Iraqi News Early Friday AM 2-4-22
Iraqi News Early Friday AM 2-4-22
TLM724 Administrator BondLady’s Corner
The Central Bank Confirms That There Is No Change In The Dollar Exchange Rate
Economie Today, 08:45 Baghdad – INA, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ammar Hamad Khalaf, confirmed that there is no change in the dollar exchange rate, indicating that monetary policy is exclusively within his competence.
Khalaf said in a statement to Al-Sabah newspaper, which I followed, today, Thursday, that "the rise in oil prices led to an increase in foreign reserves, and a significant growth of foreign currency was recorded last year 2021, and the current year is unprecedented compared to previous years."
He pointed out that "the growth was achieved thanks to the Bank's various investments and its management in accordance with the monetary policy based on the best international practices away from risks, revealing the closeness of granting very soft loans to all citizens in order to provide decent housing for all." https://www.ina.iq/147980--.html
The Central Bank Identifies The Reasons For The Decline In Project Financing
Economie Yesterday, 18:37 Today, Wednesday, the Central Bank determined the value of the new initiatives granted to banks, while revealing the reasons for the decrease in project financing from specialized banks.
The Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Ammar Hamad Khalaf, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that "the new initiatives for banks included allocating an additional trillion for the purpose of financing large, medium and small projects, to be granted through banks approved by the Central Bank, in addition to allocating an amount of one trillion 2021 for the purpose of financing renewable energy projects.
He added, "The most important challenges facing the initiative of specialized banks is the decrease in banks' financing of agricultural and industrial projects despite saving money," calling on "the Industrial Bank to search for projects, grant them loans and reduce red tape."
He pointed out that "there is a committee in the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers headed by the Secretary-General to study loan applications and consider projects that request loans worth more than 20 billion dinars," noting that "the committee has a positive role and provided many facilities for project owners to benefit from the initiative."
He continued, "The decrease in project financing by specialized banks due to the slowdown and weakness of the industrial and agricultural banks as a result of the banks' internal mechanism in the grant process, from receiving and evaluating applications, conducting detection and converting them into payments," noting that "these procedures are loops that hinder the grant process, in addition to the lack of cadres that perform By evaluating the economic feasibility studies with regard to the industrial bank, and the modest capabilities and skills of the staff in the agricultural bank.
He added, "There are many requests received by specialized banks, but the provision of financing is weak despite the availability of sufficient allocations since 2016, especially the Industrial Bank, where the percentage of amounts granted to the total allocation does not exceed 5%, in addition to the difficulty of doing business in Iraq." https://www-ina.iq/147938--.html
The Association Of Banks And The Federation Of Egyptian Banks Sign A Memorandum Of Understanding To Develop Banking Relations
Economie Yesterday, 20:48 Baghdad – conscious Today, Thursday, the Iraqi Banks Association announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Federation of Egyptian Banks to develop banking relations between the two countries.
The association said in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that "today, a memorandum of understanding was signed with the Federation of Egyptian Banks, in the presence of the Governor of the Central Bank, Mostafa Ghaleb, and his Egyptian counterpart, Tariq Amer," noting that "the memorandum aims to establish an effective partnership between the banking sector in the two countries at various levels. banking levels.
She added, "The president of the association, Wadih Al-Handal, signed the memorandum, in addition to the head of the Federation of Egyptian Banks, Mohamed Mahmoud Al-Etreby."
The head of the Association of Banks said, according to the statement, "We are pleased with the close cooperation with the Federation of Egyptian Banks, which includes in its membership all banks operating in Egypt, which contributes to strengthening relations and partnership with Egyptian banks," explaining that "the Iraqi banking sector is making great strides towards leadership, thanks to the policy of The Central Bank, which now requires openness to all banks in Arab and foreign countries.
Al-Handal pointed out that "the memorandum of understanding will also focus on establishing joint training programs that include qualifying banking cadres in the two countries, as well as establishing partnerships between Iraqi and Egyptian banks."
