"Tidbits From TNT" Friday Morning 1-20-2023

TNT:

Tishwash:  The President of the Republic: We seek good relations with everyone...on a "condition"

The President of the Republic, Abdul Latif Rashid, affirmed: "Iraq seeks good relations with everyone, provided that it maintains its independence."

Rashid said in an exclusive interview with Sky News Arabia on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos: "My constitutional duty is to preserve Iraq, its interests and independence, and the government has the option to end the presence of foreign forces at any time."

And on the relationship with Turkey, he explained: "The Turkey is an important neighbor, and trade exchange with it amounts to 30 billion dollars.”

And on the relationship with the Kurdistan region, he pointed out: "The relationship between the federal government and the Kurdistan region is very good, even if there are some problems between the two parties," noting: "The failure to approve the oil and gas law affected the relationship with the region."

And he continued: "I support any referendum, but the implementation of its results must be according to conditions."   link

CandyKisses:  "Cause a lack of investment." The Economist shows the number of funds smuggled since 2003

Information/Private.

Economist Bilal Khalifa said  that the smuggling of money that occurred in the previous period contributed to a significant shortage of investments inside Iraq, and called for the need to support the sector through the legislation of laws supporting it, among the number of smuggled funds since 2003 until now.

Khalifa said in an interview with Al-Maalouma that "activating the private sector will reduce the public budget deficit by legislating laws supporting it, as well as the political will activate it properly," noting that "it is certain that there will be a Deficit in the new public budget because it is related to global oil prices.

He pointed out that "the huge funds that were smuggled out of Iraq in the previous period of money laundering and embezzlement contributed to a significant shortage of investments inside Iraq." 

And he indicated that "no less than 300 billion dollars have fled outside Iraq since 2003 until now, and have been invested in most countries of the world, and this is what has kept the private sector as it is now," stressing that "the corrupt and influential have invested money inside Iraq in buying real estate, which made The prices are exaggerated.”

And a member of the Parliamentary Investment and Development Committee, Hussein Al-Sabri, had confirmed earlier to Al-Maalouma, that “Parliament has reached advanced stages in approving the Industrial Investment Law and the Mineral Investment Law, and voting on them will be completed in the coming period, while the delay in voting on them is The political impasse that occurred in the previous government and the disruption of parliament sessions ended

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CandyKisses:  The Iraqi dinar is paying the price. Washington cuts the route of smuggling dollars into Iran

Twilight News / The Iraqi dinar continues to pay the price, by staggering against the dollar, and perhaps the most prominent reason lies in the noticeable change by the US Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Bank in New York towards monetary policy in Iraq, due to currency smuggling operations to Iran, which has been suffering from severe economic sanctions for years.

The American newspaper "The Wall Street Journal" shed light on the currency file in Iraq, in a report translated by Shafaq News, noting that the Iraqi economy suffers from a taggering with the decline in the value of the dinar 10% against the dollar, which led to higher food prices.

the American procedure

The American newspaper explained in its report that "American and Iraqi officials say that the stricter controls imposed by the Federal Reserve Bank in New York, with regard to dollar transactions by Iraqi banks last November, are a step aimed at curbing money laundering and illegal smuggling of dollars to Iran and other countries in the Middle East are subject to severe sanctions.

She added that "successive US administrations have postponed the entry of the Iraqi banking system to global money transfer mechanisms so far, due to the years of weak governments in Iraq and the crises represented by the insurgency during the period of US occupation, to the control of ISIS on large parts of the country.

According to US and Iraqi officials and official data, since the new measures came into force, 80% or more of daily dollar transfers to Iraq, which previously totaled more than $250 million, have been banned in some days, partly due to insufficient information on the destination of these funds or due to other errors.

The American newspaper pointed out that "in light of the scarcity of the availability of the dollar, the Iraqi dinar fell by up to 10% against the dollar, which caused a strong rise in the prices of imported goods, including basic commodities such as eggs, flour and cooking oil."

shock policy

The Wall Street Journal report quoted the chairman of the Board of Directors of the South Islamic Bank Mahmoud Dagher (a former official at the Central Bank of Iraq) as saying that "for 20 years, we have been following the same system, but the shock policy followed by the Federal Reserve has created a crisis within the Iraqi economy."

The report pointed out that this turmoil reflects the cautious and intertwined relations between Washington and Baghdad, recalling that since the United States contributed to the establishment of the Central Bank of Iraq in 2004, the US dollar has turned into being the main currency of the country to a large extent because a large part of Iraq's economy is working on cash.

The report continued that in order to provide Iraq with dollars, planes transport shipments of US currency to Baghdad every few months, noting that additional dollars flow electronically through transactions carried out by Iraqi banks, which are withdrawn from official Iraqi accounts at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York, where revenues from oil sales are deposited.

US officials acknowledged that "the strict rules of electronic transfers to the dollar by Iraqi banks were not a surprise to officials in Baghdad, explaining that they were implemented jointly last November, after two years of discussion and planning by the Central Bank of Iraq, the US Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Bank, stressing that "the increase in the dollar exchange rate was not due to the new measures."

The American newspaper pointed out that "the scrutiny of dollar transactions caused a demand for the dollar in Iraq and a wave of criticism from Iraqi officials, bankers and importers who criticize the new regime because it caused an unnecessary financial shock and contributed to the aggravation of their acute economic problems.

The new “platform” system

"Under the new measures in place, banks must submit dollar transfer requests via a new electronic platform with the Central Bank, and then review them by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York," she explained.

The report quoted US officials as saying that this system "aims to limit the use of the Iraqi banking system to smuggle dollars into Tehran and Damascus and safe havens to launder money throughout the Middle East."

"Under the old rules, Iraqi bank account holders were not obliged to disclose to whom they were sending the money until the dollars had already been transferred," the report quoted Dagher as saying.

Referring to bank accounts belonging to foreign governments under its control, similar to Iraqi accounts, a spokeswoman for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that "we have a strong compliance system for these accounts that evolves over time in response to new information."

The report also quoted a U.S. official as saying that these measures would reduce “the ability of malicious parties to use the Iraqi banking system.”

The report pointed out that both the US Treasury Department and the Central Bank of Iraq declined to comment, but the Central Bank of Iraq described the new electronic platform in a statement issued on December 15, noting that it requires providing "full details of customers who want to transfer money", including who are the ultimate beneficiaries of it, adding that "a number of errors are discovered and that what is required of

According to Iraqi officials and judicial documents, the central bank prevented four banks, including the Islamic Bank of Asia and the Middle East Bank of Iraq, from carrying out any transactions in dollars.

The report pointed out that US officials have been putting pressure on Iraq for years to strengthen its banking controls, citing US officials at the time that the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department temporarily stopped the flow of billions of dollars to the Central Bank of Iraq in 2015 due to their fears that dollars were on their way to Iranian banks and may be transferred to ISIS militants.

The report pointed out that some Iraqi officials support strengthening control over Iraqi banks, and MP Hadi Al-Salami, a member of the Anti-Corruption Commission, was quoted as saying that political parties and militias control most banks, and use them to smuggle dollars to neighboring countries, adding, "We need to stop this immediately."

The American newspaper considered, in its report, that the impact of the new controls can be seen in the sharp decline in banks' dollar transactions, which the Central Bank tracks on its website, adding that on October 17 last year, before the new controls came into force, daily transfers from Iraq's official accounts in the Federal Reserve Bank in New York and other external institutions amounted to 224.

While US officials say, according to the Wall Street Journal, that this financial confusion will ease as Iraqi account holders comply with the new controls, the newspaper pointed out that "Iraqi bankers and merchants of the operation consider that the new rules are aimed at stemming the methods of schemes used to steal dollars."

Mot:  .. LOL - I Would See ME Being His Neighbor! ~~~~~

Mot:  What in the World in Circling your House at Night!!!????

Iraqi News Highlights Thursday Evening 1-19-23

Iraqi News Highlights Thursday Evening 1-19-23

Tlm724 Administrator Bondlady’s Corner

Al-Sudani: Its 2023 Budget Will Meet The Goals Of The Government Program To Combat Poverty And Provide Services

Money and business  Economy News-Baghdad  The Prime Minister, Mr. Mohamed Shia Al-Sudani, chaired this morning, Thursday, a meeting dedicated to discussing the final details of the draft federal budget law 2023.

