Tivon, MilitiaMan, Petra and more Monday Afternoon 7-4-2022

KTFA:

Samson:  A parliamentary bloc moves to lower the dollar exchange rate

4th July, 2022

Today, Monday, Jawad Al-Ghazali, a member of the State of Law coalition, revealed a move by his bloc to reduce the dollar exchange rate.

Al-Ghazali told "Mawazine News", "The lawmakers have collected their signatures regarding reconsidering or modifying the dollar exchange rate to its previous era."

He explained, "This step (comes) due to the rise in commodity prices in the markets and the harm of citizens, and this step will be towards a gradual reduction of the exchange rate, not completely, so that it will be dealt with smoothly without losses."    LINK

Tivon:  Well this is what we were waiting on. I wonder what the starting rate will be? Internally they can gradually reduce the rate of the USD. Externally raising the IQD rate in the open market is another story. Are both being done in conjunction until parity is complete. Just gauging the situation as however they choose to go about it. The EFSL is definitely going to benefit. But they are so hush hush about it. IMO

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Samson:  Baghdad and Washington are discussing "inactive" clauses within the framework agreement

4th July, 2022

The Iraqi Ministry of Planning discussed today, Monday, with the American ambassador in Baghdad, "inactive" clauses within the framework agreement.

The ministry said in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency, that its Minister, Khaled Battal Al-Najm, met today, the US Ambassador to Iraq, Elena Romanowski, and her accompanying delegation.

The statement quoted the minister as confirming during the meeting the depth of the bilateral relations between the two countries and the joint endeavor to develop these relations at all levels, to achieve the interests of the peoples of the two countries. ages and stability.

According to the statement, during the meeting, which was attended by the Director General of International Cooperation in the Ministry of Planning, Saher Abdel-Kazim, they discussed aspects of joint cooperation, by activating the items that have not been activated so far within the framework agreement signed between the two countries.

For her part, Romanowsky welcomed the development of the level of cooperation between Washington and Baghdad, expressing her country's readiness to provide more support to Iraq in various fields, according to the statement.  LINK

Pete2001:  Samson, thanks for all you do .... this article talks about "activating the items that have not been activated so far within the framework agreement signed between the two countries."

Maybe we shouldn't walk past this article?? Forgotten what the framework agreement says....was it signed back in 2003...does it have clause regarding currency reinstatement?? Maybe Frank, MM, Petra or Tivon if important might pick up on and discuss?? 

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Pete2001:  Tivon, is the framework agreement between US and Iraq figure in to any of this?? Thanks

Tivon:  The "Strategic Framework Agreement" I remember back in 2011 when they were talking about activating This. I know reconstruction and infrastructure plans were in talks that are apart of the agreement. Because this was a deal that was signed off on in 2008.

And the most recent meeting before the current one taking place was in 2016 when they once again mentioned how this agreement was supposed to help with liberated areas and stability in the region.

Currency was never mentioned. But we know the EFSL is also supposed to establish stability in the markets and address reconstruction as well. So they have quite a few things going on. It's like they bring up the S.F.A  at every four year interval. They were supposed to activate this three times prior to this meeting. I mean whatever floats their boat at this stage because at this point either one will work. But the reduction in the price in the USD seems to be something that will precede the SFA/EFSL. IMO

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MarcK:  IMO, it won’t be 1200, if it was, that would have been done a long time ago. The new small category notes are ready, game on

Tivon:  Not according to the many articles....🤭. Aside from that they might as well put the new ATM machines back in the warehouse. They serve no purpose. Gold & Oil Reserves? Forget about it. HCL? Stop dreaming. Don't even bring up the trade agreements. IMO  

MilitiaMan:  Or  even bring up the 10s of millions $USD they CBI spent in new currency issuance in 2018 per CBI accounting sheets. I have not recalled seeing one article stating 1,200 as a key placement for the currency. Have they used previous era? LINK   ~ MM

Previous ERA sure they did., a few times as noted in easy to find FA thread data. Just as recent articles on stamps, coins, etc.. Coins don't' work with a program rate. LINK~ MM

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"Is still awaiting the completion of the draft financial budget for the year 2022, hoping to include what the citizen aspires to, at a time when calls are rising for calls to restore the exchange rate of the dinar against the dollar to its previous era."

GoldenBoy:  Imo, going back to 1200 is great! Then they can delete the zeros and you have 1 to 1!

Tivon:  Gradually and internally reducing the USD price in the country until it reaches 1:1 will probably be the marker to reinstate on the international markets. This makes sense to me.

But other alternatives could be at play. At least it's out there now. I am just wondering how long until equal value is reached within their markets before they decide to release it on the global markets. I am watching for othe factors because we still have no solid info on the EFSL being published in the Gazette.

Even though Mazhar Muhammad Saleh stated it entered into force. A couple of days later I read that ministries still have not received any funding from the EFSL. Why? Because in order for them to allocate any funding to those 300,000 families that law has to officially be in the Gazette. IMO

Goldenboy:  Remember Tivon, they are working with two sets of books. For all we know, they could already be at parity imo.

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Tivon:  Well if this is the case it implies that the shock policy they have in place for the rate change can support a instant increase within seconds. If that is the case that would also allude to Mazhar Muhammad Saleh talking with a forked tongue as to them needing to monitor the market before they feel comfortable with reducing the USD rate.

Because he's concerned with doing this prematurely even though they may have abundant reserves to support against any inflation. It seems as though he could be playing up a storyline for something that has not real rooted logic if the two sets of books have already established parity and they are just waiting for the EFSL to be officially in the Gazette or the dissolution of parliament. Not sure but something is afoot in that regard. IMO

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PETRA:  Thank you Tivon for your narratives and insight.  If I may, I would like to add to your commentary on a few key issues.  IMF  compliance under Article 8 requires a single currency practice..aka...IQD only for international trade and transfer. 

The impact of the change, IMO, cannot be gradual as then at what point is the IQD more attractive to the USD?   We are not only awaiting a rate but also Article 8 "FULL" compliance specifically to their currency play. 

So, not sure a gradual rate will work as people need a reason to change and "Shock and Awe" may be what is necessary to get people to change from USD to IQD. 

So in essence, a gradual approach will deter the immediate future growth required to get the wheels of change turning in Iraq.  All IMO.....Thanks Tivon!!

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MilitiaMan:  Very good point as well Petra. The wheels of the Iraq Economic bus must go round and round. The playing field is imo about level now. Not much left to be exposed except the CBI showing us a new exchange rate to make those wheels spin freely around the world.. imo.. ~ MM

Popeye7:  Imo, great commentary gentlemen... Something does have to give, and by the looks of it, very, very, very soon... The pressure cooker in Iraq is reaching a level where if they let it go too far, it will prove to be counterproductive, and destroy the progress that has been made... Thanks so much for taking the time to provide your insight, and commentary... Petra, your last post summed it up quite well... This is not going to be gradual... By taking this much time to build up their reserves to ensure they could maximize the dinar's potency as they intend to go full steam ahead, and at full throttle... Thanks again MM, Petra, and Tivon... God bless, and have a great day KTFA...

Tivon at KTFA "We Are in The Perfect Storm" Sunday Night 7-3-2022

KTFA

Tivon:  We are in the "Perfect Storm".

Did you guys know the Federal Reserve contract to print money ends tomorrow? Which means by default that before Theodore Roosevelt took us off the "Gold Standard" no money could be printed beyond the physical amount of Gold & Silver that was available.

The paper money was supposed to act as a constituent of precious metals simply because you can't carry such heavy material around on your person in a feasible manner to conduct business.

 Keep in mind the gold reserves that Iraq accumulated and the 35% increase recently. Remember D. Trump said that our USD value was to high for countries like Iraq to do business with. Which is why most trade deals in Iraq until recently were conducted and denominated in USD. Which of course is no longer the way Iraq wants to continue to do daily commerce.

This is why things feel like some sort of quagmire at the moment because Iraq is being hush hush about the Gazette. Somebody is timing this with something else. Aside from that we have dissolution still on the table.

Al-Kazemi at any moment could be granted emergency powers. Tomorrow into the next few days afterwards will be monumental. Once Cern turns on the LHC expect things to move much faster then they have ever been since you got into this investment.

 Plus the value of the dollar will increase exponentially given that the Central Banks will no longer be able to flood the markets with paper that is not backed by any assets. Remember what I put on the list? We are going back to 1950s prices. Where everything had a flat price. Our money will have more purchasing power as well.

The Fed lost it's charter to print money way back in 2012. They had a ten year extension. Which ends on July 4th 2022. Independence Day will have a whole new meaning tomorrow.

We are returning to a Constitutional Republic. So expect fire works for multiple events coming up. You are about to see panic in media, markets, and government.

If only you knew the Supreme Court decision on the EPA and the impact on the rest of the alphabet agencies and networks you would be over the hill with excitement about our future.

 Let's just say moving forward you will hear less about Climate Change. That agenda in dead in the water thanks to Clarence Thomas. He has since become Public Enemy #1 in the last week. Roe vs Wade pales in comparison to what he did with the EPA. IMO

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Tivon:  Ask yourself, have you ever wondered what the Bible meant when it said..."The Last shall be first and the first shall be last"?

Well if you look around you, who were the ones that prospered the most (First) from playing "The Game"? The Politicians, The Entertainers, The Athletes, The Drug Dealers, The Executives, The Socialites, The Cool Kids, etc.

The popularity that came with being "The it Girl" or "The Hot Jock" in these areas was something that was off putting because you felt you had to sacrifice apart of yourself to be surrounded by vain shallow narcissistic energy where the quality of just being a human being with a good heart was not something in cards to be rewarded appreciated for.

These are the type of people that fully embraced the lower dimensional thinking of the world. And whoever was outside of the bubbles that came with these aspects of society you were considered lame or boring and to nice because you lacked the competitive (Ego) needed to survive in the aforementioned fields.

Because in this world you are (Last) and not deemed valuable. You were deemed an outcast. Someone  not to be taken seriously. Someone that is walked over and not held in any high regard. Why?

Because you cared to much. You thought about other people. You were not selfish. You were not greedy. You were not power hungry. You were "The Good Friend". You were not out to brown nose to climb the corporate ladder. 

But in the "New Age" you will be put first. You will be the predominant force. You will be the one people want to be around. Not because you are popular, athletic, pretty, rich, or powerful. But because you are yourself and filled with the holy spirit.

So understand when the time comes you will be a part of the few who will lead the many away from the carnal finite physical 3rd dimensional reality. IMO

KTFA Members "News and Views" Sunday Afternoon 7-3-2022

KTFA:

DoTalkToMe:  I have been hopeful for this year. Now lowering expectations once again.
They could deliver very easily if they wanted too. This is not that complicated.

