Friday AM Iraq Economic News Highlights 8-5-22

Oil Confirms That It Is Proceeding With Plans To Maintain And Increase Production And Export For The Next Five Years

Economie| 09:57 - 04/08/2022   Baghdad - Mawazine News  Today, Thursday, the Ministry of Oil confirmed that it is proceeding with plans to maintain and increase production and export for the next five years, while noting that Iraq has production capabilities that qualify it to be one of the most important producers.

The Executive Director of the National Oil Company, Hamid Younis, said while presiding over a meeting of officials of extractive companies, according to a statement issued by the ministry received by Mawazine News, that "the Ministry of Oil and the National Oil Company are proceeding with the implementation of a program of plans to sustain and increase production prepared for this purpose, in cooperation with international contracting companies." 

Younis added that "Iraq has promising production capabilities that qualify it to be one of the most important producers during the next few years, noting that" the conditions that Iraq witnessed in 2014, the global economic crisis and the drop in oil prices have disrupted plans to increase national production.

He pointed to "the importance of financial support and funding to reach the planned goals according to accurate calculations, and production rates of 5-8 million barrels per day can be reached over the coming years, taking into account the variables and the requirements and needs of the global oil markets."

He pointed out that "the plans to implement projects include intensifying drilling and exploration operations, developing infrastructure, establishing pumping and processing stations, pipeline networks, gas investment, developing platforms for export outlets, and others."

For his part, the Director General of the Oil Exploration Company, Ali Jassim, said that "the next phase will witness a remarkable activity for the exploration sector, as these plans rely a lot on sustaining and increasing production of oil and gas." Seismic teams, especially in the Western Desert and Nineveh Governorate, to transform the energies and expectations that lie underground into actual production that contributes to achieving our promising plans.”    https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=201537

The Dollar Stabilizes In The Iraqi Market

Economie| 10:38 - 05/08/2022   Baghdad - Mawazine News  The dollar exchange rates witnessed stability today, Friday, on the Iraqi Stock Exchange.

And the selling prices of the dollar were recorded at 148,700 dinars per 100 dollars, while the purchase prices of the dollar were recorded at 148,600 dinars per 100 dollars.

https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=201557

In The Presence Of Mr. Ihsan Shamran And Mr. John Sullivan, Representative Of The US Treasury In Iraq,

Banks    Economy News.... Qualification certificates for anti-money laundering training.

19 trainees from various private banks completed a course in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, which was organized by the Association of Iraqi Private Banks in cooperation with Iraqna Training and Development Company and lasted for five days..

The association held a closing ceremony in the presence of the Director General of Banking and Credit at the Central Bank of Iraq, Ihsan Shamran Al-Yasiri, representative of the US Treasury, John Sullivan and Sebastian, Director General of Compliance at the Central Bank of Iraq.

Al-Yasiri gave a speech to the trainees, in which he referred to the great efforts in implementing this course, which live up to its level of importance, and for the Central Bank, it is necessary to prepare staff specialized in money laundering working to achieve the required precautions against slipping into the labyrinths of this phenomenon.

He called on the participants to be at the level of responsibility to be a nucleus for training and developing banking competencies and cadres and to create a base of money laundering specialists in a way that rises to the level and interest of the developed countries in combating it. He also called on banks to pay attention to the selection of employees and the occurrence of compliance and money laundering.

Meanwhile, the representative of the US Treasury in Iraq, John Sullivan, expressed his thanks and admiration for the efforts made by the Association and the banks in holding this course, noting that this certificate is one of the oldest certificates in the world and its holders gain importance in preserving their banks from slipping into the phenomenon of money laundering.

He hinted that the association is making a successful mistake in enhancing the immunization of banks from the phenomenon of money laundering, through its successful preparations in organizing the Forum for Compliance and Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing, which will be held soon, which is considered very important at this stage to enhance the Central Bank’s directions in this regard.

After that, the qualification and appreciation certificates were distributed among the graduates by the guests. It should be noted that the graduates are expected to pass the most important test to obtain a certificate specialized in combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=5879

World Bank: Commodity Prices In Iraq Have Risen 7% Over The Past Two Months

ECONOMIC   Last Update 08/04/2022 | Information/Baghdad..In a report, the World Bank warned of the danger of continuing high inflation in most low- and middle-income countries, noting that the share of high-income countries, noting that Iraq witnessed a rise of 7.6 in foodstuffs.

Lebanon ranked first globally on the World Bank's index of food price inflation, surpassing Zimbabwe, which came in second, and Venezuela in third place. This indicates the magnitude of the challenges ahead for Lebanon, which suffers from a severe crisis in its food security.

The World Bank warned of the danger of persistent high inflation in most low- and middle-income countries, noting that the share of high-income countries that face high inflation is witnessing a sharp increase in their rates as well, and published a list of the ten countries most affected by inflation and high prices.

His statistics for the year 2022 showed that the prices of food and beverages continued to rise in many countries of the Middle East region compared to the same period last year.

He attributed the direct cause of this reality to the Russian war on Ukraine, as the Middle East and North Africa region relies heavily on the Black Sea region for wheat consumption, stressing that the war in Ukraine “threatens poor countries with a food crisis and overlapping debt.” 

While the report indicated that wheat is one of the staple foods in the Middle East and North Africa, the war in Ukraine is causing disruption in the wheat supply chain, causing critical problems in food security in the region. As a result, the CPI for food increased significantly in most countries of the region, with Egypt (24.2 percent), Morocco (9.5 percent), Iraq (7.6 percent), Lebanon (216 percent), and (Syria 71 percent). ), Yemen (43 percent), Palestine (8.1 percent), and most of these countries are facing severe wheat shortages. Done/25 d https://almaalomah.me/2022/08/04/612117/

An Economist Criticizes The Government’s Granting Of Exemptions To Ministries .. “Wasted Spending”

ECONOMIC   08/04/2022 | 6:32 PM  information/special.   Today, Thursday, economist Nabil Al-Ali criticized the exemptions granted by the government to the heads of government departments, institutions and ministries, while stressing that the exemptions may lead to a waste of 20% of the volume of spending.

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Al-Ali said in an interview with the "Information" agency, that "granting repeated exemptions by the government to the heads of departments, government institutions and ministries can encourage corruption."

He explained that "the instructions for implementing contracts No. 2 of 2014 are the supreme rules issued to all public government agencies and institutions, and they draw the legal lines and paths that must be followed in concluding contracts in a way that protects and guarantees the rights of all contracting parties, achieves justice and equality between bidders, and protects public funds." .

He added, "Exemptions from these instructions should only be granted under special circumstances such as war, natural disasters or major crises."

Al-Ali continued: “Many exemptions have been observed, such as those granted to contracts related to the ration card program, contracts for regional development projects worth tens of billions of dollars, and contracts for many ministries, in recent times, in addition to granting exemptions to implement projects related to Mosul Airport.” .

And the economist indicated that “exemptions may lead to wasting public money, which represents about 20% of the volume of expenditure excluded from the mentioned instructions.

https://almaalomah.me/2022/08/04/612196/

Locally.. The Stability Of Dollar Prices

05/08/2022   33  Earth News/ The dollar exchange rates witnessed, today, Friday, stability in the Iraqi Stock Exchange.  The selling prices of the dollar were 148,700 dinars per 100 dollars, while the purchase prices of the dollar were 148,600 dinars per 100 dollars.    https://earthiq.news/archives/123394