Al-Sudani said in a statement, "The draft budget law took time for discussions, in order to reach a budget that is consistent with the priorities of the ministerial curriculum, and meets the objectives of the government program in fighting poverty, providing basic services to citizens, economic reform, and combating corruption."

He stressed the importance of "accelerating the approval of the budget law by the parliament, because it is directly related to many economic and social issues and files, and helps the government implement its programs and strategy in vital fields and sectors, which would provide the best services to citizens."

Views 223   Added 01/19/2023 - 11:55 AM    Updated 01/19/2023 - 7:12 PM

https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=31974

The Central Bank Sells More Than 135 Million Dollars In An Auction Today

Money and business  Economy News-Baghdad  The central bank’s sales of foreign remittances in dollars rose in an auction today, Thursday, to more than $104 million.

According to the statistics of the bank published on its official website, "The Central Bank sold today, during its auction for buying and selling US dollars, 136 million 124 thousand and 851 dollars, which the bank covered at a basic exchange rate of 1460 dinars per dollar.

She added, "Most of the dollar sales went in the form of foreign remittances, amounting to 104 million and 124 thousand and 851 dollars, while the rest of 32 million dollars went in the form of cash sales."

And she indicated, "The banks that bought cash dollars amounted to 9 banks, while the number of banks that met requests to strengthen balances abroad reached 13 banks, while the total number of exchange and mediation companies participating in the auction was 75 companies."

Views 253   Added 01/19/2023 - 1:56 PM   Updated 01/19/2023 - 7:10 PM

https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=31977

The Rise In US Inventories Is Dropping Global Oil Prices

Economie| 09:16 - 01/19/2023  Follow-up - Mawazine News  Oil futures fell by as much as one dollar on Thursday, due to high US oil inventories and recession fears.  Brent crude futures last fell 1.12% to $83.86 a barrel at 04:30 GMT, after losses of around 1% on Wednesday.   US West Texas Intermediate crude futures also fell $1.26 to $78.22 a barrel.  https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=217016

Al-Rashid Bank Begins Selling Dollars To Travelers Through The Baghdad International Airport Branch

Economie| 02:33 - 01/19/2023  Baghdad - Mawazine News, Al-Rasheed Bank started today, Thursday, to sell dollars to travelers through the Baghdad International Airport branch.

A statement of the bank, of which Mawazine News received a copy, stated that "the bank has started, through the Baghdad International Airport branch, to sell dollars to travelers from inside the airport, with a maximum limit of (5000) dollars for each traveler, provided that the date of travel is on the same day and the date of submitting the request to obtain the dollar." .

The statement added, "The branch's working hours will continue for (24) hours to receive those wishing to buy from travelers, starting today."   https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=217048

To read more current and reliable Iraqi news please visit BondLady’s Corner:

https://www.bondladyscorner.com/

Thursday "Vietnam News" Posted by Henig at KTFA 1-19-2023

KTFA:  Vietnam:

Henig:  Việt Nam's foreign exchange reserves to grow this year

January, 19/2023 - 05:51

Việt Nam's foreign exchange reserves will recover to the level of three months of imports and reach $102 billion by the end of this year from the current level of $89 billion.

HÀ NỘI — VNDirect Securities Corporation expects Vietnamese foreign exchange reserves to recover to 3.3 months of imports and reach US$102 billion by the end of this year from the current level of $89 billion last year, said in its updated macro report.

Analysts of VNDirect have made forecasts and said that with the US Federal Reserve (Fed) slowing down the rate of interest rate hikes this year and improving Vietnamese foreign exchange reserves, it would stop the decline price of Vietnamese đồng.

At the same time, the rate at the end of this year is likely to decrease by 1-2 per cent.

Besides, experts also expect a trade surplus of $13.4 billion this year, from a trade surplus of $12.4 billion last year.

In addition, the current account will turn into a surplus at 1.4 per cent of GDP this year from a projected deficit of 0.8 per cent of GDP last year.

According to data published in March 2022, Việt Nam's foreign exchange reserves are at a record high of nearly $110 billion.

However, after that, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) faced many difficulties in balancing the three main goals of controlling inflation, stabilising exchange rates and interest rates to support growth.

SBV had to sell a large amount of foreign exchange reserves to stabilise the exchange rate, which is estimated at approximately 20 per cent of foreign exchange reserves, in the first 10 months of last year.

This has caused Việt Nam's foreign exchange reserves to fall below the level recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when it was less than three months of imports.

VNDirect expects a trade surplus of $12 billion next year, from an expected trade surplus of $10.4 billion last year.

At the same time, VNDirect also expects the current account to turn into a surplus in to 0.4 per cent of GDP this year from a projected deficit of 1.3 per cent of GDP last year.

Therefore, the securities company said that Việt Nam's foreign exchange reserves will recover to the level of three months of imports and reach $102 billion by the end of this year from the current level of $89 billion.

However, VNDirect said that there were several key risks to the forecast including higher-than-expected inflation and a stronger-than-expected US dollar which could put additional pressure on the Vietnamese đồng and the stronger-than-expected recession of Việt Nam's major trading partners.

In fact, Vietnamese đồng once depreciated by 7-8 per cent last year compared to the end of 2021, but by the last trading day of last year, Vietnamese đồng only depreciated by 3.53 per cent, equivalent to half of the two previous months.

— VNS  LINK

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Henig:  Significant upticks in international trade in 2022: MXV

January, 19/2023 - 08:53

International trade saw significant upticks with an average daily exchange of VND5 trillion daily, with some days at over VND10 trillion, and more than 4,000 new accounts created during the year 2022, according to the Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam (MXV).

HÀ NỘI — International trade saw significant upticks with an average daily exchange of VNĐ5 trillion daily, with some days at over VNĐ10 trillion, and more than 4,000 new accounts created during 2022, according to the Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam (MXV).

In a recently released report, MXV said trade volume has increased by 36 per cent compared to 2021 with a total of over 22,000 active accounts on the platform. Monthly growth has also been reportedly stable with an upward trend. 

"We have overseen deals being made 24/7 from Monday till Saturday with some of the world's largest trade platforms for the entire year, without any issues," said MXV's director-general Đặng Việt Hưng.

He said the smooth operation was the result of upgrading IT infrastructure with a number of new automatic functions which has been well-received by international and industry experts. Hưng added the system has been geared toward greater trade volume in the future.  

Since its foundation in 2010, the platform's focus has been on improving collaboration with international trade platforms to push key Việt Nam's commodities including agricultural products, energy, metals, and industrial input materials.  

"Last year, we introduced new Mini and Micro transactions. Investors could place an order with as little as VNĐ10 million, a significantly lower amount compared to before, which has allowed thousands of new investors, with limited financial capacity, to enter the playground," he said.

It has paid off, according to Hưng, as WTI Micro oil transaction was among the country's busiest trade activities last year. 

The platform has been working around the clock to expand its networks to cover all regions across the country with a growing number of partners and members. A series of new protocols and policies, implemented in 2022, have been enforced to ensure all partners and members received sufficient training to follow the country's laws and regulations, as well as international trade norms. 

MXV said it organised 12 training classes during the last year and granted certificates to over 500 brokers and investors through a collaborative effort with international trade platforms as part of an effort to improve its human resource quality and efficiency. 

The growing Việt Nam market has received attention from some of the world's largest trading platforms such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) as many others regularly paid visits and conducted working sessions with MXV. 

CME advised its Vietnamese partner to focus on the delivery of commodities, given the country's advantage in producing a number of key commodities and input materials and its growing influence in the global supply chain. 

Hưng urged the government to quickly implement additional policies to speed up the development of trade activities on the platform, stressing the importance of adapting and reacting to the global trade's new environment. 

"It will provide the platform a solid foundation for future development and further support Vietnamese products," he said. 

In 2023, the platform's top priority, he said, is to introduce additional new services for Vietnamese key commodities including coffee, cashew, and pepper. Access to new markets around the world should provide a marked improvement in farmers' confidence and productivity. 

MXV has been working closely with its logistics partners and port authorities in an attempt to raise commodity delivery by 200-300 per cent this year compared to 2022.

— VNS   LINK

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Henig:  Shares extend gains on the rise of real estate, securities stocks

January, 19/2023 - 06:31

Shares gained ground on Wednesday thanks to the sharp rises of large-caps and in the securities and real estate group, supporting the overall market.

