KTFA:

Samson:  Parliamentary movement to legislate a law on the distribution of wealth to the people

8th December, 2021

Wednesday, members of the House of Representatives demanded the enactment of a law that guarantees a fair distribution of wealth between governorates and citizens.

Representative Haider Al-Shamkhi said in a press statement, "We started with the specialists to prepare a legislation that guarantees a fair distribution of wealth between governorates and citizens and gives equal opportunities to all."

He added that "Article 30 of the permanent Iraqi constitution guaranteed equal opportunities for all, and Article 111 confirmed that wealth, especially oil and gas, belongs to all the Iraqi people in all regions and governorates."

He continued, "From this point of view, after these discussions, we will proceed, when the parliament sessions are held, to legislate the law (redistributing wealth to the people)."

And he indicated that "in previous years and budgets, wealth was not equitably distributed between governorates and citizens."  LINK

************

Samson:  Washington stops the automatic deduction from Iraqi oil revenues to compensate Kuwait

The Chairman of the Committee of Financial Experts, Abdul Basit Turki, revealed today, Thursday, that the US Federal Reserve has stopped the automatic deduction from Iraqi oil revenues in favor of Kuwait’s compensation.

Turki said in an interview with Alsumaria News, “The Committee of Experts received a notification from the Central Bank of Iraq and the Compensation Committee, stating that the US Federal Reserve had stopped the deduction,” noting that “a final batch of Kuwait’s compensation amounting to 43 million dollars will be paid through the Central Bank of Iraq as a payment. One for Iraq to end these compensations in full, which amount to 52.38 billion dollars.

And he indicated that Iraq should seek to get out of the provisions of Chapter VII of the UN Charter.

Turki called for "the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the concerned authorities to move to urge the formulation of a draft resolution that includes removing Iraq from the provisions of Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations completely."

The Iraqi government intends to pay the last batch of compensation for the Kuwait war, before the end of this year, after depositing, the day before yesterday (Tuesday), more than 207 million US dollars, in the compensation account with the US Federal Reserve, to end the compensation file completely.   LINK

**************

Samson:  The Arab Monetary Fund, the Financial Stability Institute and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision are organizing the 16th annual high-level meeting on "The Global Banking System in the Post-Coronavirus Crisis"

9th December, 2021

9-8 December 2021, Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

Challenges facing the post-pandemic banking system

Lessons learned from the crisis and the priorities of post-pandemic supervisory authorities

Opportunities offered by modern technologies and the role of supervisory authorities in promoting financial stability

Requirements for developing crisis management framework and tools and stress tests

Priorities of the Basel Committee on Post-Pandemic Banking Supervision

Banking supervision trends at the current stage in the Arab countries

The Arab Monetary Fund, the Financial Stability Institute of the Bank for International Settlements, and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision are organizing the 16th annual high-level meeting on global banking standards and supervisory and supervisory priorities, which will be held “from a distance” under the slogan of the global banking system in the post-Corona crisis, in the presence of a number of Excellencies, Governors of Arab Central Banks and Monetary Institutions

The opening session will be attended by His Excellency Dr. Abdul Rahman bin Abdullah Al Hamidi, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arab Monetary Fund, Mr. Fernando Ristoi, President of the Institute for Financial Stability, and Ms. Alessandra Pirazelli, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy. 

A number of their Excellencies, Governors of Arab Central Banks, will speak at the meeting. Senior officials concerned with issues of financial stability and banking supervision from Arab central banks and monetary institutions, as well as high-level representatives of the most prominent banks operating in the Arab region, will also participate in it

A number of international institutions will also participate in the meeting, led by the Bank for International Settlements, the Financial Stability Board, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the International Federation of Deposit Insurance Institutions, the European Commission, and the Australian Prudential Authority

The meeting addresses the challenges facing the banking sector in light of the repercussions of the Corona pandemic, the lessons learned from the crisis, the priorities for the supervisory authorities at this stage, and how to take advantage of modern financial technologies to support digital transformation and enhance financial stability in the post-pandemic stage. 

