Iraqi News Highlights Friday Afternoon 3-31-23
Iraqi News Highlights Friday Afternoon 3-31-23
Tlm724 Administrator Bondlady’s Corner
Samir Al-Nusairi, Advisor To The Association Of Private Banks: Economic Reform Begins With Banking Reform
The advisor of the Association of Iraqi Private Banks, Samir Al-Nusairi, confirmed that comprehensive and radical economic reform begins with the reform and development of the banking sector in line with what was stated in Article 12 in Paragraph (7) of the government curriculum, which clearly and accurately stated that (banking reform provides a real and effective basis for advancement In the Iraqi economy and revitalizing investment through restructuring and mechanization of government banks, reviewing their work, stimulating private banks and enabling them to be able to support real investment and development.
In a lecture held by the Faculty of Business Economics at Al-Nahrain University, Al-Nusairi touched on the importance of the banking sector, which occupies a vital position in the financial structure of the economy in mobilizing savings and financing development through its ability to flow money between the categories of the national economy, which is the basic step for economic reform.
He added that the measures currently being taken by the Central Bank, with the support of the government, to prepare its new comprehensive strategy to reform, develop and classify banks according to several axes, most notably completing and implementing digital transformation projects and internationally approved payment systems, launching a financial inclusion strategy, working to adhere to international standards of the global financial system, and focusing on controlling transfers.
Foreign Ministry and encourage and motivate merchants and importers and those who need US dollars and other foreign currencies for commercial transactions to enter the electronic platform for external transfer and benefit from the new instructions for external transfer for the year 2023 and the three packages issued by the Central Bank to facilitate joining the services provided by the platform.
He went on to draw up a national plan for lending that adopts new mechanisms to organize the granting of loans for the development of small and medium enterprises, relying on the banks’ own financial capabilities and attracting deposits to provide liquidity and invest it in accordance with the instructions of the Central Bank, directing the initiative to finance small and medium enterprises towards the economic and productive sectors that have the most influence on contributing to development,
and creating a guarantee company. Loans and activating the work of the deposit guarantee company, and continuing the procedures and using monetary policy applications by controlling the exchange rate and reducing the gap between the official rate and the parallel rate, which has begun to narrow towards reaching the target and balanced exchange rate.
Al-Nusairi added that had it not been for the many services provided by the banking system in developed countries, these countries would not have been able to reach their level of economic progress and growth, and that the strength of the banking structure has become one of the necessities of building a prosperous economy that adopts modern systems and sound sustainable development.
And the development of banking habits and awareness of the importance of developing the banking facility in a way that secures the building of the national savings base and develops the necessary financial resources to build the economy has become a priority for the decision-maker.
Al-Nusairi concluded his speech, "The soundness of the banking system and the mobilization of sound decisions in the field of economic policies towards the development and modernization of banking systems ensures the achievement of momentum in the world of real and financial investment, which revives the financial and monetary markets, which leads to attracting foreign capital looking for profit, which is worthy of a maker
The decision to take the necessary measures to fortify and strengthen the local banking systems in a way that makes them able to face the challenges of transferring capital to and from abroad without causing money laundering or smuggling of foreign exchange, and then increasing the profitability of financial and banking institutions and strengthening the structure of the gross domestic product, and this is what they are active in. government and the central bank now. https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=33234
Central Bank: The Difference Between The Official And Parallel Exchange Rates Will Gradually Disappear
Economy| 09:46 - 03/30/2023 Baghdad - Mawazine News Today, Thursday, the Central Bank of Iraq identified the reasons for the gradual decline in the price of the dollar in the past two days, while noting that the difference between the official and parallel exchange rates will gradually disappear.
The Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Ammar Hamad Khalaf, said in a televised interview, followed by Mawazine News: “The Central Bank has taken several measures to reduce the price of the dollar, especially through the three packages that it launched at the beginning of this year, which were sufficient to address the rise in the exchange rate in the parallel market.” ".
He added, "The bank met with the Federation of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce and a number of merchants to discuss the challenges and put in place mechanisms to address them," suggesting that new packages would be issued to address all the challenges facing merchants to facilitate their access to foreign currencies.
He explained behind the gradual decline in the price of the dollar in the past two days to the increase in the volume of sales of the central bank, "noting that" the bank liberated restrictions on sales, and the bank can sell any amount of dollars as long as there is a real demand for the dollar, "explaining, that" the difference between my price The official and parallel exchange will gradually disappear.”