Godson:  Imo.... You are not alone ESPECIALLY if THE TITANIUM date passed in January... How solid is that for us to hold on to..... Imo

AshleyD:  IMO,, so true right you are.  Iraq makes it complicated, hopes and expectations need to be moved to the back burner, I did not say thrown in the trash.  Just live in the now moment far bigger things may happen before the dinar ever rv's.

Tivon:  You all must be forgetting this little nugget. What did Al-Kazemi say to his cabinet? That he wanted at the earliest session to address the issue of reducing the USD rate against the IQD right? So why would we expect anything prior? He said this on June 23rd. Today is July 3rd. We got a heads up on a potential timeline for a change in the rate.

Tivon cont….Between now and then I am looking for the Gazette announcement. Not only that they are doing this based on the Constitution. So in that sense a parliamentary session would be the time & place to issue a legal decision regarding the reduction in the USD price.

Not to mention the EFSL in spite of what Mazhar Muhammad Saleh stated a couple of days ago the ministries still have not received any funds. Those 300,000 families that are waiting on assistance from the law still have not been settled. Why?

Well apparently they can not (House of Representatives) distribute any funds because Hakim Al-Zamili even stated that he will take up everything with the relevant authorities once the EFSL is published in the Gazette. Which is MIA.

So before you start with how things may be shifting away from the urgency in execution of what the law is supposed to address in the immediate sense of what it was created for you should keep an eye out for the official publication. IMO

Parliament Rapporteur Announces The Start Date of The New Legislative Term 30th June, 2022

Today, Thursday, the Rapporteur of the Parliament, Gharib Askar, announced the date for the start of the new legislative term of the Iraqi parliament and for the resumption of the parliament's sessions.

Askar said, in an interview with (Baghdad Today), that "the new legislative term of the Iraqi parliament and the resumption of holding parliament sessions will be after the end of the Eid al-Adha holiday and determined by the presidency."

And he indicated that "the Iraqi parliament has many important files in its new legislative chapter, including resolving the presidential file, voting on the new Iraqi government, and passing important laws that have been suspended since previous parliamentary sessions."

DallasDude:  Maybe the EFSL being printed in the Gazette is being timed with the next legislative session around mid July. 

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Samson:  Integrity Clarifies The Details Of The Sentencing Of Four Members Of The Kirkuk Provincial Council

3rd July, 2022

The Investigation Department of the Federal Integrity Commission announced today, Sunday, the issuance of a ruling in absentia to imprison four members of the Kirkuk Provincial Council, indicating that the convicts took advantage of their position; To unjustly seize money owned by the state

And the commission stated in a statement, received by Earth News, that "the Kirkuk Criminal Court - the second commission, issued a fifteen-year prison sentence in absentia to (4) former members of the Kirkuk Provincial Council, on the grounds of seizing government cars that were (in their custody) and belonging to the Diwan. Kirkuk Governorate,” pointing out that “they refrained from handing over cars after the end of their service in the council

She added that "the court, after reviewing the evidence obtained in the case represented by the testimony of the legal representative of the Kirkuk Governorate Diwan and the records of the receipt of cars by the convicted members, as well as the presumption of their escape, found it sufficient and convincing to convict them in accordance with the provisions of Article (316 / Part One) of the Penal Code, and in the light of articles Subscription 47, 48 and 49 of it

She pointed out that “the court issued an arrest warrant against the convicts, and notified the competent authorities; In order to prevent their travel outside Iraq, while supporting the seizure of their movable and immovable property, as well as giving the affected party (the Kirkuk Governorate Office) the right to review the civil courts; to claim compensation   LINK

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Samson:  In Diyala, a deputy calls for the disclosure of the corruption files that are fortified by the "veto"

3rd July, 2022

A deputy from the Sovereignty Alliance in Diyala called on the supervisory committees and the integrity departments to open all major corruption files in all Diyala departments away from personal and sectarian conflicts.

The representative of the coalition in Diyala, Nawras Mahmoud Al-Issa, told Shafak News Agency; "Many of Diyala's circles are full of files of corruption and waste of public money that have not been opened for many years because of partisan and political deals, factional interests, and quotas at the expense of the interests of the governorate and the citizen."

Al-Issa stressed that "the adoption of professional standards and impartial committees that investigate corruption files in Diyala, and not excluding the veto owners of influential parties and connections to major parties," rejecting "the exploitation of corruption and its suspicions to settle personal accounts and narrow interests away from the supreme national interest of the province."

She pointed out that "there are many corruption files that have been closed and procrastinated by legal fraud methods that are difficult to detect after the loss of relics and evidence by professional and experienced parties in wasting and stealing public money," calling for "the lifting of the veto against all parties and people supported by major parties and influential parties, in addition to providing security protection." And the appropriate atmosphere for investigative committees to perform their work professionally, away from any risks or threats.

Diyala has suffered for many years from the reluctance of large and strategic projects due to the security situation and financial crises that afflicted the country during the war with terrorist organizations, in addition to the control of influential parties and parties over important government departments for more than 15 years.  LINK

Samson:  Al-Kazemi: Failure to pass the budget leads to a delay of about 10 years in providing services in Iraq

3rd July, 2022

Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi complained, on Sunday, that the Iraqi parliament did not approve the financial budget for the current year, at a time when he revealed that the failure to approve the annual budget delays the process of providing services to nearly 10 years.

Al-Kazemi said in a speech during his inauguration of the installed Maysan investment station for the production of electric power, "People are waiting for the government to provide them with services and provide them with job opportunities, and it is unreasonable for the government to remain self-sufficient and unable to achieve, because there is no budget for not forming a government." 

He added, "You know the conditions that this government went through, and they were difficult circumstances, and they are two years old, including in 2020, we did not have a budget, and in the following year 2021 the budget was available, and now in 2022 there is no budget, so how can the government work and provide the best without Budget? Every year in which the budget is delayed, it leads to a delay of five to ten years in the provision of services.”  LIN

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Samson:  Southern Iraq.. Four demonstrations and bridges were cut to demand appointment and water

3rd July, 2022

Hundreds of graduates, administrators, scientists, and farmers in four Iraqi governorates demonstrated, on Sunday, and cut off a number of vital bridges to demand appointment, payment of salaries and provision of irrigation water.

Shafak News Agency reporter said that hundreds of educational and administrative graduates cut off one of the bridges in Al-Amarah city center in front of the governorate building, to demand that they be included in ministerial contracts.

Protester Ahmed Ali told Shafaq News Agency, "We have been demanding our rights for more than a year, and we will continue to demand until they are achieved. We received many promises from politicians and representatives, but unfortunately no one fulfilled his promise and we have nothing left but to go out and put pressure on."

The demonstration witnessed the attendance of the graduates and they sat while one of the bridges was closed on the ground despite the high temperatures. The demonstration coincided with the visit of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi to Maysan Governorate, accompanied by a ministerial delegation, to inaugurate one of the electrical stations.

In addition, our correspondent in Dhi Qar Governorate stated that dozens of graduates of colleges and institutes in Nasiriyah cut the Nasr and Zaitoun bridges in the center of the city, demanding appointment.

Meanwhile, farmers in Al-Muthanna governorate staged a protest because they were prevented from digging wells and their licenses were withdrawn by the Ministry of Water Resources.

In Karbala, graduates of science faculties staged a sit-in in front of the governorate's health department because their salaries were cut for six months by the Ministry of Health.  LINK

Some "Saturday News" posted by KTFA Members 7-2-2022

KTFA:

Samson:  Al-Rasheed Bank will close its doors tomorrow, Sunday.. for this reason

07/02/2022 13:40:32

 Al-Rasheed Bank announced the closure of its doors on Sunday, for the purposes of the semi-annual application.

And the media office of the bank stated, in a statement that {Al-Furat News} received a copy of it, that "the conduct of banking transactions for customers will be stopped with the continuation of the normal working hours for all branch employees, and work will be resumed on the second day."   LINK

Clare:  Cabinet sets Eid al-Adha holiday

  07/02/2022 21:47:55

The Presidency of the Council of Ministers decided, for Saturday, to suspend official working hours next week on the occasion of the Eid al-Adha holiday.

The secretariat’s media stated, in a statement received by {Euphrates News} that “the Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, directed during the regular session of the Council of Ministers, the twenty-fifth, held on 2/7/2022, the following:

The Eid al-Adha holiday begins on Saturday, corresponding to 9/7/2022, and ends on Thursday, corresponding to 7/14/2022, associated with the founding of the Republic of Iraq, provided that official working hours in all government institutions will resume on Sunday.    LINK

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Samson:  Deputy: Launching the electronic form for 1,000 contracts in the coming days

2nd July, 2022

Representative of the Al-Fateh Alliance, Suhaila Al-Sultani, confirmed, on Saturday, that in the coming days, the electronic form for 1,000 job grades, which was allocated in the Food Security Law for each governorate, will be launched in the coming days.

Al-Sultani said, "The new mechanism approved in the application will be far from nepotism and affiliation, and it will take into account several basic points to ensure that those entitled to receive job grades," explaining that "the job grade will be in the form of an operational contract for three years with a salary of 300,000 Iraqi dinars."

Al-Sultani added, “The differentiation points will be according to the year of graduation and specialization, the married and the families, the families of martyrs, and the daily wages,” stressing that “the application and acceptance will be electronic and the test will be done according to the points that the person collects in the comparison.”

The House of Representatives voted, earlier, on the proposed law on emergency support for food security and development, while the Parliamentary Finance Committee indicated that the law included the allocation of 15,000 new contracts for bachelor graduates for three years and a salary of 300,000 dinars, provided that these contracts are distributed among 15 governorates.  LINK

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Samson:  Al-Zamili to Al-Sadr: We are committed to supporting your reform process

2nd July, 2022

My master, Muqtada al-Sadr, we will not tell you, as the Children of Israel said to Moses: (So go, you and your Lord, and fight, for we are sitting here).

We pledge to you today as we pledged to you yesterday, we will be supportive and obedient to your directives, and to your constants in which all is good for the good of the country.

With you, you who have proven that leadership is not by abandoning people, and that the reform project is a great national responsibility that needs to be confronted and sacrificed, and you are worthy of it.

O Nasser Al-Khair, we assure you of our full commitment to support your reform process that you are leading with the aim of ridding the country of the clutches of corruption and spoilers, wherever they are.

