Iraqi News Highlights Tuesday Evening 5-31-23
Iraqi News Highlights Tuesday Evening 5-31-23
Tlm724 Administrator Bondlady’s Corner
The Stability Of The Dollar Exchange Rate On The Local Stock Exchange
Wednesday 31 May 2023 10:01 | Economical Number of readings: 362
Baghdad / NINA / - The exchange rates of the US dollar against the Iraqi dinar stabilized, today, Wednesday, on the main stock exchange in the capital, Baghdad. The central Al-Kifah and Al-Harithiya stock exchanges in Baghdad recorded this morning an exchange rate of 146,000 Iraqi dinars for 100 US dollars. While the selling price in exchange shops in the local markets in Baghdad was recorded at 147,000 dinars per 100 US dollars, and the purchase price was 145,000 dinars per 100 dollars./ End
Experimental Launch Of The Electronic Payment Service In The Departments Of The Municipality Of Baghdad
Today, Wednesday, the Undersecretary of the Municipality of Baghdad for Administrative Affairs, Sabbar Al-Masari, announced the launch of the electronic payment service (POS) in the departments of the Municipality of Baghdad, starting today and for a period of 6 months, in cooperation with the Central Bank of Iraq.
And a statement of the Secretariat stated, “Based on the decision of the Council of Ministers that includes assigning all institutions and departments of the state to activate the work of the electronic payment service (pos) in their departments, specialized committees were formed with the Central Bank of Iraq headed by the Undersecretary of the Baghdad Municipality for Administrative Affairs, Sabar Al-Masari, and the membership of the Director General of the Administrative Department in the Municipality Baghdad and the Information Technology Department in the Municipality to activate the service.
Al-Masari confirmed, according to the statement, that "this service was launched experimentally as a first stage within (4) departments in the Municipality of Baghdad, which are (the municipality of the Green Zone and the airport road, the municipality of Rusafa, the administrative and financial department, relations and media within the Baghdadi Museum) and work continues in the rest of the municipality's departments." .
He pointed out, "The contracts concluded with electronic payment companies are for a period of 6 months free of charge and will allow the collection of Baghdad Municipality fees, so that the financial payment will be through the electronic wallet, as is the practice in most countries of the world as part of facilitating government procedures that were approved within the government program."
He continued, "I have directly supervised the activation of this service and the preparation of a study on the possibility of benefiting from this experience in the future to shift to electronic automation in all departments of the Municipality, in a way that enhances its value in fighting corruption, applying the concept of integrity, and increasing the Municipality's revenues financially."
He pointed out, "The Municipality of Baghdad launched earlier its electronic platform entitled Baghdad - Citizen's Voice to be a portal to receive citizens' suggestions and complaints. Today, this application includes more than 10,000 subscribers, and more than 130 complaints are received daily, which are processed 24 hours a day in cooperation with the relevant authorities." The relationship in the Baghdad Municipality. https://www.radionawa.com/all-detail.aspx?jimare=34550
IMF Staff Concludes Staff Visit To Iraq
May 31, 2023 End-of-Mission press releases include statements of IMF staff teams that convey preliminary findings after a visit to a country. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board.
Foreign exchange market volatility and reduced oil production have affected Iraq’s growth momentum.
The authorities’ fiscal expansion plans could stoke inflation in the short run and pose significant medium-term macroeconomic stability risks.
Fiscal discipline and wide-ranging structural reforms are critical to reduce Iraq’s vulnerabilities, strengthen resilience, and achieve durable and more inclusive growth.
Washington, DC: A staff team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Tokhir Mirzoev visited Amman, Jordan from May 24-31 to discuss with the Iraqi authorities the recent economic developments and outlook as well as policy plans in the period ahead.
At the end of the mission, Mr. Mirzoev issued the following statement:
“ The Iraqi economy’s growth momentum has slowed in recent months. After recovering to its pre-pandemic level last year, oil production is set to contract by 5 percent in 2023 owing to the OPEC+ production cut and outage of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline. The foreign exchange (FX) market volatility in the wake of tighter anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) controls by the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) on FX sales has adversely affected import-dependent non-oil sectors.
