Iraq Economic News and Points To Ponder Tuesday Afternoon 7-1-25
Central Bank Of Iraq: Foreign Exchange Reserves Sufficient To Cover 13 Months Of Imports
Money and Business The Central Bank revealed on Wednesday that Iraq's foreign currency reserves are sufficient to cover 13 months of imports. The bank said in a report that "import coverage is often viewed as a measure of the number of months that imports could be sustained if all foreign currency inflows were to cease," noting that "the global standard used is for reserves to cover all imports for six months."
He added, "The ratio of foreign reserves to imports has decreased from 16 months at the beginning of 2024 to 13 months at the beginning of 2025," indicating that"despite the decrease in the ratio, Iraq's reserves will still cover imports for 13 months if Iraq does not receive foreign currency revenues."
views 1537 Added 06/25/2025 - 3:59 PM https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=56631
A Loophole: Iraq's Dollar Is Being Drained By Inflated Import Invoices From Three Countries.
Energy and Business 2025-06-30 05:37 Shafaq News – Baghdad The head of the Iraq Future Foundation, Manar al-Obaidi, revealed on Monday that there is an inflated invoice for importing goods to the Iraqi market from countries such as China, Turkey, and the UAE.
This is a drain on the dollar by exploiting the difference between the
official exchange rate and the
parallel market. He emphasized the
need to reform the transfer and import mechanisms.
Al-Obaidi said in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency,
"When reviewing the export data of a number of countries to Iraq, such as China, Turkey, and the UAE,
it becomes clear that there is a clear discrepancy in the values of some exported goods,
as these values do not correspond to the actual prices of the goods,
and the quantities exported often far exceed the actual needs of the Iraqi market." He continued:
"For example, the
value of Iraq's imports of Chinese shoes during the first five months of this year amounted to approximately $170 million,
while clothing imports amounted to approximately $600 million during the same period."
He explained that "these figures do not reflect either the true volume of demand in Iraq or the global prices of these goods,which strongly suggests that there are inflated invoices, both in terms of quantity and value."
He pointed out that "some parties exploited the difference in the official exchange rate versus the parallel market to conduct large-scale transfers by inflating import invoices,
allowing them to bypass all levels of scrutiny originally put in place to control transfers and
ensure they reach the legitimate recipients." Al-Obaidi explained that,
"Despite the stringent measures taken by the Central Bank of Iraq, including expanded auditing,
the current mechanism has proven in practice to be unsuccessful.
This is evident not only in countries' export data, but also in the decline in customs revenues,
which remain very modest compared to the volume of goods declared as imported."
He explained that "it is necessary to adopt a new mechanism aimed at reducing currency leakage
by linking bank transfers directly to the customs duty collection process, and not allowing transfers at the official rate until the customs duties due based on the value of the transfer have been paid." He emphasized that "this approach will achieve two main goals:
strengthening oversight of transfers conducted at the official rate, and
increasing the state's customs revenues by pricing goods in line with their true value." He pointed out that "this proposal may raise some reservations,
particularly from the
perspective of fears of a rise in the exchange rate in the parallel market as a result of tightening transfers, and the
view that such measures fall within the purview of fiscal policy, not monetary policy."
He stated that, "Despite the validity of these reservations, the significant foreign currency outflow and
declining reserves Iraq is currently experiencing as a result of uncontrolled import expansion
require exceptional measures, even if they have side effects."
He pointed out that "economic policies, by their very nature, do not produce purely positive effects, but
success lies in achieving balance and outweighing the benefits over the harms.
Therefore, reforming the transfer and import mechanism is no longer an option, but rather an urgent necessity to
ensure economic stability and protect Iraq's foreign currency reserves."
https://shafaq.com/ar/اقتصـاد/ثغرة-دولار-العراق-ي-ستنزف-عبر-تضخيم-فواتير-الاستيراد-من-3-دول
The Integrity Commission Announces Iraq's Accession To The "Beijing Initiative To Build A Clean Silk Road."
Money and Business Economy News – Baghdad The Integrity Commission announced on Tuesday that
Iraq has joined Beijing's Clean Silk Road Initiative. The Authority stated, in a statement received by "Al-Eqtisad News", that "Iraq has joined the "Beijing Clean Silk Road Initiative", indicating that
"this comes in implementation of the text of Article (3/6) of the Memorandum of Understanding concluded between the Authority and the National Supervisory Commission in the People's Republic of China." She added that
"the cooperation and coordination between the Commission and the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Baghdad culminated in joining the initiative after completing the procedures," explaining that
"this will contribute to strengthening international relations and highlight the Commission's efforts, endeavors, activities, and achievements in the field of combating corruption." She noted that
"the National Supervisory Commission of the People's Republic of China affirmed its readiness to enhance cooperation and joint work with the Authority in the field of anti-corruption and law enforcement, to build a clean Silk Road." She noted the committee's welcome and announcement that
"Iraq has become the eighteenth country to join the initiative,
which aims to
enhance transparency, financial and intellectual cooperation,
develop governance and laws, and
enhance oversight and legal awareness, in addition to
establishing a closer network for cooperation in the field of justice and law enforcement,
exchanging expertise and information,
developing human resources,
pursuing fugitives, and
rejecting safe havens for fugitives and illicit assets." She continued,
"The initiative calls for the signing of bilateral treaties on extradition and mutual legal assistance, based on international agreements, and the exchange of information and expertise between relevant anti-corruption agencies. It also calls for launching highly effective cooperation in the field of combating corruption, enhancing self-discipline, legal awareness, and a sense of responsibility, and establishing laws to combat corruption and combat bribery, with the aim of creating a sound relationship between governments and companies." views 1647 https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=56569
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