#with you with your enemy

Mr. Hakim Al-Zamili

7/22/22  LINK

Samson:  Ministry of Oil: $11.5 billion in revenues last June

07/01/2022 22:24:42

The Ministry of Oil announced the total exports and revenues achieved for the month of last June, according to the preliminary statistics issued by the Iraqi Oil Marketing Company {SOMO}.

A statement by the Ministry, of which Al-Furat News Agency received a copy, stated that "the total amount of crude oil exports amounted to (101) million (191) thousand and (236) barrels, with revenues amounting to (11.505) billion dollars.

The statistics indicated that "the total quantities exported of crude oil for the month of June from oil fields in central and southern Iraq amounted to (97) million (980) thousand and (589) barrels, while from Kirkuk fields through the port of Ceyhan, the exported quantities amounted to (2) One million (910) thousand and (887) barrels.

She pointed out that "the average daily quantities amounted to (3) million and (373) thousand barrels per day, and the average price per barrel amounted to more than (113.70) dollars."   LINK

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Samson:  A “catastrophic scenario” .. global oil prices may reach $ 380 a barrel

2nd July, 2022

Analysts of the famous investment bank, JPMorgan, warned of what it described as a “catastrophic scenario” in which global oil prices could reach $380 a barrel if US and European sanctions push Russia to “implement retaliatory cuts in crude production

The Group of Seven is working on a complex mechanism to limit the price of Russian oil in an attempt to tighten the screws on the high revenues that Moscow achieves in conjunction with its military operation to protect Donbass however, US bank analysts said: "Given Moscow's strong financial position, the nation could cut daily crude production by 5 million barrels without excessively hurting the economy

In this case, for most of the world, the results could be catastrophic, as reducing daily supplies by 3 million barrels would raise the prices of the benchmark “Brent” crude to $190, while the worst-case scenario of 5 million barrels could mean $380 per barrel, according to Analysts

"The most obvious and likely risk with a price cap (for Russian oil) is that Russia may choose not to participate and instead retaliate by cutting exports," the analysts wrote.

The bank's analysts added that the Russian government is likely to "retaliate" by cutting production as a way to harm the West, noting that pressures in the global oil market are currently "in Russia's favor

On Thursday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak considered that the West's idea of ​​capping the price of Russian oil is another political decision that will lead to market disruption and increase prices

Novak said that “one example of such policy decisions that harm consumers in Europe could be the ban on Russian coal, where the European Union’s decision, in the end, led to a rise in coal prices, because against the background of the increased use of coal plants, there was a shortage of raw material itself in the market   LINK

KTFA Members "News and Views" Saturday Afternoon 7-2-2022

KTFA:

Samson:  The Central Bank of Iraq: The exchange rate cannot be changed, and this is the size of the gold and currency reserves

2nd July, 2022

The Central Bank of Iraq revealed today, Saturday, the size of the gold reserves in the country, and while it expected the hard currency reserves to reach 90 billion US dollars, it confirmed that it was not possible to change the exchange rate.

Deputy Central Bank Governor Ammar Khalaf said in a statement to a number of media outlets, including Shafak News Agency, that "it is hoped that the bank's reserves of hard currency will reach 90 billion US dollars," explaining, "We now have more than 70 billion dollars."

Khalaf pointed out that "Iraq's gold reserves are currently more than 100 tons, after we bought more than 30 tons during this period."

As for changing the exchange rate, the Deputy Governor of the Bank affirmed that "the exchange rate cannot be changed," stressing that "there is no justification at present to change it."

He explained that "changing the exchange rate confuses the markets at the present time, pointing out that" its change depends on the economic situation and within the monetary policy of the country."
He stressed that "the ruler and the economic circumstance determine the appropriate decision to change the exchange rate."     LINK

Ol Lar:  OK, well, China Syndrome perhaps? IMO  

Pattycakes77:  I thought the same thing. I just laughed when i seen this article.

(China Syndrome refers to the time when China put out a full page article saying they were not going to RV the yuan for years….then they RV’d shortly after )

DocMagee94:   I would think this article, being that it is quoting the Deputy Central Bank Governor directly, is one that we cannot dismiss as someone speaking out of turn.    This is a main player at the Central Bank.  IMO, I don’t think this is part of some misinformation campaign, I think that this is a direct statement indicating they are happy with the status quo, and no major change to their exchange rate is on their to do list.  

Ol Lar:  I am guessing(which is just as good as your guessing) that the Deputy Gov is the perfect person for disseminating misinformation, especially given it just says it has been revealed and nothing about an official statement. IMO

Edna:  Welll, it's from the CBI, so it's not just some ex. parliament or economist running his mouth. This is a CBI deubuty. The analysis of this will be interesting to me because on the one hand we are told to only pay attention to the CBI (okay), CBI is saying here " we not raising Jack"..(paraphrase)...And I bet we will be told something along the lines of " well you didn't read it correctly"...(ok)..that's fine. But then on the other hand when the CBI comes out says something we all want to hear no [interpretation] is necessary. We told to take the article as written, at face value, and it's all highlighted and heck, we might even do an emergency C.C. on it. So then it's: "only pay attention to the head of the CBI"..ok...is his house divided? Does he have high rankings Minister within his offices working against him?
So confusing ..IMO of course.  

Ol Lar:  You might be totally right, then again if I am not mistaken , wasn't the negative announcements the day or two before rate changes with China and Kuwait from official sources also. I don't have copies of the articles , but I seem to recollect that. Please correct me if I am wrong

Pattycakes77:  You are completely correct. China and Kuwait had official sources and articles right before they made changes to their rate. Why would Iraq take the steps , I mean GIANT steps within the past weeks to not change their rate. Doesn't make sense. The embarrassment to themselves and to other countries if they do not. To much in play for me to sit here and cry, like someone told me I should be doing. I am praising God. Who ever wants to sit there and cry because of that article, can cry by themselves. I will not join in. I am trusting God and I know he is coming through. It's a game that they have to play. IMO

Clare: From the Final Article Thread

Frank26:  "THE CBI GOV MUSTAFA GHALEB.......... IS IN CONTROL OF THE EXCHANGE RATE"....."NOTICE THIS ARTICLE FROM THE CBI MEDIA OFFICE DOES NOT EVEN MENTION THE RUMOR OF 1200 FOR AN  EXCHANGE RATE"....F26

The Central Bank of Iraq participates in the Fifth Annual Exhibition and Conference on Finance and Banking Services

2nd July, 2022

Today, Saturday, the Central Bank of Iraq participated in the opening of the activities of the Fifth Annual Exhibition and Conference on Finance and Banking Services in Iraq, which was held at the Baghdad International Fair, in the presence of His Excellency the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ali Allawi and the participation of the banking sector.

The Central Bank of Iraq has been allocated a special pavilion on the sidelines of the exhibition, which concludes next Monday.

The Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq confirmed in a speech, "The Central Bank of Iraq is supportive of the banking sector.  He added that there is great cooperation between the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank, with the aim of reforming the banking sector, which will result in real reform of the banking sector in the coming years.

He also made it clear that the financing of the Central Bank the allocation to banks, as part of its development initiatives, amounted to (18) trillion dinars, which resulted in the availability of thousands of job opportunities, and he continued, “The Central Bank of Iraq continues to support the private sector segment within easy terms.”

Media Office 
2 - July – 2022  LINK

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Frank26:  "THE DEPUTY GOV OF THE CBI.......... IS NOT IN CONTROL OF THE EXCHANGE RATE"....F26

 The Central Bank of Iraq: The exchange rate cannot be changed, and this is the size of the gold and currency reserves

2nd July, 2022

The Central Bank of Iraq revealed today, Saturday, the size of the gold reserves in the country, and while it expected the hard currency reserves to reach 90 billion US dollars, it confirmed that it was not possible to change the exchange rate.

Deputy Central Bank Governor Ammar Khalaf said in a statement to a number of media outlets, including Shafak News Agency, that "it is hoped that the bank's reserves of hard currency will reach 90 billion US dollars," explaining, "We now have more than 70 billion dollars."

Khalaf pointed out that "Iraq's gold reserves are currently more than 100 tons, after we bought more than 30 tons during this period."

As for changing the exchange rate, the Deputy Governor of the Bank affirmed that "the exchange rate cannot be changed," stressing that "there is no justification at present to change it."

He explained that "changing the exchange rate confuses the markets at the present time, pointing out that" its change depends on the economic situation and within the monetary policy of the country."

He stressed that "the ruler and the economic circumstance determine the appropriate decision to change the exchange rate."    LINK

MW:  Thank you Clare for clearing this up for those that have concerns!!! Not that I have any!!!

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Tivon:  Good evening to everyone. I will post this while I can for a moment. Always pay attention to the last few statements when they start off so bold. They always dismiss everything they say once they refer to other authorities after they cause a big fuss over things they can not control anyway.

The guy just denounced his own position or ineligibility once he stated "The Ruler, has the power to decide when to change the exchange rate. Ask yourself who is the Ruler? Al-Kazemi? Mustafa Galeh? Barham Salih? Because either one you choose notice none of the three have come out and supported any other statements when the exchange rate will be changed.

Think about it. We all know now they have another parliament session coming up after the holiday. Al-Kazemi referenced the constitution as a basis to address the citizens and the economy as to why at the earliest possible time to reduce the USD rate.

Just as Al-Sadr referenced the constitution for Kurdistan to sign over the oil contracts to Baghdad. Guess who has those contracts now? Not Kurdistan. We know they denied oil companies leaving the region. But we also know they are not champions for telling the complete truth on anything concerning the oil files.

They still pretended they had some type of say so over the Federal Court who requested of them to sign over the Oil & Gas Law. Another thing you should take note of when Al-Kazemi had those 100 Deputies sign a document denoting that they all agree on changing the USD rate. Not one of those Deputies came out and challenged Al-Kazemi on why it's not possible to change it.

Remember the EFSL (Emergency food security law) is only for 2022. Now of course we have not read any news publications that it made it to the Gazette as one article mentioned that there are 300,000 families that were added to the database that will have financial assets from that law.

 Not to mention that Mazhar Muhammad Saleh stated on an official basis that the law will not be challenged by the government simply because the paragraphs in it are linked to dues for the ministries and the citizens. What dues are owed to the citizens? The monthly allotment of the Oil & Gas Law/HCL.

This is the :Purchasing Power" they are waiting on. How will they gain access to the allowance/bonus if the Deputy Governor Ammar Khalaf said...there's no justification to change the rate.

Really? How do you justify Financial Stability & Reducing Poverty without changing the rate if Al-Kazemi stated that the EFSL will enter into full force to address the urgent needs of the citizens that will cover unemployment and "Citizens Entitlements" ie (Oil & Gas) without changing the USD rate? Guys, an entitlement that has legal basis is not contingent upon someone who doesn't have any authority on the rate change even if he was happy about changing it as soon as possible.