Real non-oil GDP is estimated to have contracted by 9-percent (year-on-year) in the last quarter of 2022, negating its growth during the previous three quarters. With the FX market appearing to be stabilizing, helped by CBI’s actions, growth of real non-oil GDP is expected to resume and reach 3.7 percent in 2023. After spiking to 7 percent in January, inflation has begun to moderate—reflecting lower international commodity prices as well as a 10-percent revaluation of the dinar—and is projected to average 5.6 percent in 2023.
“Favorable oil market conditions have supported Iraq’s fiscal and external positions, but structural imbalances continue to widen. In 2022, fiscal and external current account surpluses have reached 7.6 and 17.3 percent of GDP respectively on the back of record-high oil revenues. The CBI’s FX reserves rose to US$97 billion (11 months of imports), including US$16.3 billion (6 percent of GDP) in fiscal savings accumulated by the government. At the same time, a large fiscal expansion has widened the non-oil primary deficit from 52 to over 68 percent of non-oil GDP in the course of 2022.
“ An even bigger fiscal loosening envisaged in the draft 2023 budget law would widen the non-oil primary fiscal deficit further to 75 percent of non-oil GDP and bring the overall fiscal balance to a deficit of 6.5 percent of GDP. The combined effects of increased government spending, the exchange rate revaluation, and reduced oil production would bring the fiscal break-even oil price to $96 per barrel.
“ In the short run, implementation of the authorities’ fiscal plans could re-ignite inflation and FX market volatility. Over the medium term, continuation of current policies in the presence of substantial uncertainty about the future path of oil prices poses critical macroeconomic stability risks. Barring a large increase in oil prices, the current fiscal stance could lead to mounting deficits and intensifying financing pressures in the coming years.
“A significantly tighter fiscal policy is needed to strengthen resilience and reduce the government’s dependence on oil revenues while safeguarding critical social spending needs. Key priorities include diversifying fiscal revenues, reducing the oversized government wage bill, and reforming the pension system to make it financially sound and more inclusive.
While supporting the government’s plan to increase social assistance, the mission recommends stronger targeting to ensure that it is directed to those who are most vulnerable.
“Improving public financial management remains of critical importance. In this context, the mission cautions against the planned establishment of new extrabudgetary funds, which raise governance and efficiency concerns, and strongly recommends adhering to on-budget government expenditures Furthermore, the mission urges full implementation of the framework for managing government guarantees, including Parliamentary approval and publication of an annual ceiling on and the list of government guarantees as part of the budget law.
Accelerated efforts to establish a Treasury Single Account are also needed to strengthen public financial management.
“The mission welcomes the progress made by the CBI in improving its liquidity management and the AML/CFT frameworks and underscores the importance of close alignment of the stance of fiscal and monetary policies in managing the economy.
“Creating an enabling environment for private sector development will be of utmost importance for achieving durable and more inclusive growth. Priorities include continued efforts to enhance governance and reduce corruption, restructuring large state-owned banks to improve access to finance, reforming the labor market to promote private sector job creation, improving cost recovery in the electricity sector to enhance its ability to meet demand in a sustainable manner, and improving the broader business environment.
“The IMF staff team stands ready to support the authorities in their reform efforts and would like to thank them for candid and productive discussions during this mission.”
IMF Communications Department
The Central Bank Confirms Dealing In Iraqi Dinars, And Those Who Are Conflicting In Dollars Will Be Referred To The Judiciary
Today, Wednesday, the Central Bank of Iraq identified the party responsible for selling the dollar at the parallel price, while stressing that the dinar is the national currency and there is no need to deal with anything else.
"The aim of the central bank's launch of the three consecutive packages is to maintain the stability of the exchange rate and deal at the official price, and the sale was launched through cash sales platforms," said Muhammed Yunis, the assistant general manager of the Investments Department at the Central Bank of Iraq, to the Iraqi News Agency.