The meeting will also discuss the extent of the need to review crisis management frameworks and policies and recovery plans, and the required amendments to stress testing applications and deposit insurance systems and institutions, with the aim of reducing risks arising from economic and financial crises

The meeting also addresses the priorities of the Basel Committee's work for the post-Coronavirus crisis, in addition to discussing aspects of enhancing the resilience of the financial sector through optimal preparation for possible upcoming crises. 

The meeting’s discussions also cover an assessment of the response of central banks in applying precautionary policies to mitigate the repercussions of the pandemic on the banking sector, and the views of these banks regarding appropriate tools in light of the new situation of the post-crisis banking system

On this occasion, His Excellency Dr. Abdul Rahman bin Abdullah Al Hamidi, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arab Monetary Fund, expressed his happiness at the importance of the meeting for policy makers and decision makers in central banks, financial and banking institutions and risk managers in the Arab region, as an annual forum to follow up on developments in legislation regulatory and financial stability issues, stressing his aspiration for the meeting to contribute to enhancing awareness of many aspects and issues related to strengthening and developing financial and banking regulatory legislation in the Arab countries in the post-pandemic stage, and thus benefiting from the participation of distinguished high expertise in the meeting.

His Excellency also renewed his wishes that God would protect our Arab countries and all countries of the world from the Corona pandemic, and that the repercussions of the crisis would be contained quickly  LINK

Samson:  Culture completes its preparations to celebrate the centenary of the Iraqi state and announces its curriculum

9th December, 2021

Today, Thursday, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities announced the completion of its preparations for the central celebration of the centenary of the Iraqi state

The ministry said in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA): "The celebration of the centenary of the Iraqi state will include several events, including the screening of a film on the centenary produced by the Iraqi Media Network, and performances by the National Symphony Orchestra led by Maestro Muhammad Amin, Maestro Karim Wasfi, and the National Heritage Band. The Iraqi musician led by Maestro Alaa Majid, a poem by the great poet Kazem Al-Hajjaj, a performance of the Iraqi Fashion House, a chant (Peace be upon the hills of Iraq), a performance scene, and a national ballet painting for the children of the School of Music and Ballet

He added, "The Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, Hassan Nazim, directed the intensification of preparations to present a comprehensive ceremony worthy of Iraq's civilized and cultural reputation

The statement continued, "The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities launched the slogan of the centenary of the Iraqi state in conjunction with the preparations to celebrate this occasion, which was decided to be on August 23, 1921, the day that practically dates the beginning of a new state after the eternal revolution of the Iraqi people (the revolution of the twentieth) against the British occupation, which He ended the rule of the Ottoman Empire over Iraq   LINK

************

Samson:  :  Economist: Two Parties Benefit The Most From Changing The Exchange Rate

The economic expert, Manar Al-Obaidi, stated, on Thursday, that companies and banks are the biggest beneficiaries of the exchange rate change that took place at the beginning of this year.

Al-Obaidi said, in a post on his Facebook page, which was followed by the “Information” agency, “At the beginning of 2021, the exchange rate of the dinar against the dollar was changed, and one of the goals was to reduce the differences between the official exchange rate and the exchange rate in the local market.”

He added, "Depending on the data of the Central Bank of Iraq, the value of sales in central dollars from the beginning of 2021 until October 2021 amounted to about 29 billion US dollars, a decrease of 20% compared to 2020 and by 31% compared to 2019, but it is still higher than the sales of the Central Bank for the year 2016 which amounted to $26.5 billion.

He pointed out that "the percentage of differences between the central exchange rate and the exchange rate in the local market amounted to 1.82%, and the value of the differences until October of this year amounted to 526 million US dollars, a decrease of 52% compared to 2020, where the value of the differences was 1.11 billion US dollars, but the differences increased." Compared to 2019, by 13%, where the value of the differences was 464 million US dollars.”

He continued, "The year 2015 was the highest in differences, as it amounted to 2.6 billion US dollars at the time, or 7.41% of the total sales. Therefore, reaching 1.82% is considered an achievement in reducing the value of the differences significantly."

He considered that "these differences made profits for many banks and companies that benefited from these amounts, especially in the years (2015, 2016 and 2017), where the percentage of differences exceeded 7%."

He pointed out that "the total differences between 2010 and 2021 amounted to more than 18 billion US dollars, representing 4% of the total sales of the Central Bank, which amounted to 450 billion US dollars.

link