Why would his word matter on why it's not so called possible? This guy woke up this morning and decided he was going to waste somebody's time by saying something he has no real jurisdiction over anyway. That's not me saying it, he stressed and proclaimed this himself. Read the last statement again. IMO

KTFA Members "News and Veiws" Friday PM 7-1-2022

KTFA:

Samson:  Al-Rafidain participates in the largest financial exhibition in Iraq, which will start tomorrow

07/01/2022 10:55:33

Al-Rafidain Bank is preparing to participate in the Iraq Finance Conference and Exhibition, which will be held on the grounds of the Baghdad International Fair tomorrow, Saturday, and will last for 3 days.

The media office of the bank stated, in a statement, that the agency {Euphrates News} received a copy of it, that "this important event is one of the largest exhibitions in Iraq, and alongside Rafidain Bank, many banks and other financial companies will participate in an event organized annually and collecting expertise in the banking field."

He pointed out, "This important financial forum in the banking sector is complementary to the activities of the Financial Inclusion Week, and the bank will present its many and varied products and services and marketing banking products to customers in this event, which aims to increase banking culture, open bank accounts, and promote small and medium enterprises for individuals, companies and other facilities, and everything else." related to spreading the banking culture.  LINK

ATPInfinity:  the activities of the Financial Inclusion Week, and the bank will present its many and varied products and services ... and everything else.  IMO THE RATE IS EVERYTHING ELSE!!!!!!

Al-Rafidain Bank is preparing to participate in the Iraq Finance Conference and Exhibition, which will be held on the grounds of the Baghdad International Fair tomorrow, Saturday, and will last for 3 days 

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY …DAY ONE.. DAY TWO …DAY THREE IS MONDAY

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Samson:  Political analyst: internally and externally acceptable criteria for choosing the prime minister

06/30/2022 22:41:33

  The political analyst, Haitham Al-Khazali, confirmed, on Thursday evening, the acceptability of the criteria for choosing the prime minister internally and externally.

  Al-Khazali told Al-Furat News that: “The first episode in forming the government depends on choosing the president of the republic, and he will return to the Kurdish house. The other is to come up after the feast with one candidate to vote on internally, i.e. a repetition of the 2018 scenario.

He referred to “setting criteria for the qualities of the prime minister; However, the names of the candidates for the position have not yet been presented, and I believe that the criteria are more reasonable and acceptable internally and externally." 

Khazali added, "There are many challenges facing the current and subsequent government, but I think some threats are matched by some opportunities.

There is a financial abundance that can address the issue of the exchange rate and the economic situation, improving services and covering social welfare by increasing its entitlements and covering it with health insurance.

There is international and regional acceptance due to the presence of energy sources and corridors that call for calm down."

He noted, "The political blocs now have a golden opportunity because of the financial abundance and international understanding of the government's work and the stability of energy markets, with a rise in prices due to the Ukrainian-Russian war, and there are understandings between Baghdad and the countries of the region. I think that everyone will contribute to the success of the government, and we hope to take steps focused on serving the citizens."

Mr. Al-Hakim called for giving priority to the public interest over private interests and the formation of a national service government capable of defining priorities and working to implement them according to an agile and short program. The head of the National State Forces Alliance also renewed his position not to participate in the next government, and to keep the role of wisdom limited to convergence of views between the political parties. LINK

DallasDude:  I won't walk by this one.."A FINACIAL ABUNDANCE TO ADDRESS THE EXCHANGE RATE AND ECONOMIC SITUATION "..let the chips and timing of this fall where they may..

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Khashan: The Election Law In Iraq Is Like A “Kleenex”

1st July, 2022

The independent deputy, Basem Khashan, described today, Friday, the election law in Iraq as a “Kleenex

Khashan wrote on Twitter, and Earth News followed him, saying, “The election law in Iraq is like the Kleenex, used for one time

Political reform does not begin without enacting a stable electoral law that enables the commission to be ready to hold elections in a maximum period of sixty days, in accordance with Article (64/second) of the constitution  LINK

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Samson:  Oil prices fall on recession fears

1st July, 2022

Oil prices fell, today, Friday, as persistent fears of stagnating demand cast a shadow over sentiment and put the benchmark crude on track for its third consecutive weekly loss

Brent crude futures fell 20 cents, or 0.2%, to $108.83 a barrel, giving up gains of more than a dollar earlier in the session

West Texas Intermediate crude futures for August delivery fell 37 cents, or 0.4%, to $105.39 a barrel, giving up earlier gains during the session, which amounted to nearly a dollar

The OPEC + alliance, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and independent producers, including Russia, agreed to adhere to the applied production policy after two days of meetings, but the alliance avoided discussing production policy from September onwards LINK

Samson:  The Ministry of the Interior reveals the existence of families who rent their children to beg for 25 thousand dinars per day

30th June, 2022

Thursday, the Ministry of Interior identified three categories of beggars, while revealing that there are families who rent their children to beg for 25 thousand dinars per day.

The Director of Community Police at the Ministry, Brigadier General Ghaleb Al-Attiyah, said that "the phenomenon of begging has increased in Iraqi society, due to several reasons, the most important of which is domestic violence," noting that "there are families who tempt their children to beg for 25 thousand dinars per day."

He added that "there are three categories of beggars, the first includes the real poor, the second includes the youth group and their reasons are often psychological, and the third, which is the most dangerous, includes mafias and gangs that lead groups to beg," noting that "according to statistics, the majority of beggars are from this category." The first (the poor)".

He stressed that "the security forces continue to pursue them if a gang for begging is arrested daily."  LINK

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Samson:  The Central Bank : Implementing binding measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing

1st July, 2022

The Central Bank of Iraq revealed, today, Friday, its measures in the field of combating money laundering and terrorist financing, confirming that it had also issued binding decisions in this regard.

The representative of the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Office in the Central Bank, Hussein Al-Mukarram, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that "Iraq's procedures regarding combating money laundering and terrorist financing are represented in the issuance of the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law No. (39) of 2015 and many regulations, instructions and controls. Circulars and guidelines in particular, all of which have been issued in light of international requirements and standards and in compliance with local requirements.

He added that "the identification of the supervisory and supervisory authorities on the business sector and the specific non-financial professions has been completed and the due diligence controls for combating money laundering and terrorist financing have been prepared for each sector, the last of which is the real estate sector."

 He stressed that "there are decisions that included obligating all financial institutions to form departments to report suspicious financial transactions and give them independence in their tasks, and to prepare a guide for policies and procedures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in light of which work is carried out and to be available to all workers in financial institutions."

He added, "The procedures also included obligating financial institutions to acquire electronic systems to combat money laundering and terrorist financing for the purpose of extrapolating the monitoring of suspicious financial operations and reporting them to the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Office," noting that "Iraq is committed to all international requirements to combat money laundering and terrorist financing issued by the working group." Finance (FATF), in addition to completing the conditions for joining the Egmont Group. He pointed out that "many specialized training courses have been held in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, combating financial crimes, penalties and bans, and employees of banking and non-banking financial institutions have been involved in them."

And he indicated that "the measures taken by the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Office at the Central Bank of Iraq, including:

1. Acquisition of the (go-AML) system, which is concerned with receiving reports and financial data through electronic linkage with all the parties obligated to report.

2. Preparing systems and databases for the office, which includes data and information from other parties that help analysts to complete the financial investigation procedures 

3. Holding memoranda of bilateral cooperation with various parties within the anti-money laundering and terrorist financing system to facilitate the exchange of information, and concluding several memoranda of understanding with counterpart units in other countries similar to the work of the office.

4. Continuing to train employees of other sectors in ministries, government departments and the public sector for the purpose of spreading awareness of combating money laundering and terrorist financing based on the comprehensive training plan prepared by the office for this purpose, and the office continues to involve its employees in workshops and training courses offered by various organizations. 

He explained that “these procedures resulted in an increase in the number of suspicious financial transactions received by the Office from various entities obligated to report, which resulted in an increase in the reports submitted by the Office to the Public Prosecution Presidency to take the necessary action.

Regarding it, there were (15-25-34-24-39) reports during the years (2017 and 2021) respectively, and each report included a number of reports on a number of companies and people, and this increase was reflected in the issuance of a large number of convictions by the competent courts. 

He stressed that "the increase in the referred reports is a result of the measures taken to encourage financial institutions to report suspicious transactions and exchange information with law enforcement agencies, which contributed to the completion of the analysis of those transactions and the identification of suspicions of money laundering and terrorist financing."  LINK

Friday News From Vietnam Posted by Samson

KTFA:

Vietnam : Central bank sold roughly $7 billion to stabilise forex market

24th June, 2022

The State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV) sold about US$7 billion in the first five months of this year to balance the supply and demand sources of the greenback in the domestic forex market, according to the Viet Dragon Securities Corporation (VDSC).

The USD/VNĐ exchange rate listed at Vietcombank has so far this year increased by approximately 2 per cent.

The average rate of commercial banks according to Bloomberg's statistics in the period has increased by about 1.7 per cent.

During May and the first half of June alone, the đồng depreciated about 1.0 per cent on the official market. However, in the context that most currencies have fallen significantly against the US dollar after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates, the đồng has remained relatively stable.

The US Dollar Index has so far this year risen by 9.2 per cent, resulting in the depreciation of many currencies. The Japanese yen has fallen by 16.8 per cent, followed by the British pound (11.5 per cent) and euro (8.5 per cent). The Chinese yuan has also dropped by 6.3 per cent, Indian rupee (5 per cent) and Malaysian Ringgit (6 per cent).

According to VDSC’s analysts, the domestic exchange rate might be under higher pressure at some times in the coming months, but the SBV will have enough resources to intervene and rebalance when necessary.

Việt Nam’s foreign exchange reserves are currently measured at more than US$100 billion, equal to 3.1 months of imports, and are forecast to keep rising.

 The value, which is four times higher than in 2015, will be an important buffer to stabilise the domestic forex market and help the country’s economy withstand external shocks.

Though exchange rate management in the remaining months of the year is still a big challenge for the SBV, VDSC’s analysts believe that the đồng will not depreciate as strongly as other currencies as in the latest meeting this month, the SBV affirmed to continually manage the exchange rate flexibly and readily cope with greater pressure caused by external uncertainties in the near future.

Under the move, the VDSC’s analysts expect the đồng to depreciate only about 2.0-2.5 per cent in 2022, 1 percentage point higher than its forecast at the beginning of this year.

Earlier, Vietcombank Securities Company (VCBS) believed the USD/VNĐ exchange rate will increase by under 2 per cent in 2022. 