HÀ NỘI — Shares gained ground on Wednesday thanks to the sharp rises of large-caps and in the securities and real estate group, supporting the overall market.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) gained 0.92 per cent to close at 1,098.28 points. The index had ended Tuesday at 1,088.29 points, an increase of 2.03 per cent.

The market's breadth turned positive with 105 stocks declining, while 322 rose.

Liquidity rose to a new high with 604.2 million shares traded on the southern bourse, worth VNĐ10.2 trillion (US$435.2 million).

The 30 biggest stocks tracking VN30-Index rose 1.09 per cent to 1,115.72 points. Twenty-five in the VN30 basket increased, while two declined and three ended unchanged.

Securities stocks soared at the end of the session with many strong gainers, namely Asia - Pacific Securities Joint Stock Company (APS), Việt Nam Bank For Industry & Trade Securities JSC (CTS), VNDirect Securities Co (VND), Bank for Invesment & Development of Vietnam Securities Company (BSI) and VIX Securities Joint Stock Company (VIX).

Real estate and construction stocks witnessed a dramatic gain in prices, such as Khang Điền House (KDH), Novaland (NVL) and Phát Đạt Real Estate Group (PDR).

The bullish inertia continue to bring the market up and conquer the higher resistence zone. Liquidity improved compared to the previous period, showing that investors’ sentiment is gradually becoming positive again, said Việt Dragon Securities Co.

“With this development, the market may continue to gain in the next session thanks to the inertia, yet a dispute situation may take place. The next resistance area to watch out for is the old peak of 1,100 points of VN-Index, equivalent to 1,120 points of VN-30 index. Therefore, investors expect the market’s ability to rise, but still need to pay attention to selling pressure at the upcoming peak,” said the company.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) gained 1.2 per cent, to close Weddnesday at 217.73 points.

The index had closed Tuesday at 215.15 points, a decline of 2.02 per cent.

During the trading session, investors poured VNĐ1.2 trillion into the northern market, equivalent to a trading volume of 75.3 million shares.

— VNS   LINK

Henig:  Association asks for support to build cold storage system in HCM City

January, 19/2023 - 07:51

HCM City needs to develop a cold storage system and raw material storage areas for the food processing industry, the Food and Foodstuff Association of HCM City said.

HCM CITY — HCM City needs to develop a cold storage system and raw material storage areas for the food processing industry, the Food and Foodstuff Association of HCM City said.

The two projects play an important role in the development of the city's food processing industry in the 2021-2030 period. The industry is among the four key industries that the city prioritises, it said.

Lý Kim Chi, chairwoman of the association, said the city currently has many cold storages units but they are at small scale and not that modern, so they do not meet all the requirements for cold storage.

The municipal government, therefore, has approved a cold storage system development project and assigned the city Department of Industry and Trade in collaboration with the association to deploy it, she said.

The cold storage units will have an average area of 5-10ha and be located at areas with convenient traffic and not too far the city centre. They must be at international quality to store and preserve many groups of goods, including imported ones and locally produced products, she said.

“But we have not found an appropriate site for building the cold storage despite making intensive searches,” she said.

Funds for building the cold storage system are contributed by businesses in the industry. The association did not ask the city government to fund for the project, but wanted the city to have policies to support the industry to implement the project, she said.

Chi said a material storage area is very important to the food processing industry, adding that currently, material inputs for food processing firms in the city are mainly supplied by farmers in the southwest provinces.

Therefore, the industry needs to link with provinces to build stable material storage areas for each commodity, and instruct farmers to adopt certain requirements in their crop production to yield clean raw materials so firms can process products for export to fastidious markets such as the US and EU, she said.

Building raw material storage areas should go in tandem with logistics development. The current transport infrastructure is not that good, pushing up costs to firms. If ring roads that connect the city with neighbouring provinces are soon completed, they would help HCM City food processing enterprises reduce costs, she said.

While other sectors witnessed a drop in revenue last year, the food and foodstuff sector recorded over 10 per cent growth in revenue in 2002, and enterprises have had many export orders from several markets for this year, Chi said.

— VNS  LINK

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Henig:  Việt Nam will face opportunities and challenges from the world economy in 2023

January, 19/2023 - 08:00

The factors affecting the world economy in 2023 will bring significant challenges to Việt Nam but also open great opportunities for this country if it has suitable solutions to develop the economy

The factors affecting the world economy in 2023 will bring significant challenges to Việt Nam but also open great opportunities for this country if it has suitable solutions to develop the economy.

Phạm Sỹ Thành, Director of the China Economic Research Programme at the Việt Nam Centre for Economics and Policy Research (VEPR), spoke to Vietnam News Agency about this issue.

Many financial institutions believe that monetary policy tightening for curbing high inflation and the unending energy crisis will be important factors affecting the world economy in 2023. What do you think about this issue?

The monetary policy tightening of the major central banks is one of the important factors that create a reduction of external demand of the economies as well as the decline in production of countries at present. However, this is only part of the difficulties to anticipate for 2023. The fact is that world inflation has already peaked while the roadmap of central banks' interest rate hikes will follow a much lower margin compared to that in 2022.

Besides that, I think there are three other factors that have a negative impact on the global economy. First of all, there is not ever a situation that all three major economic regions of the global economy face many difficulties like now.

In 2008, the US economy had problems, while the European and China economies were fine.

In 2010, the European economy was unstable, but the US economy recovered and China was on a good growth track.

In the two years of 2015-2016, China's economy had problems, while the US and Europe recovered strongly from the crisis.

However, now, it is the first time all three major economies have problems. Specifically, the US still faces high inflation. In Europe, inflation and energy prices are problematic. China, on the other hand, is experiencing problems in asset market and the unexpected effects of the zero-COVID policy.

In the world economic model, the US and Europe are like the demand side, and China is like the supply side. So, if only one of the two sides has problems, the global economy will face great difficulties. If these two sides face difficulties at the same time, the risk of a global economic slowdown is even more obvious.

The second factor that will negatively affect the global economy is the consequence of the monetary policy tightening that central banks have applied in recent years to control high inflation. Accordingly, it is not only the problem in the exchange rate, but also the consequence will create great pressure on the economies that pursue an export model or rely on exports to promote economic growth.

In addition, the instability of the asset market in China is also a new hot spot to watch. For the world economy, China is a very important growth country. According to the latest forecast, China's economic growth in 2022 reached only 50 per cent of the target. The reasons are the effect of the zero-COVID policy, the volatility of the asset market affecting consumer sentiment and reducing exports. These are the factors that can adversely affect China's economic growth prospects in 2023.

Many analysts believe that China can fully open up in 2023 after a long period of isolation against the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be a big impact on the world's inflation control in 2023. What do you think about this?

China's opening has a huge impact on the prices of global basic commodities such as copper, aluminum, steel, oil and agricultural products. In fact, China's imports of those commodities for domestic consumption are very small. With the characteristic of being an export economy, if the exports from China to the US and Europe cannot recover, China will boost exports to other markets.

However, the statistics at the end of 2022 showed that China's export growth was at a low level. In November 2022, China's exports fell 8.7 per cent year-on-year, and it was the second consecutive month of decline.

This was also the deepest drop in China's exports since February 2020 - the peak of the outbreak of COVID-19 in China.

These numbers showed that the real difficulty comes from the monetary policy tightening of the US and EU that have had an immediate impact on large export-based economies like China.

Besides, the world's inflation problem also comes from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine because this has caused the world to face an energy price crisis. Therefore, the world's inflation in 2023 depends not only on China's opening up, but also on solving the world's energy crisis.

How will Việt Nam's economy face these big challenges to maintain economic growth?

I think that Việt Nam is facing a big challenge from the outside, which is a huge decrease in demand for Vietnamese exports.

In fact, the growth rate of Việt Nam's many export commodities gaining turnover of over US$1 billion, such as wood and garment products, in October and November 2022 decreased by 30-40 per cent compared to the same period last year and to the previous month.

This showed that the foreign market is no longer attractive enough for exports in 2023. Meanwhile, the decline in exports will bring many problems, especially poverty, lack of work, and an increase in unemployment in industrial zones.

In addition, Việt Nam also faces two internal challenges. Firstly, the handling of violations in both the bond market and the banking system is creating bottlenecks in capital flows.