He pointed out, “Iraq does not need to establish new banks at the present time or in the future, but rather activate the existing banks,” pointing to “the presence of more than 70 governmental and private banks,” noting that “the Central Bank is serious about sorting Good banks from not so good.
He pointed out that there was a great response by banks to the instructions of the Central Bank regarding the official exchange rate, "calling at the same time to facilitate the procedures for merchants' transactions quickly." https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=223290
Kurdistan Owes $6 Billion To Oil Companies
Economy News – Baghdad Trade sources told Reuters that the suspension of oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan is stopping the payment of $6 billion in oil shipments owed by the semi-autonomous Iraqi region to energy companies including Vitol and Petraco.
The export of 450,000 barrels of oil per day from Iraqi Kurdistan to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan was suspended on Saturday after Iraq won an arbitration case in which it said Turkey had violated an agreement by allowing Iraqi Kurdistan to export oil without Baghdad's approval.
The suspension means that Iraqi Kurdistan cannot meet obligations for crude oil supplies, and no alternative plans have been developed.
Three trade sources said the region owes Vitol and smaller rival Petraco between $750 million and $800 million each. The sources estimated the total debts of Iraqi Kurdistan to companies that paid in advance for crude oil before the suspension of exports at about six billion dollars. Both companies declined to comment. The regional government declined to comment.
After the court ruling, the government in Iraqi Kurdistan said that a delegation would visit Baghdad soon to resolve these issues.
An Iraqi government spokesman declined to comment on the debt.
"Let us succeed in finding a way out of the problem of oil exports, and then we can solve the other problems under less pressure," he said.
The suspension sent oil prices soaring, as exports from Iraqi Kurdistan account for about half a percent of global oil supplies and are an important source of crude for refineries in the Mediterranean. Some oil companies began shutting down production in Iraqi Kurdistan this week.
Over the past decade, the region has been able to increase oil exports independently of Baghdad, with commercial companies providing billions of dollars in loans to the region in exchange for crude shipments, and the region has also built a new pipeline to Turkey.
Iraqi Kurdistan held a referendum on independence in 2017, but the interventions of the United States and Iran prevented the goal of complete separation from Baghdad from being achieved.
A legal adviser at the Iraqi Oil Ministry familiar with discussions with Iraqi Kurdistan said Baghdad wanted to manage oil exports through its state oil marketing company (SOMO) and wanted oil sales revenues to be deposited in a separate bank account.
And the consultant conveyed previous proposals that the account be under the control of the regional government and supervised by Baghdad, and that it fulfills multiple purposes, including debt repayment.
"We (the central government in Baghdad) are not ready to pay billions of dollars in debt for deals that we were not aware of or that we are not a party to," the adviser said.
Another official in the Iraqi Oil Ministry said that no progress had been made so far on the debt issue.
Iraq, the second largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), exports the lion's share of its oil from ports in the south of the country on the Gulf.
Oil Prices Are Down Slightly
Economy| 09:16 - 03/31/2023 Baghdad - Mawazine News Oil prices fell slightly in Asian trading in the morning, as uncertainty regarding US economic data issued today, Friday, clouded the high sentiment about Chinese demand and possible disruptions in Middle East supplies.
By 04:15 GMT, Brent crude futures fell 19 cents, or 0.24%, to $79.08 a barrel. It had risen about 6% this week.
Markets are now awaiting spending and inflation data in the United States, which will be released on Friday, and its impact on the value of the dollar.
"The market may maintain its bullish trend if US personal consumption expenditures today provide positive signals to markets that US inflation is expected to decline further," said Tina Ting, an analyst at CMC Markets in Auckland.
"The disappointing data may raise concerns about Federal Reserve policy again and limit recent gains," she added.
Prices rose this week on optimism about the economic recovery in China.
China's manufacturing activity grew in March at a slower pace compared to a record increase in February, but still exceeded economists' forecasts in a Reuters poll.
China's industrial activity has become a major price determinant in the past few weeks after anti-coronavirus restrictions were lifted, amid weak global demand.
Oil prices are heading for gains for the second week in a row after the biggest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis unnerved traders and roiled markets. Fears of a global banking crisis eased after two banks were bailed out in the United States and Europe.
Prices rose more than 1% yesterday, Thursday, thanks to the decline in US crude stocks and the suspension of exports from the Kurdistan region of Iraq, which relieved pressure resulting from a less than expected decline in Russian supplies.
Producers have closed or reduced production at a number of oil fields in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq after the northern export pipeline stopped. More outages are expected in the future.
And the US Energy Information Administration said that crude stocks in the United States fell unexpectedly in the week ending March 24, recording the lowest level in two years.
https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=223304
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