The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate for the US dollar at VNĐ23,087 per dollar on Tuesday, down VNĐ5 from the previous day. With the current trading band of +/-3 per cent, the ceiling rate applicable to commercial banks during the day is VNĐ23,779 per dollar and the floor rate VNĐ22,394 per dollar. The rates at some commercial banks also dropped.

BIDV listed the buying rate at VNĐ23,100 per dollar and the selling rate at VNĐ23,380 per dollar, both down VNĐ10 from June 20. Meanwhile, Vietcombank kept both rates unchanged from June 20, listing the buying rate at VNĐ23,070 per dollar, and the selling rate at VNĐ23,380 per dollar. LINK

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Samson:  Global manufacturers gradually focus on Việt Nam

1st July, 2022

Many manufacturers in the global supply chain of major firms are gradually focusing on Việt Nam.

In particular, Apple has moved 11 factories of Taiwanese enterprises in its supply chain to Việt Nam.

Many other firms such as Foxconn, Luxshare, Pegatron, and Wistron are also expanding their production facilities in Việt Nam.

This information was shared at a conference on the situation and proposed tasks and solutions to remove difficulties and support production and business in the last six months of this year, organised by the Ministry of Planning and Investment this week.

Samsung built its largest research and development centre in Southeast Asia worth US$220 million in Hà Nội and is also planning to continue to expand factories in the northern provinces of Bắc Ninh and Thái Nguyên.

Earlier this year, Đồng Nai Province granted investment licences for two $100 million projects of a component supplier for Samsung, Hansol Electronics Việt Nam (South Korea).

To seize the opportunity, Đỗ Thị Thúy Hương, Vice President of the Việt Nam Association of Supporting Industries (VASI), proposed the Government have large-scale selective policies to attract big foreign groups to Việt Nam. However, these policies must be accompanied by "clean" production conditions, environmental protection and no discharge into the environment, she noted. Hương also recommended several issues, such as more supportive policies to improve labour quality and authorities needing to create more favourable conditions for businesses to access credit support policies of the Government.

Previously, Hương said that the root cause of the shifting trends of supply chains to Việt Nam largely came from China's relatively developed electronics and information technology industry. She explained that they had grown to more than just assembling in the global supply chain.

Việt Nam was a country quite similar to China in electronic manufacturing activities, both in terms of labour and geographical location, infrastructure, and logistics and would be very suitable to receive capital flows, which was also a technological shift.

The VASI Vice President said that, regarding the attraction of large foreign companies, in the early stages, when domestic enterprises were still weak, FDI should be allowed in but must be regulated.

It was necessary to have the hand of the State not only to support foreign businesses but also to have an incubator to support Vietnamese businesses so that they were capable of receiving technology and gradually mastering the technology to have the ability to compete and keep in domestic market, she added. If enterprises were not strong enough, they could not protect their "soft resources," which was their market, said Hương. LINK

Việt Nam's GDP hits 10-year high of 7.72% in Q2

30th June, 2022

The Vietnamese economy expanded at 7.72 per cent in the second quarter of this year, the highest rate in the same quarters in the last 10 years, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported at a press conference on Wednesday.

The figures for the same quarters in the last three years of 2019, 2020 and 2021 were 7.1 per cent, 0.52 per cent and 6.73 per cent, respectively.

In Q2 this year, the agriculture-forestry-fishery sector increased 3.02 per cent, contributing 4.56 per cent to the overall growth of the economy.

The industry and construction sector was up 8.87 per cent, making up 46.85 per cent, while the service sector rose by 8.56 per cent, contributing 48.59 per cent to the general GDP growth, Hương said.

Regarding GDP use, final consumption expenditure increased by 7.32 per cent over the same period last year; accumulated assets rose by 4.57 per cent; exports of goods and services surged 12.33 per cent; and imports of goods and services were up 4.88 per cent.

In the January – June period, the country's GDP grew by 6.42 per cent, higher than the 2.04 per cent and 5.74 per cent growth rates of the same periods in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

According to GSO General Director Nguyễn Thị Hương, the country's socio-economic development in the first six months of 2022 has prospered in most industries and fields, especially the processing and manufacturing industry; retail sales of consumer goods and services; and exports.

In terms of economic structure in the first two quarters, the agriculture-forestry-fishery sector accounted for 11.05 per cent of the country’s economy; the industry-construction and service sectors made up 39.3 per cent and 40.63 per cent, respectively, the GSO said.

​CPI up 2.96 per cent in Q2

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the second quarter of 2022 posted a year-on-year rise of 2.96 per cent.

The office said CPI in June increased by 0.69 per cent month-on-month, up 3.18 per cent against December 2021 and up 3.37 per cent compared to the same period last year.

GSO General Director Nguyễn Thị Hương attributed the increase in CPI in Q2 to the continuous hikes in domestic petrol prices in tandem with world fuel prices, as well as the increase in the price of essential consumer goods and services in line with the price of input materials and transportation costs.

On average, in the first six months, CPI increased by 2.44 per cent over the same period last year; core inflation rose by 1.25 per cent.

The global commodity market continued to face fluctuations in the first half of 2022 and was influenced by economic and political factors, Hương said. “The world economy recovered, the demand for raw materials for production increased while the supply was interrupted, causing commodity prices on the international market to soar,” she said. “The tensions between Russia and Ukraine have pushed up the prices of raw materials and fuel and the world is at risk of a global food crisis,” she said.

In the second quarter of 2022, domestic petrol prices increased by 54.92 per cent over the same period last year, causing the overall CPI to increase by 1.98 percentage points. Domestic gas prices increased by 30.99 per cent over the same period last year, causing CPI to increase 0.45 percentage points.

The price of housing maintenance materials in Q2 went up by 7.81 per cent over the same period last year because the prices of cement, iron, steel and sand increased according to the price of input materials, causing the overall CPI to increase 0.16 percentage points.

The domestic price of rice also gained in line with the export prices of rice. In the second quarter, it increased by 1.07 per cent over the same period last year, causing the overall CPI to increase by 0.03 percentage points.

Besides the reasons for the increase in CPI, there are some reasons for the decrease in CPI in the second quarter of 2022, including the average pork prices down 18.6 per cent compared to last year due to the control of African swine fever and the guaranteed supply of pork, reducing CPI by 0.63 percentage points.

The fees of educational services in Q2 dropped by 2.86 per cent because a number of provinces and centrally-run cities exempted and reduced tuition fees from the first semester of the 2021-2022 school year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, causing CPI to decrease by 0.16 percentage points.

House rent in the second quarter of this year decreased by 12.33 per cent compared to last year because due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many landlords reduced rent to support tenants.   LINK

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Samson:  Việt Nam ASEAN's second largest green bond issuer in 2021

22nd June, 2022

The Climate Bonds Initiatives (CBI) and HSBC have just released the ASEAN Sustainable Finance - State of the Market 2021 report.

Along with other countries in the region, Việt Nam’s sustainable debt capital market has experienced strong growth in the past year.

The report showed that the sustainable debt markets in the six largest ASEAN economies - Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Việt Nam - continues to grow rapidly in 2021. Issuance volumes of green, social and sustainability bonds (GSS) reached a record of US$24 billion, an increase of 76.5 per cent compared to $13.6 billion in 2020, while sustainability-linked debt surged 200 per cent over 2020 to $27.5 billion.  

The growth rate is said to reflect the positive sentiment of the ASEAN region in allocating capital for the purpose of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and supporting sustainable economic growth amid climate change and low carbon emissions in the long term. Việt Nam alone issued a total $1.5 billion of GSS in 2021, nearly five times higher than the value of $0.3 billion in 2020, which maintained stable growth for three consecutive years.

The majority of green bonds and loans in the country last year came from the transportation and energy sectors. Việt Nam is the second largest source of green debt issuance in ASEAN, after Singapore, according to the report.

The two largest transactions that account for most of Vietnamese GSS were $425 million of sustainability bonds with stock options from Vinpearl and a green loan worth $400 million from VinFast (value at the time of transaction announcement).  HSBC said that the country’s bond market has swelled over $70 billion in 2021. More than 80 per cent of the issuance was government bonds, while development banks were the second largest issuers.

At the end of 2020, the National Assembly passed the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 with some important amendments, including additional definitions, general requirements for green bonds and incentives for issuers. Việt Nam is also developing a classification system along with the law, which is expected to be enacted this year.

As Việt Nam announced its commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 at the COP26 conference, it will contribute to the stronger promotion of capital mobilisation through sustainable financial markets to accelerate the carbon emission reduction process. Tim Evans, General Director of HSBC Việt Nam, said that all forms of sustainable finance aim toward the common goal of supporting Việt Nam realise its target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, as committed.

Although the sustainable financial market is growing in Việt Nam and ASEAN, the need to mobilise funds to mitigate and help countries adapt to climate change is still very high, Evans added. Fundraising will support the transition to a low-carbon economy that is essential to achieve the Paris Agreement goals and ease the severe impacts of climate change for the ASEAN region and worldwide. However, experts also said that there is still a lot of work to be done for the ASEAN region to achieve the green growth target.

Some policies in the region have contributed to the rapid growth of sustainable finance in ASEAN and it is clear that awareness of climate risks has risen among both policy makers and investors, said Sean Kidney, CBI Director General.

Nevertheless, there is still a gap that needs to be filled soon. The sectors that emit a lot of emissions and find it difficult to change must quickly shift from "brown" to "green". These are activities, assets and projects related to energy, heavy manufacturing and agriculture. "National initiatives such as Singapore's Green Financial Industry Taskforce (GFIT) are a good start. However, we need to act faster to get vulnerable regions like ASEAN less affected by the consequences of climate change," the CBI Director General said.   LINK

Big "Financial News From Russia" Posted by Samson Friday 7-1-2022

KTFA:

Samson:  Russia announces 70 banks joining a new financial system away from "SWIFT"

1st July, 2022

The Russian Central Bank announced that 70 foreign banks from 12 countries have joined the alternative Russian trading system for the global "Swift" network. 

The President of the Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, said that the Russian Central Bank will not disclose the list of these banks due to the fear of these banks that they will be affected by Western sanctions, for their dealings with the Russian financial system in light of the continued imposition of more sanctions by the European Union and the United States of America

She noted that "the Central Bank of the Russian Federation adheres to the policy of floating the ruble exchange rate even in changing conditions, and attempts to achieve the exchange rate that was before will make it artificial." "The managed exchange rate of the ruble will lead to a decrease in the independence of the monetary policy of the Russian Federation," she added

She stated, "When we begin to manage the exchange rate, of course, the independence of monetary policy sharply decreases, that is, we are tied to the currencies of foreign countries. We are forced, with the regulated exchange rate, to synchronize monetary policy with the policies of countries linked to their currencies." She stressed that the share of the Chinese yuan in the Russian economy is increasing

She pointed out that the Russian system for exchanging messages between banks "SBFS" is able to work as an alternative to the global "SWIFT" system. "We have also developed the internal financial infrastructure, and it will work smoothly, we have an SPFS dispatch system that can replace SWIFT within the country, and external participants can connect to it," she added

When was the alternative Russian network for "Swift" created?

