KTFA:

MilitiaMan:  Digital transformation.. I hope everyone gets the bigger picture here.. Digital is block chain ready and capable. Transparent and can interlink with secondary markets at a similar level, just as the customs are to be as well..

They are ready now not next year, that will be an evolutionary part of the process down the road.. imo  Closing out the 2019 and 2029 books is on the table tomorrow (Saturday)  imo..

We shall see imo.. -MM 

Don961:  The Central Bank and the Union of Arab Banks agree on the digital transformation of banking

Saturday 05 December 2020  Baghdad: Morning

 The Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Banks, Sam Hassan Fattouh, made a phone call to the Governor of the Central Bank, Mustafa Ghaleb Makhif, during which they reviewed the efforts of the Central Bank in the framework of banking reform in the country.

A statement by the Central Bank, a copy of which was received by Al-Sabah, stated that "the Secretary-General expressed his appreciation for the efforts aimed at strengthening the strength of the Iraqi banking sector and its ability to secure banking services in accordance with the highest international standards."

He added, “The two sides reviewed aspects of joint cooperation on several levels, as the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq explained the reform plan, which is mainly based on activating the supervisory approach, increasing confidence in the banking sector with the aim of empowering the sector and strengthening its development and economic role, and working to build relations with banks and international financial institutions. “.

The statement continued, “The two sides discussed research and technical support in the field of digital transformation of banking work, training and qualification of human resources in the Iraqi banking sector, which includes an elite group of experts, as well as the Central Bank, in line with modern banking developments, working within its framework, and activating the sector’s role in providing Economic and social support and support, and improving the investment environment in the country.

The Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Banks, Wissam Hassan Fattouh, stated that an agreement had been reached with the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Mustafa Ghaleb Makhaif, to agree to establish joint activities, including conferences and special training courses in the field of compliance, governance and digital transformation, to serve and contribute to achieving what was agreed upon between the two parties. .

Fattouh affirmed, "The Union of Arab Banks has set all its capabilities to support the reform efforts of the Central Bank, and to provide technical and technical support to Iraqi banks, especially in the areas of digital transformation, combating money laundering and terrorist financing."   LINK

DELTA:  Iraq organizes global conference to attract investment in transport sector in early 2021

Direct: The Iraqi Ministry of Transport announced Friday that a global investment attraction conference will be held early next year.

The Ministry of Transport said Friday that it will announce the contract of the port of Faw before The 15th of This Month, according to the Iraqi news agency .

Zaid Khalil Shaalan al-Assadi, general manager of the General Company for The Rationalization of Transportation and Transportation Projects, told that the ministry will organize a global conference early next year to open up to international companies in all sectors of the existing railways, lines, air navigation, trucks, transit and the port sector and maritime navigation.

Al-Assadi said the ministry will invite relevant embassies such as Chinese, Korean, American, Indian and even Arab embassies for countries that have a long history in this field, and the invitation will be for companies, whether governmental or private.

Al-Assadi stressed that the Ministry of Transport urges attracting investment in all sectors, service and advancement as happened in other neighboring countries, pointing out that the Ministry of Transport is open to starting vital strategic projects with Arab countries.

Al-Assadi said the fao port file takes up the bulk of the ministry's work, and will start with five projects in the area of expansion, water deepening and the construction of two piers.

We believe that fao port has 99 piers and that the doors are open to all companies to complete these berths.

Al-Assadi said the minister of transport will announce before 15 th of this month the contract of the port of Faw either with Daewoo or another Chinese company.

He explained that companies are studying offers in terms of cost and quality of work and that the field of investment in ports is open to all Arab and foreign companies, especially those of Arab and Asian countries.

If completed, these projects will be an opportunity for tens of thousands of workers in Iraq, 80 percent of the country's workforce, he said.

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Samson:  It will create thousands of jobs" .. Iraq aspires to be the "main stop" on the Silk Road

5th December, 2020

The Minister of Transport, Nasser Hussein Al-Shibli, confirmed, Saturday, that Iraq will be the "main station" in the international land and sea road project, the "Silk Road" linking the two continents of Asia and Europe, but he said that this is related to the completion of the construction of the large port of Faw and the signing of the contract in the coming days, following the agreement with The company implemented.

The official Al-Sabah newspaper quoted Al-Shibli as saying, "If a port is completed The FAO, Will be Iraq Center (Silk Road) You are working on China To connect Europe with Asia," noting that "the completion of the project will be followed by the implementation of the dry canal to connect a port The FAO Turkey, And thus completing the connecting line of China to me Pakistan And port The FAO By sea, and by rail to Europe. "

Al-Shibli added that "the implementation of (Silk Road) Through Iraq It will provide thousands of jobs and a great economic return to the country, equivalent to oil financial revenues, and is linked to the completion of a port The FAO Al-Kabeer said

That his ministry would complete the first phase of the port The FAO Early next year, explaining that "the sum of the contract allocated is two billion and 650 thousand dollars, and the ministry continues to negotiate with the Korean company to agree on this price and reduce the value of the contract," pointing out that "Port The FAO It includes five large projects with a completion period of three and a half years.

Mentioned that China In 2013, it announced its initiative to create (Silk Road The new), which is a network of ports and railways that will connect nearly 65 countries around the world.   LINK

MilitiaMan:  What do you bet the ink will dry quickly on the port deals with the rate exposed? Imo it is a given.. - MM

Samson:  Kurdistan Democratic Party: Initial agreement regarding the 2021 budget

5th December, 2020

The Kurdistan Democratic Party announced, on Saturday, a preliminary agreement regarding the budget for the year 2021.