Meanwhile, the cost of capital is one of the barriers for businesses in approaching capital. This difficulty requires the Government to take measures on removing it, helping businesses access capital as quickly as possible with an appropriate interest rate.

Besides, Vietnamese exporters also have great opportunities to get orders from partners that did business with Chinese businesses before in the context of China applying the zero COVID policy.

That partly also made the supply chain's move out of China to Việt Nam faster, like the move of Foxconn, Apple, Adidas or Samsung. In fact, in Southeast Asia, Việt Nam is emerging as one of the locations where large corporations choose to build research and development (R&D) centres.

To take advantage of the external advantages, Việt Nam needs to have synchronous solutions, including the building of a better industrial infrastructure and office systems.

Another important solution is to deal with the problems of the bond markets and banking system. In particular, fiscal policy needs to play a bigger role in opening up more opportunities for economic development as well as take advantage of the situation that other affected economies do not recover.

VNS   LINK

Iraqi News Highlights Thursday Afternoon 1-19-23

Iraqi News Highlights Thursday Afternoon 1-19-23

Tlm724 Administrator Bondlady’s Corner

Economists Confirm: The Absence Of A Vision In The 2023 Budget..And Describe It As “The Highest In The History Of Iraq.”

Posted On 2023-01-19 By Sotaliraq   Specialists in economic affairs believe that the government has not clarified the economic vision regarding the issue of the price of a barrel of oil, and it will be facing great embarrassment in light of the lack of financial alternatives, especially with the increase in the salaries of state employees within the upcoming draft budget from 42 trillion dinars to 60 trillion, which exhausts To a large extent, the general budget, and constitutes a huge burden on the volume of financial revenues.

The economic researcher, Nabil Jabbar Al-Tamimi, explained that the volume of the budget circulating through some leaks confirms the existence of a huge budget that may be the highest in the history of Iraq, and may exceed the barrier of 200 trillion dinars.

Al-Tamimi added that the operational side of the budget will exceed 80 trillion dinars, reaching more than 100 trillion dinars, which is a very large amount. Usually, these operational budgets govern government spending, and that the price of oil is $57 per barrel as a minimum to enable the government. to provide these budgets.

The economic researcher explained that the decision-maker in Iraq does not realize the magnitude of the economic effects of the huge budgets that may contribute to increasing inflation in prices in one way or another.

Al-Tamimi expected that the implementation of the budget would be disrupted during the coming period if the crisis continued for several months to come, and that the treatments would require additional time, which would prompt the central bank to print more local currency during the coming period, to strengthen the government’s accounts, which is a risky measure.

He pointed out that the government will rely in the budget on a fixed exchange rate of 1,460 dinars per dollar, and the government may assume an oil price between 60-70 dollars per barrel, which is a speculative price based on the lower limits of oil price expectations.   LINK

Five Sessions For The Iraq Market.. More Than 25 Million Shares Traded, With More Than 26 Million Dinars

Thursday 19 January 2023 16:38 | Economical Number of readings: 194 Baghdad / NINA / - During the third week of January, the Iraq Stock Exchange organized five trading sessions, from Sunday to Thursday.

And he mentioned in a statement: The number of shares traded during this week amounted to more than (25) billion shares, with more than (26) billion dinars.

He added that the trading index in the market closed for the first session of the week at (597.27) points, while the index closed at the end of the week at (606.56) points, achieving an increase of (1.53%) over its closing at the beginning of the session.

He explained: More than (3100) buying and selling contracts were executed during the week on the shares of the companies listed in the market./End3

https://ninanews.com/Website/News/Details?key=1027675

The Dollar Crosses The Threshold Of 160,000 Dinars In The Local Markets

Economie| 10:20 - 01/19/2023   Baghdad - Mawazine News  Today, Thursday, the exchange rates of the dollar witnessed an increase in the local markets.   Selling price: 160,200 dinars per 100 dollars  Buying price: 160,000 dinars per 100 dollars   https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=217019

Rashid: Iraq Has Enough Capital To Advance The Country

Thursday 19 January 2023 16:03 | Economical Number of readings: 261  Baghdad / NINA / - The President of the Republic, Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid, affirmed that Iraq has enough capital to advance the country.

He said in the dialogue session on the Middle East in Davos: What we lack in the Middle East is the financing of private projects and the lack of opportunities in the private sector.

Rashid added: We have to modernize banking legislation and develop the private sector, which is currently missing in the country, indicating that the government has begun to modernize and encourage the private sector./ End 3 https://ninanews.com/Website/News/Details?key=1027671

The Iraqi Fans Address Al-Sudani From The Basra Stadium: “The Dollar Has Gone Down.”

Thursday 19 January 2023 18:42 | political Number of readings: 134  Baghdad / NINA / - The Sports Republican present at the Trunk of the Palm Stadium addressed this evening, Thursday, the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia'a Al-Sudani, by reducing the exchange rate of the dollar in the local market.

It is noteworthy that the price of the dollar jumped today to 165 thousand dinars./ Ended8

https://ninanews.com/Website/News/Details?key=1027721

To read more current and reliable Iraqi news please visit BondLady’s Corner:

https://www.bondladyscorner.com/

Thursday Morning Iraq Economy News Highlights 1-19-23

Thursday Morning Iraq Economy News Highlights 1-19-23

“Davos Forum” .. Revealing The Hidden Side Of The Participants

Posted On2023-01-18 By Sotaliraq  The German newspaper "Bild" quoted a prostitute as recording an unprecedented demand for the services of prostitutes from the pioneers of the "Davos" economic forum, where some of them spent 2,300 euros to spend the night in the brothels of prostitutes.

The newspaper's source said, "Some of the participants request wholesale prostitutes for themselves, their escorts, and employees, and they hold promiscuous parties in hotel rooms."

She indicated that it is impossible to enter some hotels due to “the strict control over the security and comfort of the participants in the forum.”

The 53rd meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) opened on Monday in Davos, Switzerland, and the paragraphs of the second day of the forum will focus on the Ukraine crisis in the absence of Russia and China.

The Russian Embassy in Switzerland confirmed earlier this month that the Russian delegation would not participate in the activities of the Davos Forum.

According to Bloomberg, about 116 billionaires have registered to attend the Davos 2023 conference, an increase of 40% compared to the previous decade. Americans constitute the largest group of billionaires, as 33 billionaires are scheduled to attend, while only 18 billionaires from Europe will attend.

According to the agency, the rise in the number of billionaires from the Gulf countries has contributed to filling the void, a region that “is enjoying new prosperity thanks to the rise in oil prices and the reputation of the Gulf as an oasis of stability in a region with multiple problems.” LINK

The Iraqi Government Attributes The Rapid Rise In The Dollar And Commodities To Two Reasons And Is Reassured: My Time Will End

2023-01-19 03:52   Shafaq News/ The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, described, on Thursday, the rise in the exchange of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar as a "temporary matter", at the same time, attributing the increase in the prices of materials and commodities in the local markets to "speculation and the greed of some traders".

Salih said in an interview with Shafaq News agency, "The electronic platform that the bank recently used to request dollars for foreign remittances came as a shock, but it is temporary because Iraq's hard currency reserves are very large, and it covers trade for more than 20 months, while the international standard is 3 months."

He continued by saying, "The controls regarding the currency auction came based on a popular demand, which is the question of where the money goes ?, which prompted the creation of this platform to find out whether the money really goes to trade and who is the final beneficiary? And do companies really fund Iraq with goods and services?" ?”

Saleh also expressed his surprise at "the ignition of commodity and material prices in this way," describing it as "a kind of greed because all stocks of commodities are imported at an official exchange rate."

He added that "any trader can transfer and buy goods by buying dollars from the Central Bank at the official rate, but what is noted is that the market is exploited, and there are people who speculate and do not care about anyone," noting that "dollar transfers are clean and not based on speculative.”

Saleh also asked that "commodity stocks are currently sufficient for 3-5 years, so why this increase in prices?"

Saleh stressed that "the state is strong and can intervene to provide goods and services, and it is one of the simple things it has, but merchants must take into account the people and the commercial center must not take advantage of the situation, because merchants are still buying dollars at the official price."