Russia created SPFS in 2014, when the United States threatened to expel Russia from SWIFT through sanctions. This system is an acronym for Financial Message Transfer System, and it drafts and processes standard formats for electronic banking messages or UFEBS documents and MT files as well

SPFS has integrated security measures that slow down its transactions and increase its financial costs as well. The regime carried out its first successful transaction in 2017, and now has more than 400 financial institutions in its network, and Russia is seeking to include its allies in this system. 

According to the Russian Central Bank, 20 percent of domestic transfers are currently made through SPFS, but message volume is limited and operations are limited to weekday hours

SWIFT is an acronym for Association for Global Interbank Financial Telecommunication, a company based in Brussels, and therefore subject to Belgian and European law. Founded in 1973, the company is one of the largest banking and financial correspondent networks, providing bank settlements between financial institutions around the world

A few days ago, the 27 European Union countries agreed at a summit in Brussels to exclude Sberbank, the largest bank in Russia, from the SWIFT system for international money transfers. This came as part of a sixth package of European sanctions against Moscow over its military operation in Ukraine

The Russian financial sector is facing difficult conditions

As part of her statements, the head of the Russian Central Bank revealed that the financial infrastructure of her country is working without malfunctions. She pointed out that the Russian system for exchanging messages between banks "SBFS" is able to work as an alternative to the global "SWIFT" system. 

But she reiterated that the Russian financial system and economy are facing a difficult situation, and the Central Bank will use any necessary solutions in this situation. "Our financial system and economy are now facing a very difficult situation, and the Bank of Russia will be very flexible in its approach to using any necessary tools," she added

This comes as Western pressures and calls are growing to stop Russia's use of the "SWIFT" system, a global messaging system between banks to facilitate transfers and payments. Western countries have adopted a new package of sanctions against Russia in response to the war on Ukraine, including the exclusion of a number of Russian banks from the international banking system "SWIFT". The move is expected to further isolate Russia from the international financial system

Freezing assets worth $330 billion

In the context of Western sanctions, the United States of America and its allies have announced the freezing of Russian assets worth $330 billion since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war. According to the US Treasury, Western allies have frozen $30 billion in assets owned by Russian wealthy or elites who are subject to sanctions

They also froze about $300 billion from the Russian Central Bank, according to a statement issued by the Western Allies' Action Unit responsible for tracking the assets of Russian elites. Also, at least five luxury yachts and real estate owned or controlled by Russian nationals were seized and sanctioned

Earlier, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov announced that the volume of gold and foreign exchange reserves of the Russian Central Bank, which was frozen due to Western sanctions, is about 300 billion dollars. He said, "That's about half of the reserves that we had.

We have total reserves of about 640 billion dollars, and about 300 billion of them are now in a state where we can't use them

. He stressed that Russia will not abandon its sovereign debt obligations, but will pay them in rubles until Western countries reverse the freezing of their gold and foreign exchange reserves, noting that this is a "completely fair" matter in the current circumstances

He noted that the West is pressuring China to limit Russia's access to its yuan reserves, expressing his belief that "our partnership with China will continue to allow us not only to maintain the cooperation that we have achieved, but also to develop it in conditions in which Western markets are closed (in front of us)." 

He stressed that Russia has enough funds to guarantee the production of goods and conduct the necessary financial transactions, warning that sanctions against Russia will rebound later on those who impose them  LINK

Samson:  Putin issues a decree to seize foreign energy companies in Russia.. This condition was imposed on them, and he gave them a month

1st July, 2022

On Friday, July 1, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree allowing full control of foreign energy projects in Russia, including a project owned by British and Japanese companies.

According to the decree, Moscow can create a new company that will take ownership of the "Sakhalin 2" project, which is owned by 50% of the British "Shell", "Mitsui" and the Japanese "Mitsubishi". This step comes as the region suffers from an energy supply crisis due to the Russian attack on Ukraine four months ago.

Moscow attributed the reason for issuing this decree to what it described as "threats to Russia's national interests and economic security." The presidential decree gives foreign companies a "month" to decide whether they want to keep the same shares in the new company.

Japan was aware of Putin's decree

It is noteworthy that the British "Shell" company owns 27.5% of the shares of the "Sakhalin 2" project, while the Japanese companies "Mitsui" and "Mitsubishi" own 12.5% ​​and 10%, respectively, which in the end constitutes 50% of the ownership of the project. On the other hand, Shell responded in a statement, Friday, to Putin's decision that it was "studying the repercussions of the decree," noting that it "always worked in the best interests of the project," according to the Associated Press.

For his part, Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Seiji Kihara told reporters Friday that his country's government was aware of Putin's decree and is currently studying its effects.

Kihara emphasized that the project should not be undermined because it is "closely related to Japan's energy security," adding that anything that harms the rights of his country's resources is "unacceptable," according to the agency.

The Sakhalin 2 project includes three offshore platforms, an onshore processing facility, 300 km of offshore pipelines, 1,600 km of onshore pipelines, an oil export terminal and a liquefied natural gas plant.  LINK

MilitiaMan and KTFA Members "Things Lining Uo This Weekend? " 6-30-2022

KTFA:

Samson:  The emergency support law enters into force .. Will the government challenge it?

30th June, 2022

Today, Thursday, Adviser to the Prime Minister for Financial Affairs, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, announced the entry into force of the Emergency Support Law, after more than fifteen days had passed since its enactment.

Saleh told (Baghdad Today), "The law stipulates that there is a group of deputies requesting the legislation of a law within the parliament that does not have a financial aspect."

He added, "The law has that aspect, but the government will not object or challenge it in the Federal Court because it needs its paragraphs and is linked to the payment of dues to ministries and citizens, such as contracts and others."

On the eighth of this month, the Iraqi parliament voted on the law on emergency support for food security as a whole, to enter its legislative recess.

The vote was attended by 273 deputies, headed by the Speaker of the Council, Muhammad al-Halbousi.

LINK

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MilitiaMan:  Interesting they tell us today that the ESFL made entry into force. One day after a publishing day for the gazette.. Banks are closed are now today.. Interesting too is there is a new platform for non reporting companies for the ISX.

Saturday is another publish day for the gazette. The list of nondisclosure stocks will increase in value at varying levels of %s. This new platform is scheduled for this Sunday.

 Not totally a huge thing in of it self or is it? They didn't mention the ISX reporting companies. If the non reporting are going to increase in value and be on the new platform, would it not be likely that the fully reporting stocks do same and interlink with the NASAQ?

Would not a similar and or superior move be warranted and on the same day? I don't know, however, with a new exchange rate to come, there is likely to be increased values for the ISX reporting companies as well. Something that would likely need to be held more close to the chest.

 I see this article as being an indicator..  Possibly a very telling one. We shall see soon enough on both angles.... imo ~ MM

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Samson:  The Iraq Stock Exchange launches a platform for trading shares of undisclosed companies

29th June, 2022

The Securities Commission and the Iraq Stock Exchange announced the launch of a platform for trading shares of undisclosed joint stock companies, while identifying the companies that can trade on the platform

The authority’s media stated, in a statement, that “the authority decided to create and launch (a platform for trading the shares of undisclosed joint stock companies) Undisclosed Comp as of Sunday’s session 3/7/2022,” noting that “the rate of change in the session will be 5%, up and down from the closing price.” The share price will be left with a 50% change from the last closing price of the share in the first trading session on the platform

He added, "Trading on this platform will be for companies that the Securities Commission had previously decided to suspend from trading due to failure to provide the required disclosures, which are: Electronic Industries Company, Light Industries Company, Al Badia Public Transport Company, Modern Construction Materials Industry Company, the Iraqi Company for Land Transport and a Bank Company. Babel, Al-Batak for Financial Investments, the Modern Company for Animal Production, the North Bank Company, the Al-Khair Financial Investment Company, the Iraqi Company for the Transport of Oil Products, and any company that the Commission decides in the future to include in trading on this platform from the listed companies

He called on the above companies to "commit to provide the minimum disclosure (a report on the company's situation from the date of submitting the last financial statements to date / lawsuits / seizure and mortgage / any material events affecting the company's activity) and the experience and mechanisms will be evaluated after three months from the start of the application and take advantage of the notes indicated on it according to an evaluation and efficiency examination form

The Securities Commission and the Iraq Stock Exchange also decided to "increase the price change percentage from 10% to 15% as of 3/7/2022 for the companies listed therein in order to activate trading in the regular trading platform

The Commission stressed that "the potential shareholder and investor - bears the responsibility of buying and selling shares on the shares listed on the undisclosed companies platform - based on his investment decisions and that the brokerage companies include a note in the purchase and sale authorization and in the investor's agreement that includes the phrase that the shareholder and investor are informed of the above and acknowledges his responsibility any risks that appear later as a result of the lack of information and data - lack of disclosure - for the companies participating in this platform

He pointed out that the procedures were "based on Legislative Order No. 74 of 2004 and the instructions and rules issued by the Securities Commission and the Iraq Stock Exchange and in order to protect the rights of shareholders in joint stock companies listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange, attract potential investors, and activate trading in securities  LINK

Samson:  Al-Kazemi's Advisor : Two main factors contributed to the failure to submit the final accounts 10 years ago

30th June, 2022

The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, clarified today, Thursday, about presenting the final accounts of the current government, indicating that there are two main factors that contributed to the failure to approve the final accounts on a regular basis 10 years ago.

Saleh said in an interview with the "National News Center", "The current government's presentation of the final accounts requires the submission of final accounts that extend from the year 2015-2020, taking into account that the year 2020 there is no general budget, which requires the submission of a draft law called the current budget, which is a legal expression. For a final account and a budget at the same time, because revenues and expenditures are already realized.”

He added that "it must be realized that the final account of the state is reflected in the operations of applying the general budget in accordance with the legal regulations, regulations and financial instructions issued, to show the financial position of the state, because of the rights it has to collect, and the obligations it has to pay, as the balance of the final account shows the increase Or the decrease in the state’s assets or assets, which is embodied by the deficit in expenditures or the surplus in revenues during one fiscal year.