For his part, President of the Federation of Egyptian Banks, Mohamed El-Etreby, expressed his happiness at signing the memorandum of understanding with the Association of Iraqi Private Banks, pointing out that “the memorandum aims to achieve fruitful cooperation between the two parties in the field of exchanging experiences and knowledge and strengthening banking cooperation in all areas related to digital transformation, governance and legislation.”banking". https://www.ina.iq/148043--.html
An Economist Explains The Advantages Of Iraqi Oil And Confirms The Increased Desire Of Countries To Import It
Economic 02/03/2022 | 9:20 am Information / Baghdad...The economic expert, Dr. Safwan Qusay, explained the most important advantages of Iraqi oil, stressing that there is a great desire to import it, which made the light of it exceed the price of Brent standard crude.
Qusay told Al-Maalouma, "The process of setting the price of oil depends on its quality, as Basra Light crude is currently being sold at a price higher than Brent by a dollar or two, and also that Kirkuk oil is close to standard crude, while Basra and Amara heavy crude is sold for less than 7 dollars more than Brent reached him.
He added that "Iraqi oil, because of its diversity and its difference from other oils, is desirable and required in various countries of the world, and the demand for it has also increased."
And he indicated that "the more heavy oil Iraq invests in refineries, the more this leads to stimulating the petrochemical industry, through investing this type, liquidating it and introducing additional revenues to the country as a result of the presence of the ingredients of this industry/"
https://almaalomah.me/2022/02/03/580181/
Absence Of Stimulating Laws And Regulations Hinders Investment
Thursday 03 February 2022 77 Baghdad: Haider Falih Al-Rubaie Specialists in economic affairs identified a number of reasons for the decline in investment activity in Iraq, putting at the forefront of these reasons the weakness of stimulating laws and legislation, and the decline in the performance of the financial sector, especially in the field of granting credit, as well as the political and security situation, stressing the need to provide an appropriate environment to attract companies
And work to stimulate investment in the petrochemical, agricultural and industrial fields, pointing out at the same time the importance of these vital aspects in the advancement of the Iraqi economy and the fight against unemployment and inflation, and the diversity of sources of national income.
The economists’ calls came at the same time that the Ministry of Planning revealed its intention to establish a “developmental projects bank,” which provides an opportunity for ministries and agencies not affiliated with the ministry, and the governorates, to prioritize future investment projects.
Non-oil sectors
And the economic expert, Dr. Abdul Rahim Al-Shaddoud, said during his speech to Al-Sabah that “the process of economic development in Iraq is not completed except through the advancement and investment in the non-oil sectors, and attention to the knowledge economy,” noting that these steps “can keep oil revenues saved in a fund.” Sovereign in order to achieve the highest returns and through it we guarantee sustainable development for future generations.
The tension stresses the importance of activating the investment reality, as a result of several factors, most notably the deterioration taking place in the main economic sectors in Iraq, foremost of which is agriculture and industry, as these sectors contribute only a very small part to the country’s total product, and reliance has been on import from abroad instead of encouraging Invest in these sectors and contribute to the development process and fill the market need.
Providing an encouraging environment
The economic expert stressed the need for the government to work seriously to provide an environment conducive to investment, to provide a good political, legal and social environment, and to work within a plan based on full knowledge of the country’s conditions, needs and requirements for its implementation, and to make the priorities that society needs at the forefront of concerns in the field of investment.
Al-Shaddud believes that "the energy sector stands out among the most prominent investment priorities, as there is a real and urgent need for serious work to increase oil production, build refineries and operate what exists among them with appropriate capacity, as well as encourage petrochemical industries, as well as gas available in large quantities in Iraq,
stressing the desire of many International companies to contribute, work and invest in these sectors, calling at the same time, to move the wheel of investment in the areas of housing, industry, agriculture and tourism.