The dollar rose against the Iraqi dinar in the parallel markets, reaching more than 163 thousand dinars compared to 100 dollars, after these prices ranged between 147-148 thousand dinars before the establishment of the electronic platform.  LINK

Exceeded 100 Million Dollars.. The Increase In Foreign Remittances In The Currency Auction

2023-01-19 04:33  Shafaq News/ The Central Bank's sales of foreign remittances increased in dollars in an auction today, Thursday, to more than 104 million dollars.

Shafaq News agency reporter stated, "The Central Bank sold today, during its auction for buying and selling the US dollar, 136,124,851 dollars, which the bank covered at a basic exchange rate of 1,460 dinars per dollar.

Our correspondent added that most of the dollar sales went in the form of foreign transfers, amounting to 104,124,851 dollars, while the remaining 32 million dollars went in the form of cash sales.

Our correspondent indicated that the number of banks that bought cash dollars amounted to 9 banks, while the number of banks that responded to requests for strengthening balances abroad reached 13 banks, while the total number of exchange and mediation companies participating in the auction was 75 companies.  LINK

The Central Bank Sells More Than 135 Million Dollars In An Auction Today

Money and business   Economy News-Baghdad  The central bank’s sales of foreign remittances in dollars rose in an auction today, Thursday, to more than $104 million.

According to the statistics of the bank published on its official website, "The central bank sold today, during its auction for buying and selling US dollars, 136 million 124 thousand and 851 dollars, which the bank covered at a basic exchange rate of 1460 dinars per dollar."

And she added, "Most of the dollar sales went in the form of foreign remittances, amounting to 104 million and 124 thousand and 851 dollars, while the rest of 32 million dollars went in the form of cash sales."

And she indicated, "The banks that bought cash dollars amounted to 9 banks, while the number of banks that met requests to strengthen balances abroad reached 13 banks, while the total number of exchange and mediation companies participating in the auction was 75 companies."

Views 2   Added 01/19/2023 - 1:56 PM  Updated 01/19/2023 - 1:56 PM

https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=31977

Al-Sudani: The Draft Budget Law Took Time For Discussions

2023-01-19 02:51  Shafaq News/ The Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia' Al-Sudani, chaired this morning, Thursday, a meeting dedicated to discussing the final details of the draft federal budget law 2023.

Al-Sudani said during the meeting, according to a statement issued by his media office, that the draft budget law took time for discussions, in order to reach a budget that is consistent with the priorities of the ministerial curriculum, and meets the goals of the government program in fighting poverty and providing basic services to citizens, economic reform, and combating corruption.

He stressed the importance of speeding up the approval of the budget law by the parliament, as it is directly related to many economic and social issues and files, and helps the government implement its programs and strategy in vital fields and sectors, which would provide the best services to citizens. LINK

Al-Sudani Stresses The Importance Of Expediting The Approval Of The Budget Law By The House Of Representatives

Iraq   12:02 - 2023-01-19  Today, Thursday, Prime Minister Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani stressed the importance of expediting the approval of the budget by the House of Representatives.

And the media office of the Prime Minister stated in a statement, "Al-Sudani chaired a meeting devoted to discussing the final details of the draft federal budget law 2023."

The Prime Minister stated, "The draft budget law took time from discussions, in order to reach a budget that is consistent with the priorities of the ministerial curriculum, and meets the objectives of the government program in fighting poverty and providing basic services to citizens, economic reform, and combating corruption."

He pointed out, "The importance of expediting the approval of the budget law by the parliament, because it is directly related to many economic and social issues and files, and helps the government implement its programs and strategy in vital fields and sectors, which would provide the best services to citizens."   https://kirkuktv.net/AR/Details/12564

Saudi Arabia Announces END Of Dollar Dominance In Global Oil Trade …

Saudi Arabia Announces END Of Dollar Dominance In Global Oil Trade …

OPERATION SANDMAN now activated –  the dominoes begin to fall on the US empire

(Natural News) As we have consistently warned for more than a year, Operation Sandman has now been activated, with Saudi Minister of Finance, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, telling Bloomberg TV (during a WEF Davos interview) that the Saudis will gladly accept all currencies for settling oil transactions. (Reported by OilPrice.com)

The foundational pillar of US global currency dominance and its ability to export inflation to the world is based on the so-called Petrodollar status, in which the US agreed to protect the (corrupt) Saudi kingdom in exchange for the Saudis demanding US dollars for all oil transaction settlements. This agreement has been in place since the Bretton Woods conference in 1944 and has carried the dollar until today.

But this arrangement is now coming to an end.

Very few Americans have any clue what this means to their assets and their future.

Also, very few people realize that over 100 nations are prepared to renounce the petrodollar as the dominant currency for oil settlements. Instead, many nations are going to switch to using the Yuan (from China), or the digital Yuan, or the new BRICS+ commodities-backed reserve currency that’s about to be launched by China, Russia, India and other participating nations.

The dominoes have been set into motion. And as this plays out, it means dollars will come flooding back to the United States as world nations dump the greenback fiat currency they no longer need. This means dollars will experience rapid devaluation in their purchasing power, which will be reflected in higher prices — i.e. inflation — in consumer goods such as groceries, automobiles and more.

Although this will take time to be fully realized, it also means that those people left holding dollars will be financial ruined as dollar purchasing power evaporates. The government response to all this is almost certain to include a new wave of mindless money printing, adding yet more dollar inventory to the flood of dollars being dumped by nations of the world. The end game is, of course, hyperinflation as the dollar loses not just 2% of its purchasing power per month, but may even slide into losing 10%, 20% or even more per month (in the final blowout stage). Think Weimar Germany as the end game here.

Protecting Assets Now Becomes A Matter Of Urgency

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

 podcast:  https://www.brighteon.com/c83e5d1f-305d-465b-b2cc-4b187d967c5b

https://www.naturalnews.com/2023-01-18-operation-sandman-now-activated-saudi-arabia-announces-end-dollar-dominance-oil.html

"Tidbits From TNT" Thursday Morning 1-19-2023

TNT:

Tishwash:  The Iraqi dinar may also fall victim after the collapse of the Toman and the lira in Syria, Turkey, Iran and Lebanon

Despite the stability of the Iraqi dinar in the official markets, the news reveals a violent decline of the Iraqi dinar against the dollar in the parallel markets.

According to the "Investing.com" financial platform, the Iraqi dinar is falling against the dollar, despite the fall of the US dollar index below the 102 levels, following the release of US inflation data and its significant slowdown.

The price of the dollar in Iraq against the local currency reached 1610 dinars per 100 US dollars, while it settled in the official market at 1450 dinars per 100 dollars. Thus, the dollar gap between the official and parallel rate has now returned to more than 11%.

The decline of the local currency in the parallel market led the Iraqis to rush towards gold as a safe haven to preserve the value of their money, and gold continues to rise inside Iraq, and its prices have risen 10% compared to the last quarter of last year, and an ounce of 21-carat gold, the most prevalent in Iraq, is 78,530 dinars.    link

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Tishwash:   After his refusal to attend.. Parliamentary Integrity is moving legally against the Governor of the Central Bank

The Parliamentary Integrity Committee announced, on Thursday, its intention to take legal measures against the governor of the Central Bank after he refused to attend hosting it to follow up on the issue of the dollar’s ​​exchange rate hike. 

Committee member Hadi al-Salami said in an interview seen by /the information/, that "the committee, and after the continuous follow-ups of the rise in the exchange rate of the US dollar against the Iraqi dinar, which led to great resentment because of its great impact on the dealings of merchants and local markets and its direct impact on the daily livelihood of citizens, Yesterday, Wednesday, a hosting invitation was sent to the governor of the Central Bank to come to the committee and discuss the issue of restoring the exchange rate to its previous one, but he refused to attend. 

Al-Salami added, "The committee is determined to take legal measures against him, especially since he refused the committee's request to send the details of the daily publication to the banks after sending him an official letter," stressing that "the Integrity Committee has the right to know the fate of the foreign currency in the country, and to find out what is currently going on, is it Monopoly or smuggling of hard currency.

He pointed out that "the committee has a plan and continuous follow-ups regarding the rise in dollar prices, because of its direct and significant impact on the lives of citizens and the sustenance of their families."   link

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CandyKisses:  Al-Sudani chairs a meeting on the “final details” of the general budget

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani chaired, on Thursday morning, a meeting on the "final details" of the country's draft general budget for the current year.

"Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani chairs a special meeting to discuss the final details of the draft federal budget law 2023," his media office said in a brief statement received by Shafaq News Agency.

In the middle of this month, Iraqi President Abdullatif Jamal Rashid informed Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani of his intention to approve the draft federal budget law of 2023, as he announced her arrival at the presidential office.

Al-Sudani announced, on (3/1/2022), the increase in the amount of salaries in the general budget for the year 2023, but that the draft law needs a lot of time.

Al-Sudani said in a press conference that the amount of salaries in the budget increased from 41 to 62 trillion dinars, explaining that the budget needs a lot of time.

The Parliamentary Finance Committee indicates that the completion rate of the draft budget 2023 amounted to more than 95%, while pointing out that "last touches" are delaying its discussion in the corridors of the Council of Ministers.

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Tishwash:   The President of the Republic: Iraq is going through a period of advancement and development, and there are strategic and development projects

Today, Thursday, the President of the Republic, Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid, affirmed that Iraq is going through a period of advancement and development, indicating that there are strategic and development projects.

The Presidency of the Republic said in a statement, "The President of the Republic, Abd al-Latif Jamal Rashid, received, at his residence in Davos, the Prime Minister of Tunisia, Naglaa Boudin, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum." 

And she added, "During the meeting, they discussed developing cooperation and developing tourism activity between the two countries and benefiting from important tourism facilities in Iraq and Tunisia, and political developments on the regional and international arenas were also discussed."

And the President of the Republic stated that "Iraq is going through a period of advancement and development, and there are strategic and development projects for the purpose of improving the service, health and educational aspects for all Iraqis."

The President of the Republic affirmed that "Iraq's firm positions regarding all regional and international challenges," pointing to "the need to support international efforts to establish stability in the region, and to confront the economic and environmental challenges facing the world."

In turn, the Tunisian Prime Minister affirmed "her country's desire to develop bilateral relations and expand cooperation between the two countries to serve common interests     link

Mot: ... When Reality Hits while Raising the ""Wee Folks"" ~~

Mot: ~~~ What a Come Back!! --- LOL 

Wednesday Evening Iraq Economy News Highlights 1-18-23

Wednesday Evening Iraq Economy News Highlights 1-18-23

Confirmation Of Completion Of WTO Accession Requirements

Economical  01/17/2023  Baghdad: Haider Fleeh Al-Rubaie   The economist, Bassem Jamil Antoine, urged the need to complete the requirements for Iraq's transformation into an authentic member of the World Trade Organization, and prior to its official accession, by working on fundamental economic reforms that would enable the country to compete commercially with imported goods, stressing the need to make a jump in the various sectors of production. , industrial, agricultural and tourism sectors, as well as the creation of a customs system capable of providing a full cover of protection for the local product.

The economic calls aimed at achieving a "trade balance" coincided with the Ministry of Commerce's announcement of a plan to complete the requirements for joining the World Trade Organization, stressing that this year will witness the completion of technical files in terms of goods, services and intellectual property, in addition to holding official meetings at the organization's headquarters in Geneva.

The (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that "regulates and facilitates" international trade between nations. It officially began its operations on December 1, 1995 in accordance with the Marrakesh Agreement. It is the largest international economic organization in the world.

According to Wikipedia, it includes 164 member states and represents It accounts for more than 98% of world trade and global commercial GDP, and works to facilitate global trade in goods, services, and intellectual property between participating countries by providing a framework for negotiating trade agreements that usually aim to reduce or eliminate tariffs, supply quotas, and other trade barriers.

In order to achieve the highest economic results for Iraq as a result of its accession to the (WTO), Antoine believes during his interview with "Al-Sabah" that "Iraq cannot be isolated from the rest of the countries of the world, and it must establish economic and trade relations with various countries,

but it must take into account the internal interests in That matter is above all,” stressing that “Iraq’s entry into the World Trade Organization now, and its transformation from an observer member to an authentic member, I do not see it as a step that could benefit the country.”

Antoine attributed the necessity of "postponing" the accession process at the present time to a number of reasons, putting at the forefront of those reasons the decline of the various production sectors in Iraq, whether industry, agriculture or tourism, stressing that it is proceeding slowly and is not developing sufficiently, so the factors of loss are from Joining will be present according to these economic measures.

The expert, Antoine, also drew attention to Iraq's actual need for a solid customs system commensurate with the internal production sector, in order to provide protection and achieve balance, pointing out that the combined data show that the benefits of joining the global organization cannot achieve commercial or economic results that serve Iraq, and I see the need for it to remain Iraq is an observer member to gain more experience as well as work to strengthen the productive sectors, especially industrial and agricultural, to be able to compete in the event of entry into the trade organization, otherwise the local production will not be able to compete and this will lead to an increase in unemployment and poverty due to the cessation of industrial and agricultural facilities that will not To be able to compete with the importer.

The Ministry of Commerce has detailed its plan to complete the requirements for Iraq's accession to the World Trade Organization.

The media center in the ministry stated to the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that "the committee concerned with Iraq's accession to the World Trade Organization, headed by the Minister of Commerce and membership of representatives of ministries and agencies as well as representatives of the private sector, is working to complete the requirements for Iraq's accession to the organization."

He explained that "the ministry's plan during the current year includes completing technical accession files in terms of goods, services and intellectual property, in addition to harmonizing legislation and laws with the agreements of the multilateral organization."

He pointed out that "the plan includes holding official meetings in the organization in Geneva, and that there be high coordination with the member states that carry economic weight in the organization to mobilize support and speed up accession procedures and make Iraq an active member and partner in making economic decisions and drawing trade policies that enhance Iraq's integration into the International Economy".    https://alsabaah.iq/70059-.html

Government Movement To Complete The Requirements For Iraq's Accession To The World Trade Organization

Money and business   Economy News – Baghdad On Wednesday, the Ministry of Commerce detailed its plan to complete the requirements for Iraq's accession to the World Trade Organization.

The media center in the ministry stated to the official news agency, "The committee concerned with Iraq's accession to the World Trade Organization, headed by the Minister of Commerce and membership of representatives of ministries and agencies as well as representatives from the private sector, is working to complete the requirements for Iraq's accession to the organization."

He explained, "The ministry's plan during the current year includes completing technical accession files in terms of goods, services and intellectual property, in addition to harmonizing legislation and laws with the agreements of the multilateral organization."

He pointed out that "the plan includes holding official meetings in the organization in Geneva, and that there be high coordination with the member states that carry economic weight in the organization to mobilize support and speed up accession procedures and make Iraq an active member and partner in making economic decisions and drawing trade policies that enhance Iraq's integration into the International Economy".

He pointed out that "the Minister of Trade confirmed - within the prepared plan - the preparation of the Iraqi negotiating team, which will engage in negotiating rounds with the member states of the organization by strengthening the negotiating capabilities of the members and benefiting from the experiences of the countries."   Views 27   Added 01/04/2023 - 3:56 PM   Updated 01/04/2023 - 4:37 PM

https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=31703

Parliamentary Integrity: The Governor Of The Bank Refuses To Provide Us With The Currency Auction Bulletin, And We Will Take Action

2023-01-18 05:01   Shafaq News/ The Parliamentary Integrity Committee revealed, on Wednesday, that the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Mustafa Ghaleb, refused to provide it with the daily sales bulletin of the currency auction.

Committee member, MP Hadi al-Salami told Shafaq News agency, that the Parliamentary Integrity Committee sent a letter to the Governor of the Central Bank, Mustafa Ghaleb, at the beginning of January regarding providing the committee with the daily sales bulletin of the currency sale auction, but the bank governor refused that.

He added that the Parliamentary Integrity Committee has the right to follow up the exchange rate of the dollar, considering that the governor of the Central Bank bears responsibility for the high exchange rate of the dollar.

Al-Salami explained that the Parliamentary Integrity Committee will take all administrative and legal measures against the governor of the Central Bank by not responding to a letter and not attending the Integrity Committee.