He added, "The bank is currently adopting a mechanism to improve procedures, facilitate remittance transfers, and overcome all difficulties," pointing out that "small merchants who are not entitled to enter the platform are the ones who buy dollars and deal at the parallel price, pressure and form a demand for it. As for the rest of the commercial companies, they enter the platform and run Its remittances are normal and at the official rate.”
He continued, "The members of the Iraqi Dinar Support Committee are communicating with the security services to implement the instructions of the Council of Ministers and the Central Bank to support the dinar, stabilize the exchange rate, and prevent informal dealings because there is no need to deal in dollars in Iraq."
He emphasized that "those speculating in dollars are violating the law, and dealing with them is done through the Iraqi judiciary." https://www.radionawa.com/all-detail.aspx?jimare=34552
The Central Bank Threatens Dollar Speculators And Confirms: “The Judiciary” Will Take Its Course
Iraq Wednesday, May 31, 2023 Baghdad / The National News Center The Central Bank of Iraq stressed today, Wednesday, that those who speculate in dollars are violating the law, while stressing that dealing with them takes place through the Iraqi judiciary.
The Deputy Director General of the Investments Department at the Central Bank of Iraq, Muhammad Yunus, said in a statement followed by the National News Center, that “the aim of the Central Bank’s launch of the three consecutive packages is to maintain the stability of the exchange rate and deal at the official price, and the sale was launched through cash sales platforms.” .
He added, “The bank is currently adopting a mechanism to improve procedures, facilitate remittance transfers, and overcome all difficulties,” noting that “small merchants who are not entitled to enter the platform are the ones who buy the dollar and deal at the parallel price, pressure and form a demand for it. As for the rest of the commercial companies, they enter the platform and run Its remittances are normal and at the official rate.”
And he continued, "The members of the Iraqi Dinar Support Committee are communicating with the security services to implement the instructions of the Council of Ministers and the Central Bank to support the dinar, stabilize the exchange rate, and prevent informal dealings because there is no need to deal in dollars in Iraq."
He emphasized that "those who speculate in dollars are violating the law, and dealing with them takes place through the Iraqi judiciary." https://nnciraq.com/208520/
An Economist Who Identifies The Mechanisms For The Success Of The Development Path And Shows Its Difference From The Silk Road And The Dry Canal
Today Information / special.Today, Wednesday, the economic expert, Hammam Al-Shamma, explained the difference between the development and fire projects and the dry canal, while determining how the path of development and serving the Iraqi economy could succeed.
Al-Shamma said in an interview with Al-Maalouma Agency, that "the development road is a rail and land link linking Iraq with the Turkish borders, while the Al-Jafah channel is no different from the development road project, but both are one project, and the difference has become in name only."
He pointed out, "The Silk Road is a Chinese project with unclear features, and it may not depend on Iraq, meaning that it is completely different from the path of development," noting that "the development path, if it is based on an objective study of global monetary exchanges, can serve Iraq greatly.".
The economist explained, "There are those who believe that the feasibility study is incomplete and carried out by a non-specialized company," adding, "This project is supposed to be handed over to international transport companies, given that there are details related to calculating costs."
He continued his speech, saying: "When shipping containers from the Chinese port of Xiamen directly to the European port, despite the long distance, the costs may be less than the costs of sea freight and then disposal for land transportation via trains and cars."
Al-Shamma considered: "Studying costs and the market is very important, because the hypotheses are based on studying the market and not only on the technical side."
And the political analyst, Sabah Al-Aqili, had counted, the development road project is the complementary stage for the great port of Faw, the belt and the road project, while he stressed that it is a future project related to the development of Iraq's economy.
Opinions and viewpoints differed in the popular and political circles about the development project between supporters and opponents.
Some speculated that it would be an alternative to the Silk Road and kill the Chinese agreement, while others considered it an important strategic project in the interest of Iraq. Ended / 25R
https://almaalomah.me/news/economy/اقتصادي-يحدد-اليات-نجاح-طريق-التنمية-ويبين-اختلافه-عن-الحرير
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