide new ideas on criteria for new quotas of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 2011.

Shahristani said that the plan will take into account the substantial increase in production capacity of Iraq to levels equivalent to that of Saudi Arabia, noting that the proposal to be submitted by Baghdad to determine the maximum OPEC production will include all the other members of OPEC and Iraq is not only to take into account everyone's interest.

He said al-Shahristani, oil production when the country's current 2.5 million barrels per day is still below the levels of production.

http://www.radiodijla.com/cgi-bin/ne...?id=2010-01-26