An official document signed by the Head of the Age in the Parliamentary Integrity Committee, Representative Nahida Al-Dulaimi, showed a request submitted to the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, in which it stated, “For oversight and audit matters, and in accordance with the provisions of Article 61 / Second of the Iraqi Constitution and Article 27 / Seventh of the law of the Iraqi Parliament in force, and Article 78 From the internal system of the House of Representatives law, please provide us with the publication of the daily sales of the currency sale auction, including the parties that were provided with the currency and the amount of the amounts on a daily basis, on the committee’s e-mail. LINK

Our Credit Is Going Up And Our Dinar Is Going Down

WED, 01-18-2023, PM 10:06   TAYSEER AL-ASADI   Written by: Jawad Al-Attar

Since the new government assumed its work three months ago, and its main motto is a government of national service that aims to support and enable the simple segments of a free and decent life, but the sudden drop in the value of the Iraqi dinar against the dollar and the increase in the prices of food, medicine, and most services ... complicated the situation and made the task difficult for the prime minister and his cabinet, which is still new!!!.

What is the solution to this serious challenge? Which may worsen or get out of control if effective measures are not taken to stop the deterioration of the living conditions of the marginalized classes.

The departure of the Iraqi dinar from the track of the rate set by the Central Bank less than two months ago from now came with an external action represented by the decisions of the US Treasury and the US Federal Bank, and whatever their strict procedures, right or wrong, the question remains: Why now?

Why was it not done ten years ago or in stages? Is the goal to overthrow the Sudanese project in supporting the poor because the rise in the dollar means increasing the burden on those with limited income and increasing poverty rates among all the people, or is the goal to eliminate corruption in the currency auction and this is the responsibility of the Iraqis and there are constitutional institutions specialized in this matter.

All arguments and pretexts for the timing of applying transparency measures to the foreign currency auction according to the terms of the US Federal Reserve fall if we know that the most affected are the poor Iraqi people first; Secondly, the new government; Thirdly, the stability we hope for; After laboring for more than a year before the formation of the Sudanese government. Do these measures deserve the adventurous spirit of their implementation now? A question for politicians, decision-makers, and even the Americans.

https://www-non14-net.translate.goog/public/154076?_x_tr_sch=http&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en

Some Wednesday "Vietnam News" Posted by Henig at KTFA 1-18-2023

KTFA:  Vietnam

Henig:  Shares make large gains on banking, securities stocks

January, 18/2023 - 06:55

Vietnamese equities closed sharply higher on Tuesday, bolstered by a dramatic injection of cash flow into banking and securities.

HÀ NỘI - Vietnamese equities closed sharply higher on Tuesday, bolstered by a dramatic injection of cash flow into banking and securities.

The market’s benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) ended the day at 1,088.29 points, an increase of 2.03 per cent.

The breadth of the market stayed in positive territory, with more stocks gaining points. Specifically, 352 stocks advanced on the southern bourse, while 69 stocks inched lower.

Investors poured nearly VNĐ11.7 trillion (US$499.3 million) into the southern exchange, equivalent to a trading volume of 673.9 million shares.

The VN30-Index, which tracks the 30 biggest stocks on HoSE, also increased by 2.6 per cent, to 1,103.73 points.

Twenty-nine stocks in the VN30 basket witnessed positive performance on the trading day, while only one tumbled.

Strong cash flow poured into blue-chips, spurring the market’s gains. Among the most notable gainers were Hoà Phát Group (HPG), the Việt Nam Rubber Group (GVR), SSI Securities Inc (SSI), Khang Điền House (KDH) and FPT Corporation (FPT), Vingroup (VIC), Vincom Retail (VRE), Masan Group (MSN), Vinhomes (VHM), Novaland (NVL), Vietjet (VJC), Vinamilk (VNM), Mobile World Group (MWG) and Bảo Việt Holdings (BVH).

Bank stock prices have witnessed a substantial increase such as Agribank Securities Corporation (AGR), Asia - Pacific Securities Joint Stock Company (APS), Viet Nam Bank For Industry & Trade Securities JSC (CTS), Military Bank (MBB), Petrovietnam Securities Incorporated (PSI), Sacombank Securities Joint Stock Company (SBS), VNDirect Securities Co (VND), FPT Securities Joint Stock Company (FTS) and Liên Việt Post Bank (LPB).

“In the last week of the Lunar Year, BSC maintains the view that VN-Index may not have too strong fluctuations and will continue to accumulate in the range of 1,050-1,065,” said BIDV Securities Co (BSC).

Foreign investors net bought VNĐ227.96 billion on HOSE, including FUESSVFL with VNĐ124.26 billion, Hoà Phát Group (HPG) with VNĐ30.29 billion, Bank for Investment and Development (BID) with VNĐ29.99 billion. Foreign investors were net sellers on HNX with the value of VNĐ1.5 billion.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index moved up. The northern market’s benchmark closed at 215.15 points, a decline of 2.02 per cent.

During the session, nearly 64.7 million shares were traded on HNX, worth VNĐ934 billion.

— VNS   LINK

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Henig:  Support industries vital for global integration

06:00 | 18/01/2023

(VEN) - “Entering 2023, Vietnam needs to promote the development of support industries to help the country’s industrial sector effectively participate in the global supply chain,” said Deputy Director of the Industry Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) Ngo Khai Hoan in an interview with Vietnam Economic News’ Lan Anh.

What is your evaluation of the linkage model between foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises and Vietnamese companies?

Most FDI enterprises invest in Vietnam to take advantage of investment incentives, low labor costs, and other advantages offered by our various free trade agreements (FTAs). As a result, they do not pay attention to the formation of domestic supply chains and have only a loose connection with domestic enterprises, which does not create spillover effects between the FDI sector and the domestic economic sector.

Currently, with the increase of per capita income, Vietnam’s advantages of low-cost labor are no longer sufficient magnets for large FDI enterprises. Vietnam must therefore adopt breakthrough policies, build sustainable cooperation and connection models between the government, FDI enterprises and Vietnamese companies.

What should the government and businesses do to promote the development of support industries?

The government needs to improve the capability of Vietnamese enterprises by adopting solutions on business connections, market information, human resource development, etc. These long-term goals need to be implemented simultaneously to raise awareness of related parties and the supporting industry community towards long-term and sustainable development goals.

Vietnamese enterprises also need to be proactive and make efforts to access the government's support programs, as well as equip themselves with new technologies and innovative management methods to optimize production and improve competitiveness, in order to manufacture products of high technology content and high added value.

FDI enterprises should continue to actively coordinate with the Vietnamese government and enterprises in sharing information, support training, transferring technology, and facilitating the participation of Vietnamese enterprises in long-term, sustainable supply chains.

What specific opportunities did the selection of six prioritized industries in the supporting industry development strategy create for foreign investors and Vietnamese enterprises?

The selection of the six prioritized industries following Decree 111/2015/ND-CP, including textiles and garments, footwear, electronics, automotive, mechanical and high-tech industries, reflect government determination in these fields. This is one of the most important solutions for Vietnam to affirm its position in the global supply chain.

In addition, the selection is a signal and basis to attract and encourage FDI enterprises to invest in or expand investment in the above-mentioned industries. Particularly, it will give priority to projects of high technology content that use advanced and clean technologies, adopt modern management and have spillover and connective effects with global production and supply chains.

In 2023, the promotion of domestic support industries is expected to help the Vietnamese industrial sector effectively participate in the global supply and value chains.

According to the MoIT, supporting industry development is one of the most important solutions to improve the quality of Vietnam’s economy, promote its sustainable growth and enhance its attraction to foreign investors, thereby helping domestic enterprises deeply participate in supply chains of FDI enterprises and global value chains of multinational corporations.

Lan Anh  LINK

Henig:  Forest exports target $17.5 billion

January, 18/2023 - 09:52

Trần Thanh Bình from the Import and Export Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade, said the wood industry, like all trade sectors, could not avoid difficulties.

HÀ NỘI — Despite many difficulties, the export of wood and forest products still reached the target of US$16.9 billion last year. Continuing this momentum, the industry has set an export turnover target of $17.5 billion this year.

Trần Thanh Bình from the Import and Export Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade, said the wood industry, like all trade sectors, could not avoid difficulties.

The reason is that the COVID-19 pandemic, the political situation and the high inflation coming from the US and EU major markets make it difficult for businesses to sign and fulfil orders.

The common difficulty of wood industry enterprises is high input costs and rising prices, which reduces the competitiveness of goods, including timber.

Strong fluctuations in the financial and monetary market also make wood production lose its competitive advantage.

Rapidly rising interest rates lead to high capital costs and the risk of disruption to the supply of raw materials and the value chain for the wood industry.