"The agreement includes the delivery of oil from the region and half of the imports of the border crossings to the federal government."

Jaza added, "The agreement includes the export of oil through the (SOMO) company only, and the region’s share in the budget is 12.67 percent."    LINK

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Samson:  Parliamentary Finance: We will not allow the government to borrow again, and we will oblige it to submit the 2021 budget

08:55 - 12/05/2020

Member of the Parliamentary Financial Committee, Faisal Al-Issawi, confirmed, on Saturday, that the government will not allow the passage of any law for borrowing, indicating that Parliament will vote on a formula in which the government is required to submit the 2021 budget, regardless of the percentage of deficit in it.

Al-Issawi said in a statement to / information / that "Parliament through voting on a formula that obliges the government to present the 2021 budget in its form and whatever the percentage of deficit is to apply the law."

He added, "It is unreasonable to continue borrowing and allow the government to work on debts without any supervision or calculation, and it should think about real reforms."

He pointed out that "the committee has provided dozens of solutions to the government in order to take advantage of financial and economic opportunities and not to rely entirely on oil."   LINK

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Don961:  Report: Businessmen flee their money to international banks due to "lack of confidence" in Iraqi banks

2020-12-04  Yes Iraq: Follow up

Businessmen in Iraq suffer from weak banking systems, which drives them to resort to banks in neighboring countries in their international commercial dealings, while many citizens do not trust them and save their money in their homes.

"The Iraqi banking systems are far from international standards," says economist and head of the Lawyers Union in Diwaniyah, Abbas Anid Ghanem.

According to Ghanem, the problems go back decades, and specifically to the 1990s, when the sanctions imposed on Saddam Hussein's regime caused the isolation of Iraq from the world.

After the US-led coalition invaded the country in 2003, widespread looting emptied banks of liquidity.

More than 70 banks have been established since then, but the sector as a whole has not developed.

The World Bank reported in 2018 that the three largest banks, namely Al-Rafidain, Al-Rasheed and Al-Iraqiya for state-owned trade, hold about 90 percent of the sector's assets.

The three public banks mainly pay the salaries of eight million Iraqi employees, but the state had to borrow from them following the collapse of oil prices this year, which raised its domestic debt.

As for the director of the Al-Akhyyar Contracting Group, Adel Al-Salhi, the problem with public banks is that they are satisfied with "loans to the state and paying the salaries of employees and they are not interested in dealing with the trade sector and supporting businessmen."

This is especially true for the Rafidain and Rasheed banks, and to a lesser extent the Iraqi Trade Bank, which was established by the US Coalition Provisional Authority under the supervision of the civilian governor Paul Bremer in 2003.

But Ghanem explains that “sectarian and partisan quotas in the political system and administrative and financial corruption are matters that have affected this banking institution,” which almost limits its role in lending to the government.

Although the Iraqi Trade Bank is the only one that enables merchants to open credits, it “does not provide any banking facilities to us (businessmen), and asks us for guarantees with a very high value of up to 110 percent to provide a letter of guarantee only,” according to Al-Salhi.

This prompted the group of good guys for contracting to resort to banking services outside the country, like many companies that have come to rely on banks in Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon or even Iran to facilitate their dealings.

The issue is not only about financial facilities, but also, according to Salhi, "transparency" in transactions and the provision of "special employees from within banks according to the evaluation and work of the trader", unlike Iraqi banks that "deal with us as employees in a dry manner."

According to the World Bank, less than 5 percent of small and medium enterprises obtained loans from local Iraqi banks, while most merchants and investors resorted to borrowing from family and friends.

Ghanem attributed this to the high value of interest that banks take, especially in investment projects, as it "ranges from seven to ten percent, while most of the world's advanced banks do not reach more than one percent."

Iraq ranked 172nd out of 190 countries ranked in the World Bank's "ease of doing business index" report, just ahead of Afghanistan and war-torn Syria, despite it being the second crude producer in OPEC.

The problems of the Iraqi banking sector do not stop at the companies, as its services are not well received by citizens either.

World Bank figures indicate that only 23 percent of Iraqi families have an account with a financial institution, which is among the lowest in the Arab world. Those account holders are especially state employees whose salaries are distributed to public banks at the end of each month.

But salaries do not remain for long in the accounts, as soon, lines form in front of banks of employees who withdraw their salaries in cash and prefer to keep them in their homes, due to the lack of confidence of Iraqis in banks.

Memories of bank looting and robbing during the 2003 invasion are still fresh in their minds, and many lost their savings.

Nabil Kazem was one of the victims. After robbing the banks, he says, “I had a lot of difficulty getting my money back. This did not happen until years later, which made me lose confidence in the banks.

In addition, Kadhim attributes his reluctance to keep his money in the bank to the lack of electronic and card-based payment mechanisms in "buying and selling transactions, especially in large amounts transactions."

Kazem prefers to resort to the services of exchange offices or private banks to obtain money transfers from abroad because it is "better and faster than government banks, but even more secure than them."

"The Iraqi banks do not allow depositing in dollars for savings purposes, and this causes a great loss of hard currency," explains the economic expert, Abbas Inid Ghanem. 

This also reveals the lack of confidence in the local currency, as many citizens "convert their savings and money into dollars and hoard them in homes."

Ghanem notes that there is a paradox between official rhetoric and reality. "The state calls on citizens to deposit their savings in banks," while "it does not amend the laws of these banks and does not provide them with any basic services."  LINK