He continued: The governmental final account is one of the most important financial statements that the government prepares annually, based on the provisions of Article 34 of the effective Financial Management Law No. 6 of 2019 as amended and related to the financial statement, to clarify all actual expenditures and revenues for the ended fiscal year and the resulting actual surplus. Or a real impotence.

He stressed that “the legislative authority was not able to approve the final account after the year 2012 and until the present time, a decade has passed, and the financial position of the state is still unknown, its details.

In the failure to approve the final accounts on a regular basis for ten years, the first is the difficulty of settling the accumulated government advances, which reached a very high number and may be equivalent in terms of the amount to the expenses of a full fiscal year or more and lack supporting documents at a high rate, and the second: the presence of more than one fiscal year that was not available it has a general budget law. What requires legislating a law (a status quo budget), as we noted above, which is closer to the final account, especially for the years 2014 and 2020.”

Saleh considered that “the oversight task of the House of Representatives in this regard will be a little arduous in following up on the completion of the country’s final accounts for the years 2013-2021, but it will certainly be fruitful after passing the final account for the fiscal year 2013 and enacting a budget law for the current situation for the year 2014 so that the government can refer the rest of the government accounts sequentially only previous years.”   LINK

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MilitiaMan:   When all is said and done they completed the last 10 years of accounts. They needed that to be done.. Now we look for the fruit of it all.. imo The colors will show in the ATMs.. Lets see what they show us next. ~ MM

Popete7:  Imo, thanks MM, and as you stated, things could be lining up this weekend... Middle of the year, 3 day weekend in the states, ISX new platform on the 3rd, salaries beginning to be paid electronically, and all of the talk of the ATM's as well as the NSCN... It would seem to be the perfect opportunity to make a move on this... Time will tell, and God willing... Take care, and thanks for your insight, and taking the time to share...

DinarDiva1:  Imo, thanks MM, and as you stated, things could be lining up this weekend... Middle of the year, 3 day weekend in the states, ISX new platform on the 3rd, salaries beginning to be paid electronically, and all of the talk of the ATM's as well as the NSCN... It would seem to be the perfect opportunity to make a move on this... Time will tell, and God willing... Take care, and thanks for your insight, and taking the time to share...

MilitiaMan:  You all are very welcome. I am glad to be able to be here and help where I can.. Enjoy the holiday weekend and lets see wha they do next. imo ~ MM 

Some "International News" posted by Samson at KTFA Thursday 6-30-2022

KTFA:

Samson:  The Russian Central Bank Introduces A New Banknote

30th June, 2022

The Russian Central Bank offered, on Thursday, a new 100-ruble banknote, and the regulator announced that the new banknote would be put into circulation starting today (June 30, 2022).

The front side of the new banknote contains the Spasskaya Tower, the main tower of the eastern wall of the Kremlin, also known as the clock tower, while the reverse contains the Rzhevsky monument to the Soviet soldier.

The new banknotes are treated with special materials for added protection, and contain a QR code that takes the user to the central bank's website.  LINK

Samson:  Disruption of official working hours in Kurdistan for a week

30th June, 2022

Today, Thursday, the Kurdistan Regional Government announced the suspension of official working hours for a whole week.

And the regional government stated in a statement received (Baghdad today) that it had "instructed to suspend official working hours for a week on the occasion of the blessed Eid al-Adha."

And she indicated that "the holiday starts from Saturday, July 9, until Sunday, July 17."  LINK

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Samson:  The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq participates in the (Access to Finance) conference

29th June, 2022

The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Mr. Mustafa Ghaleb Mokhief, confirmed that the Central Bank continues to perform its roles prescribed by law in monitoring the financial and banking sector.
 
His Excellency said Wednesday, that the Central Bank is pushing the financial and banking sector to greater horizons. His Excellency added in his speech at the "Access to Finance" conference, which was held at the Al-Rasheed Hotel, with the participation of the public and private sectors:

The Central Bank of Iraq has initiated a package of measures to save the economy and economic institutions from a certain abyss, after a state of despair and panic prevailed among the dealers in the economy.  And those dealing with state institutions, after the reluctance that occurred in the performance of their obligations with them. 
 
He added: The Central Bank made access to finance possible when it launched a number of qualitative and courageous initiatives that enabled our society to feel safe through our initiatives that covered different and important sectors. His Excellency pointed out that the Central Bank of Iraq is not kind to these measures and initiatives, and finds itself only in the position it should be in.

Governor clarified that the goal of enhancing financial inclusion and securing access to financial and banking services to the community was one of our priorities that we are working on with short, medium and long-term plans, and that access to finance is no longer a dream intertwined with red tape, corrupt and closed-minded hands, but rather has become a national path in the work of the banking sector and institutions Microfinance, and its defense has become a priority for the Central Bank and the banking sector alike.

Central Bank of Iraq 
Media Office 
29 - June - 2022    LINK

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Samson: Al-Fateh: The Countdown To Forming A Government Begins After Eid

30th June, 2022

A member of the Al-Fateh Alliance, Ghazanfar al-Batekh, confirmed, on Thursday, that the coordination framework negotiations with the rest of the political blocs are continuing, and the formation of the government will take place after the blessed Eid al-Adha.

Al-Batekh said in a statement to "Al-Maalouma", that "the atmosphere is positive and there are no differences for the coordination framework with the rest of the political blocs," noting that "the initial agreement emphasizes the speedy formation of The government is in one basket, represented by the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the cabinet, and then the government curriculum.

He added, "Resolving the position of the president of the republic among the Kurdish parties is the key to the next government, which needs a quorum of 220 deputies to pass the candidate," stressing that "the next government will be a government of services in all respects, especially the economic one."

The coordinating framework forces became the most numerous parliamentary bloc in the House of Representatives, after obtaining about 40 new seats, taking advantage of the resignation of members of the Sadrist bloc, which gives it the upper hand in the file of government formation and the distribution of positions.  LINK

Samson:  The “Great China Fund” .. Beijing is establishing a bank to promote its currency, so will the “international monetary” compete or overthrow the throne of the dollar?

29th June, 2022

China's announcement of the establishment of an international monetary fund with a number of Asian countries, in what can be called the Great China Fund, or the Chinese Monetary Fund, raises questions about the purpose of this step, and whether it establishes an end to the dominance of the dollar on world markets, or does it represent a competitor to the International Monetary Fund, which is dominated by Western countries led by America.

China's plan to establish a system to accumulate reserves in yuan (renminbi) initially includes the Chinese central bank, known as the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the Bank of Indonesia, the Central Bank of Malaysia, the Monetary Authority of Hong Kong, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the Central Bank of Chile. 

The Chinese Monetary Fund could pave the way for the Chinese currency to play a key role in the Asia-Pacific region, and it is believed that in the longer term, this Chinese Monetary Fund could be a competitor or alternative to the International Monetary Fund, which is dominated by the dollar, according to the American Business Insider website. 

The plan comes amid growing concern in Beijing about the dominance of the US dollar, with global investors searching for safe havens, while the US set out to try to tame high inflation by raising interest rates.

How do member states benefit from the fund?

Each country will contribute 15 billion yuan, or about $2.2 billion, to the RMBLA liquidity system. “When liquidity is needed, participating central banks will not only be able to withdraw their contributions, but will also be able to obtain additional financing through a secured liquidity window” to counter market volatility, the Chinese central bank said.

These funds will be stored in the Bank for International Settlements, (BIS) is an international financial institution owned by central banks, which "promotes international monetary and financial cooperation, and acts as the bank of the central banks", particularly with regard to the passing and settlement of banking transactions, and is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, and has offices Representative in Hong Kong and Mexico City.

How will the Chinese Monetary Fund compete with its international counterpart?

With the announcement of the new fund's ability to lend to its founders more than their contributions to it, it will make it similar or a competitor to the International Monetary Fund, which is dominated by the United States, and the major Western countries.

China's monetary fund could attract more members to join in the future, said Ding Shuang, chief China economist at Standard Chartered Bank. CMF participants will also have access to additional financing through a secured liquidity window, which allows participating central banks to borrow additional using their existing holdings as collateral.

The People's Bank of China said the arrangement would help meet reasonable international demand for the yuan and contribute to regional financial security.

This is how Beijing is trying to gradually reduce the dominance of the dollar

The announcement highlighted China's central bank's efforts to build infrastructure, which will help loosen the dollar's dominance of global trade.

China's plan to establish a yuan liquidity reserve pool with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), could help boost the international use of the Chinese currency.

The Chinese authorities have taken a flexible approach, seeking to expand the yuan's dealings internationally, through their fourteenth five-year plan for the period from 2021-2025, describing the process of the international use of the yuan as a matter that depends on the choice of the market and gradually.

China has for years sought to increase the global use of the yuan, signing bilateral currency swap deals worth more than 3 trillion yuan with more than 40 countries, including 400 billion yuan each for Hong Kong and South Korea, and 350 billion yuan each with the Bank of England and the Central Bank. The European Union, 300 billion yuan with Singapore, and 150 billion yuan with Russia.

What are the reasons for the establishment of the Chinese Monetary Fund?

While tension over Hong Kong's national security law has sparked heated debates about a possible financial separation between China and the United States in 2020, the recent Western sanctions on Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine have served as a special wake-up call for Beijing, especially the decision to exclude major Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging banking system. and freezing the assets of the Russian Central Bank with Western countries and their Asian allies.

It is noteworthy that Russian President Vladimir Putin told the BRICS Business Forum last week that Russia and China are working on developing a new reserve currency with other BRICS countries (this grouping includes countries with the fastest economic growth in the world, most of which are large non-Western economies).

Meanwhile, government data indicated that China's foreign exchange reserves - the largest in the world - rose last May, for the first time in 2022, by $80.6 billion to reach $3.13 trillion.

Everyone is afraid of America exploiting the dollar for its own benefit

In addition to political factors, and the fear of being subjected to a blockade similar to the Western blockade against Russia, China and many countries of the world are concerned about the dollar's situation, which in recent weeks has reached its highest level in 20 years.

The sharp rise in the value of the dollar as the US Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates in an unprecedented and aggressive manner, for nearly 30 years, is posing challenges to currencies and central banks around the world.

The whole world, even America's allies, feel that Washington is exploiting the dollar's status as a major reserve and trading currency, in a way that only serves its economic goals, as the US Federal Reserve accelerated the tightening of monetary regulations, and launched the process of shrinking the balance sheet in June, which led to fears of launching a recession wave. hypertrophied all over the world. Against this backdrop, China is touting that the launch of the renminbi liquidity arrangement is of great importance to defuse potential risks, a China Daily report said.

