TNT:

Harambe: Zimbabwe Has $370 Million in Reserves to Back Currency - Bloomberg (7/7/24)

Cash and mineral reserves backing Zimbabwe’s new currency have risen to approximately $370 million from $285 million over the past three months, the state-run Sunday Mail reported citing central bank governor John Mushayavanhu.

The increase in currency and mineral reserves provides a strong “buffer” for the Zimbabwe Gold, or ZiG, against external forces, according to the report.

Mushayavanhu said the central bank has been accumulating reserves from royalties of gold and conversion in kind of other minerals such as diamonds, lithium and platinum.

“As a result, the total reserves have progressively increased about 30% from $285 million as at ” to above $370 million as at the end of June, he said.

The southern African country introduced the ZiG, which began trading It replaced the Zimbabwe dollar, which had lost 80% of its value against the greenback this year.

In September 2022, Zimbabwe introduced regulations to compel mining firms to pay half of their royalties to the government in the commodities themselves, as part of measures to build up mineral reserves. Zimbabwe has the world’s third-largest reserves of platinum, and also mines nickel, chrome, lithium and coal.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-07/zimbabwe-has-370-million-in-reserves-to-back-currency-mail

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For the first time, Google and Facebook pass their bandwidth through Iraq

The Ministry of Communications revealed, on Monday, that Google and Facebook are passing their capacities through Iraqi territory, confirming that this is happening for the first time, while indicating that the transit projects will provide financial returns to the country.

The ministry's spokesman, Omar Al-Amiri, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): "The ministry has made great strides in strengthening Iraq's geographical position in the matter of transit and passing communications traffic and Internet capacities across Iraqi territory."

Al-Amiri explained that “the Ministry of Communications signed a new contract a few months ago on the transit level, not by sea but by land,” indicating that “this line passes through the south, then the center, reaching the Kurdistan region, and exits to Turkey and connects Asia to Europe via Iraq.”

He added that "the Ministry of Communications fulfilled its promises regarding transit and exploiting Iraq's location after it was disabled in previous sessions," noting that "Iraq's geographical location and its exploitation in international communications traffic and its return to the International Telecommunication Union in a prestigious manner will provide financial returns, in addition to the fact that many international companies will pass their capacities through Iraqi territory."

He referred to the "Road of Civilizations Transit Contract that was signed months ago," noting that "Google and Facebook passed their capacities through Iraqi territory, for the first time in Iraq."

It is worth noting that the Minister of Communications, Hiyam Al-Yasiri, announced on Friday that the threshold of “one tera” had been exceeded in passing international communications through Iraq, confirming that Iraq possesses a safe, attractive and reliable path for transit communications. link

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Parliamentary Finance clarifies.. Will selling dollars at the airport limit its smuggling?

The Parliamentary Finance Committee stated that the Central Bank’s decision to restrict the sale of dollars to citizens at the airport aims to combat currency smuggling and reduce corruption, while it indicated that the increase in its prices in local markets is due to smuggling operations to neighboring countries.

Committee member Jamal Koujar said that the decision will prevent corrupt people from exploiting other sales outlets to smuggle currency, stressing that limiting sales to the airport will ensure that the money reaches the actual travelers.

He pointed out that this decision will not negatively affect citizens, but will besiege smugglers and corrupt people, noting that we discovered that millions of dollars are being stolen due to corruption, and the new decision will create a crisis for thieves and corrupt people who were exploiting the currencies that were supposed to go to travelers.

Koger stressed that the stability of the dollar price in the markets requires strong security action on the borders to pursue smugglers, in addition to facilitating the operations of the Central Bank in disbursing it and increasing the quantities available in the currency auction to meet the needs of the market. link

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Parliamentary Finance Committee talks about a decision that "created a crisis" for the corrupt and thieves

Iraq is preparing to implement the latest decision of the Central Bank in about 6 days from now, which is to limit the delivery of dollars to travelers inside airports, a decision that the Parliamentary Finance Committee described as "a crisis for the corrupt and thieves."

"The decision will prevent corrupt people from exploiting other sales outlets to smuggle currency," said Jamal Koujar, a member of the Finance Committee, stressing that "limiting sales to the airport will ensure that the money reaches the actual travelers."

He pointed out that "this decision will not negatively affect citizens, but will besiege smugglers and corrupt people, as we discovered that millions of dollars are being stolen due to corruption, and the new decision will create a crisis for thieves and corrupt people who were exploiting the currencies that were supposed to go to travelers."

Koger stressed that stabilizing the dollar price in the markets requires strong security action on the borders to pursue smugglers, in addition to facilitating the Central Bank's exchange operations and increasing the quantities available in the currency auction to meet market needs.

Since Eid al-Adha until now, exchange rates have witnessed a "chronic" rise in dollar exchange rates until the selling prices in exchange offices reached 150,000 dinars for every 100 dollars.

The Financial Supervision Bureau revealed in a report that during the first half of 2023, there were more than 150,000 citizens who bought dollars for the purpose of traveling but did not travel, meaning they obtained 600 million dollars and sold them on the black market and benefited from the currency difference. link

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