Obstacles to companies coming
In turn, a member of the Iraqi Economists Association, researcher Miqdam Al-Shaibani, stated that Iraq is characterized by the existence of elements that support the process of attracting capital and investments, due to the availability of natural resources such as oil and gas, human resources, land and geographical location,
but the obstacles to investment are numerous, due to a number of reasons, including what was mentioned in the exercise report Business activities issued by the World Bank Group that relate to the cost, time, and procedures for starting a business, obtaining building permits, obtaining electricity, registering property, obtaining credit, protecting investors, and trading across borders.
Al-Shaibani explained that the political and security instability is a major obstacle to the arrival of investments, as stability is one of the main determinants in making the investment decision that searches for a stable environment, as well as the weakness of the private sector caused by the state’s role in economic life in Iraq, as well as the low efficiency Infrastructure, as the Iraqi economy suffers from a clear backwardness in infrastructure.
Weak laws and regulations
Al-Shaibani also explained that the weakness of laws and legislation that stimulate investment, also contributed to the reluctance of international companies and their failure to enter the Iraqi market, indicating that Investment Law No. (13) represents an important step in the field of attracting investments, with its guarantees of privileges and exemptions,
but the laws, regulations and special instructions The sectoral authorities concerned with granting approval for investment projects include some weaknesses, which formed an obstacle to local and foreign investment as a result of the introduction of these instructions that are not commensurate with the intellectual and technological developments in the world.
The researcher Al-Shaibani pointed out that the weakness of the financial sector in Iraq contributed to the delay in the investment aspect, as this sector is still below the required level, and lacks the necessary competence that would enable it to play an active role in the Iraqi economy, in terms of its effects in providing the necessary credit and liquidity. For the domestic and foreign private sector.
Development Projects Bank
In a related context, the Minister of Planning, Dr. Khaled Batal Al-Najm, confirmed that the ministry is making exceptional efforts to facilitate procedures to ensure the implementation of ongoing investment projects, according to their timelines and financial allocations, indicating that there are a number of suspended projects for various reasons, which requires finding solutions and treatments to ensure Resuming work on these projects, after determining the percentages of completion in each project. https://alsabaah.iq/60449/
Development Dollar
Thursday 03 February 2022 100 Abdul-Zahra Muhammad Al-Hindawi When the Minister of Finance spoke about the possibility of a decline in the need for oil in the global market, his words were to repeat the alarm bell, of the repercussions of the economic situation, which could lead to the layoffs of employees, and we have experienced such a situation more than once,
but social media She shrieked with wailing, and called out for woe and despair, accusing the minister of inciting fear and panic among the people, and then this might lower their level of immunity, at a time when the Corona virus with its new mutator "Omicron" is still striking everywhere!!
And in fact, what the minister said is not new, but it is a repetition of what the experts say, and his ministry is the most knowledgeable of the country’s revenues and the sources of those revenues, which oil is still the main source, and salaries and wages still occupy the largest proportion of them, and in all crises, it is required. From this ministry, securing the requirements of consumer spending, which everyone considers a red line, should not be compromised in any way.
Therefore, during the outbreak of the two financial crises in 2014 and 2020, internal and external borrowing was the necessary solution to confront the storm.
Now, as oil prices have recovered, voices have risen again, calling on the government to increase spending, and such measures would lead to a state of numbness, in the non-oil sectors, very similar to the way people deal with taking the Corona vaccine, when infections rise The number of vaccinators is increasing, and when infections decrease, people forget about the vaccine!, unaware that the recurrence of infection with the virus weakens immunity, and therefore I say, we should take the warnings of the Minister of Finance seriously,
by benefiting from the rise in oil prices, in financing sovereign funds, or at the very least, by deducting one dollar for every barrel of oil, multiplied by the daily export volume, and we can imagine the amount of sums that will accumulate within a few years, to be directed later, towards achieving real development in the country, in addition to opening broad prospects for investment in all development sectors, and it is certain that within ten years, we will be in A completely different situation from what we are in today, and we have a good example in the experiences of countries. https://alsabaah.iq/60448/
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