Yuan expands despite Washington's nose

Recently, the Chinese renminbi has been used more often in trade settlements, international investment and finance, and foreign exchange transactions, and more central banks have included it in their foreign exchange reserve pools. Market players have shown an increasing willingness to use it, China Daily reported.

The yuan's share in global payments, forex transactions, and reserve assets is still far from competing with the US dollar. The yuan accounted for 2.14% of global payments, in April 2022, well below the 41.81% led by the US dollar.

In terms of its share of global foreign exchange reserves, the yuan ranked fifth at the end of last year, with a share of 2.79%, compared to 58.5% for the US dollar and 20.6% for the euro. But many analysts believe that the Russian-Ukrainian war and market turmoil in the wake of massive interest rate increases by the US Federal Reserve may give it an opportunity for the yuan to strengthen its position.

Sanctions have damaged the global financial system and will accelerate the de-dollarization move,” China's investment bank Citic Securities said, while a Washington Post report said Beijing's plan to internationalize the yuan could also get a boost through the Belt and Road Initiative, particularly within Asia.

The start of the yuan competition against the dollar will be from Asia

"The yuan will initially play the role of the base currency in Asia.”  That appears to be China's initial plan, understood by an article by Deng Zhijie, head of the Research Center of China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), in the June issue of Modern Bankers.

But the Chinese official said internationalizing the yuan would be a complex and long-term task. "In the future, we should pay more attention to economic ties and strengthen regional monetary and financial cooperation," he said.

The yuan's weight in the IMF's Special Drawing Rights basket will be raised to 12.28% on August 1, 2022, an increase of 1.36 percentage points over the 2016 assessment.

Does China want to find an immediate alternative to the dollar or the IMF?

The current financial and monetary system is led by America, through the dollar, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and it and Western countries control the Swift system of banking exchange and the role of major Western financial stock exchanges, in addition to America's role as the largest consumer in the world. Most likely, China does not want an immediate replacement for this existing system.

As for Beijing, it is the biggest beneficiary of the current financial system, as the dollar being the main trading currency makes it expensive, and enables China to reduce the price of its currency, which increases the competitiveness of its exports to be sold heavily to the West, especially the United States, and the latter compensates for its trade deficit with the flow of cash on its securities from The money of China, Japan, and sometimes the Gulf states, benefiting from being the center of the global financial system.

But China mostly wants to find a gradual alternative to this system for two reasons, the first is that in the long run it cannot continue the export-driven development model at the expense of domestic consumption, because it is based on low wages in the country, which cannot be sustained for reasons of potential popular discontent that may cause it.

Beijing has already begun to turn to advanced industries based on knowledge and technology, not low wages, and the continuation of this model is based on the continued opening of the United States and Western countries to Chinese products, which is not guaranteed.

The second reason is that China fears that it will be subjected to any form of deprivation or Western sanctions, similar to what happened with Russia, although this will be more difficult for the West than the Russian case due to the size of the Chinese economy and the West's dependence on Chinese supply chains. Hence, China wants to create a financial system parallel to the current financial system led by the United States, so that it participates in the two systems. He is starting to mature.

This system will consist of its currency, the yuan, which is becoming increasingly important, as it is the largest exporter in the world, which makes it a desirable currency in international trade. With the establishment of the proposed Chinese Monetary Fund, there will be mechanisms for trading and lending the yuan, similar to the mechanisms that are dominated by the West such as the IMF.

Mostly this means that there will be two parallel global financial systems (just as there will likely be two parallel systems in all other areas of life), one led by America and the other by China. Any country can participate in both systems simultaneously, including Beijing itself.

But the problem is that the Chinese financial system, even if it is parallel or reserve, encourages financial separation between America and China more than before, a separation that will not only harm the global economy, including the economies of the two countries, but will also sever the bonds of the trade relationship between America and China, In a way that may encourage a dangerous escalation of competition between them, given that this close commercial relationship is still the first brake on the confrontation between the two giants.  LINK

Frank26 and KTFA Members Wednesday PM 6-29-2022

KTFA: 

Frankk26:  "THE CBI HAS TO FLOOD THE STREETS... WITH THE NSCN's ( New small currency notes) NOW!!!"......F26

The Central Bank raises the financing needed for its development initiatives to 18 trillion dinars

28th June, 2022

Today, Tuesday, the Central Bank of Iraq announced raising the necessary funding for its development initiatives to 18 trillion dinars

And the Central Bank said in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that "the funding needed for the development initiative is continuing," noting that "it was decided to raise its financial amounts to reach 18 trillion dinars

He added, "This increase in the amounts of financial allocations comes in response to the success achieved in the development initiatives launched by the Central Bank of Iraq in financing various private sector projects and housing loans," noting that "this increase will contribute to financing economic development projects, increasing local production and reducing unemployment by providing job opportunities, as well as contributing to supporting various government efforts to confront climate change

It is noteworthy that the investment portfolio of the Central Bank of Iraq represents a real support and a catalyst for economic growth along with the various government efforts   LINK

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Frank26:  "THE EXCHANGE RATE DOES NOT HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL OCTOBER... IT IS THE BUDGET THAT AWAITS .......... 'A NEW WORLD RATE' !!!".........F26

A government advisor sets the date for sending the 2022-2023 budgets from the government to Parliament

29th June, 2022

The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, set, on Wednesday, the date for the government to send the general budget law for the year 2022 to Parliament.

Saleh told the official news agency, "If the legal situation is adapted to allow the executive authority to pass bills, it is very possible to present the 2022 budget, sequentially with the 2023 budget draft next October, provided that the first is approved before the fiscal year ends at the end of December 2022." 

He added, "Next October, the draft budget law from the year 2022 will be submitted by the government to Parliament to the year 2023 according to the amended Federal Financial Management Law No. 6 of 2019".    LINK

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Frank26:  "LOL LOL LOL... YOU DON'T HAVE A CHOICE... LOL LOL LOL!!! ".......F26

Iran wants Al-Kazemi to remain in his position... and the leaders of the Coordination Framework meet with him in Tehran in the presence of Ismail Qaani!

29th June, 2022

Press sources learned, from an informed Iranian source, that representatives of the Iraqi Shiite "coordinating framework" forces and other Iraqi parties held a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi, during his visit to Tehran, to discuss the political crisis in the country.

The source said that in light of the results of this meeting, the commander of the “Quds Force,” General Ismail Qaani, held a series of meetings with Iraqi parties, the last of which was a meeting with representatives of the “framework” in Tehran yesterday, during which he informed them that his country supports Al-Kazemi’s stay for a second term.

He added that Qaani stressed, in the meeting, that Al-Kazemi is not Tehran's preferred option, but his good relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Turkey make him "the best possible", especially since the region may be heading for calm, and Al-Kazemi may play a role in this context.

According to the source, Qaani asked to try to satisfy Muqtada al-Sadr and his movement in any way possible. LINK

Samson:  Opening large corruption files that result in the arrest of dozens of employees in Diyala

29th June, 2022

An informed source said, on Wednesday, the arrest of 17 employees on corruption charges in Diyala Governorate, indicating that the judicial authorities have opened 10 major corruption files during the past days that will result in new arrests.

The source said in an interview with (Baghdad Today), that "investigations about 10 files of suspicion of financial and administrative corruption in three government departments in Diyala led to the arrest of 17 employees within a week according to official arrest warrants issued by the judiciary".

The source added, "Most of them were released on bail pending the completion of investigations," noting that most of the files were submitted by MPs to Integrity, which initiated investigations". 

He pointed out that "the coming weeks are fraught with surprises, especially since the volume of files seized carrying financial and administrative violations may be a surprise of a heavy caliber," stressing that "the recent arrests are the highest in recent years".  LINK

Sir:  IMO - This is the best article that has come out in 2022! 

Somebody gave the green light ( Kazemi ) for the above. Meaning some ( most ) higher up rats are going to be paid a visit ( sleepless night for the next week or so).

IMO-the next Iraqi government is going to be very limited in size ( micro small) and this will end the corruption that we see today and from many years past. There have been many articles about the arrest of little rats, now it’s time for the big rats.

We know that in December 2020 that the budget (+ new rate) for 21~23 was set. Frank stated that they are working with a second set of books, why ? To maybe keep the rats from stealing the people of Iraq’s money more than the have been?

It’s pretty obvious that this is happening to governments around the world, stepping down, Israel being the latest! So be just a little more patient, the hands of the rats must be removed from the cookie jars before we see publicly the rate change.

Kazemi is in total control, in fact I believe that behind closed doors he has been dancing a lot, every time these rats open their mouths. He is showing the people of Iraq just how incompetent and corrupt these rats are.

They sure are making Kazemi’s job a whole lot easier. Just food for thought, most of the articles are smoke and mirrors IMO of course.

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Samson:  After Saudi Arabia announced Saturday, July 9, the first day of Eid al-Adha.. Al-Sistani’s reference sets Sunday as a holiday

29th June, 2022

The office of the religious authority, Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, announced that tomorrow, Thursday, is the completion of the month of Dhul-Qa'dah, and that Friday, corresponding to 7/1/2022 AD, will be the first of the month of Dhul-Hijjah.

This will be the first day of Eid al-Adha on Sunday, July 10.

And Saudi Arabia announced that the crescent moon of the month of Dhul-Hijjah was confirmed, so that tomorrow, Thursday, will be the first day of the month.

According to the sighting of the crescent of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah in Saudi Arabia, the first day of Eid al-Adha will be on Saturday, July 9.  LINK

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Frank26:   "AND SOON TO BE NUMBER 1 IN THE MIDDLE EAST WITH THEIR CURRENCY"......F26

Samson:  OPEC: Iraq is the fourth in the world in oil reserves

29th June, 2022

On Wednesday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries announced that Iraq has the fourth largest proven oil reserves in the world, while noting that these reserves do not include oil rocks

The organization stated in its annual report in June, that "the proven crude oil reserves in the world amounted to 1.545.071 trillion barrels at the end of 2021," indicating that "OPEC's share of these reserves amounted to 1,241.819 trillion barrels

She added that "Iraq ranked fourth globally in the world's largest proven reserves, with 145.019 billion barrels, after Venezuela, which came first, with 303.468 billion barrels, while Saudi Arabia came second, with 267.192 billion barrels, and Iran came third with 208.600 billion barrels." According to what was published by Shafak News

The organization indicated that "the countries of the Middle East have the largest reserves in the world, with 869.612 billion barrels, thanks to the reserves of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and the UAE, while Latin America came second, with 329.481 billion barrels, thanks to the reserves of Venezuela, while Africa came third, with 120.210 billion barrels, thanks to Libya." and Nigeria   LINK