One of the critical drivers of exports is the expansion of exports in China, Japan and South Korea.

The US, Japan, China, EU and South Korea accounted for the total export value estimated at nearly $15.5 billion, accounting for 91 per cent of the export value of forest products, said the general secretary of the Việt Nam Timber and Forest Product Association Ngô Sỹ Hoài admitted.

In the opposite direction, the import value of wood and wood products was estimated at $2.8 billion last year, up 4 per cent compared to 2021.

The industry has a trade surplus of about $14.1 billion, up 6.5 per cent year-on-year.

The industry sets a positive target, with export turnover reaching $17.5 billion this year.

The growth rate of forestry production value is from 5 to 5.5 per cent. The forest cover rate remained stable at 42 per cent.

Concentrated afforestation will be 245,000 hectares, 140 million scattered trees will be planted, the output of harvested forest timber will be 22 million cubic metres, and the revenue from forest environmental services will be about VNĐ3 trillion (US$127 million).

Dealing with trade remedy lawsuits

Việt Nam is integrating very deeply with the free trade process through many trade agreements. Therefore, trade competition will become increasingly fierce; many countries apply self-defence measures.

Hoài explained that the wood industry has been facing anti-dumping lawsuits.

The country has over 6,000 small and medium enterprises, of which about 3,000 enterprises participate in the global supply chain.

Hoài emphasised the need to prepare well in two stages to respond well to trade defence cases.

The first is the pre-suit; before signing a commercial contract and preparing the shipment of wooden furniture for export, enterprises must listen and equip the best tools.

Enterprises needed to apply modern accounting software so that when there is a problem, it could provide proof, invoices and documents to prove business transparency.

Next comes dealing with the major market lawsuits that initiated the investigation.

"Vietnamese businesses are weak in knowledge of international law, foreign languages, and informatics," he said.

Strengthening corporate capacity management was essential, which included investing in knowledge, technology and people.

In addition, the role of each local timber association, the Việt Nam Timber Association, and the authorities must be enhanced, timely warnings to businesses must be increased, and training courses for businesses on trade defence skills, criticism, and record-keeping must be organised.

— VNS   LINK

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Henig:  Trade with Australia hits record high in 2022

January, 18/2023 - 08:56

Việt Nam has become Australia's 10th largest trade partner for the first time, while Australia is now Việt Nam's seventh largest trade partner.

SYDNEY — Two-way trade between Việt Nam and Australia topped US$15.7 billion in 2022, up 27 per cent year-on-year, statistics from the Việt Nam Trade Office in Australia revealed.

Last year, Việt Nam exported $5.55 billion worth of goods to Australia, a year-on-year increase of 26 per cent while its imports from the market saw a yearly hike of 27.3 per cent to $10.14 billion. 

Vietnamese export items posting high growth amid various challenges included iron and steel (103 per cent); electric wires and cables (81 per cent); coffee (63 per cent); machinery, equipment, tools, and other spare parts (62 per cent) besides footwear (41 per cent);  aquatic products (37 per cent); textiles (26 per cent); handbags, suitcases and umbrellas (25 per cent).

At the same time, Australia continued to be an important supplier of raw materials for Việt Nam’s production of coal, cotton, ores and other minerals, and wheat. 

Head of the office Nguyễn Phú Hòa said that the industry structure of Việt Nam and Australia were complementary to each other, helping the two economies enhance their advantages instead of competing.

He added Việt Nam had become Australia's 10th largest trade partner for the first time, while Australia is now Việt Nam's seventh largest trade partner.

According to economic experts, there remain room for the two countries to promote bilateral trade.

The implementation of free trade agreements, including the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANFTA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), have been offering opportunities for further cooperation between the two nations. 

Chu Hoàng Long, Lecturer at the Australian National University (ANU) suggested State agencies and businesses from the two nations clearly identify their strengths and comparative advantages; carefully study the legal system, customs, regulations and standards of goods and services while improving their local knowledge and understanding about the capacity of partners in order to make good use of cooperation opportunities. 

For Việt Nam, it was necessary for the Southeast Asian country to enlist the support of Australia to improve its investment and business environment, so that it could be ready and proactive to receive technology transfer, upgrade value chains in both governance and technology to quickly connect with Australian value chains and reach out to the global value chain.

This year, the Việt Nam Trade Office in Australia plans to implement promotion programmes for industries with large turnover and follows the directions of the Ministry of Industry and Trade in expanding Vietnamese exports, especially frozen fruits such as jackfruit, passion fruit and durian besides some spices. 

— VNS   LINK

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Henig:  Challenges persist for small and medium-sized domestic packaging companies

January, 17/2023 - 09:41

According to Ngô Đức Nhật, co-founder of HCM City-based Hoàng Phát Packaging Co, which specialises in carton packaging production, this market segment had slowed down during the social distancing period due to restrictions in good transportation and import and export activities.

HÀ NỘI — Despite the hard work of small and medium-sized domestic packaging companies to stay in tune with market demands and apply the latest production technologies, they continue to face a host of challenges.

According to Ngô Đức Nhật, co-founder of HCM City-based Hoàng Phát Packaging Co, which specialises in carton packaging production, this market segment had slowed down during the social distancing period due to restrictions in good transportation and import and export activities.

Similarly, the glass packaging segment was also affected when consumption of cosmetic products and high-end drinks in glass bottles slowed down as bottled water producers preferred to use plastic packaging, Nhật told thesaigontimes.vn.

In the post-pandemic period, Việt Nam’s major import markets faced many difficulties and the risk of economic recession, so they cut back on goods imports and outsourcing orders. That had reduced the amount of packaging they consumed, especially those used to pack goods for export, Nhật said, emphasising difficulties local pulp packaging producers had been coping with in production activities.

Furthermore, dependence on imported raw materials, which had been significantly influenced by many relevant factors such as prices of gasoline and logistics services, also affected the firm's revenues and profits, he spoke to the online newspaper.

The Việt Nam Pulp and Paper Association also agreed. It said packaging enterprises still faced many challenges, such as consumption competition among domestic enterprises due to many new production lines being put into production, harsh competition from foreign rivals, lack of raw materials and high raw material prices and transportation costs.

Moreover, the market has also been experiencing many changes in packaging trends and demands. For example, in the face of climate change, concerns about business sustainability were more important than ever, with a particular focus on packaging and waste generated from food, beverages and consumer products.

Therefore, domestic enterprises needed to grasp this trend to make the necessary changes to solve these challenges.

According to the association, several enterprises had converted packaging production technology from recycled PP plastic pellets - a material with abundant domestic supply. That helped them meet environmental protection requirements and avoid affecting manufacturing costs.

Haiquanonline.com.vn cited a representative of Đồng Tiến Paper and Packaging Co saying that consumers' awareness about the classification and recycling of waste was increasing. Still, recycling in Việt Nam faced many obstacles due to the lack of collection facilities and the low quality of output materials because of old technology, leading to commercial recycled products not having high value.

Therefore, the company invested VNĐ57.8 billion in a system of factories and production lines for toilet paper and packaging from recycled materials.

For Hoàng Phát Packaging Co, Nhật said his company was striving to automate production processes, facilitating IT appliances to improve the management quality and finding solutions to improve the quality and the design of packaging products to meet the requirements of the demanding partners.

Diversifying packaging products would also be included, he said.

In the long run, Nhật also called for packaging enterprises, especially small and medium-sized ones, to foster their cooperation.

He explained that currently, each enterprise often covers all stages or several stages in the production process. That forced them to divide their investment capital and buy out-of-date machines.

If the firms could team up, each enterprise could specialise in one stage to invest in a modern, high-quality machine for that particular stage.

Thanks to co-operation, the finished product of each stage would have a high quality, and all members of the production chain would benefit from that.

According to Nhật, quality was the most effective language for promotion, and open-minded and cooperative thinking would help the firms have more customers.

A recent survey by Vietnam Report showed that there remained huge room for the domestic packaging industry to promote growth in the future. Specifically, when Việt Nam and many countries that were the main export markets of packaging enterprises had also switched to a strategy of living with COVID-19, the sector had many prospects for recovery as high consumption would open growth opportunities for the packaging industry.

On the other hand, free trade agreements such as EVFTA, CPTPP, and RCEP continued to open up export opportunities for industries that used a lot of packagings such as agriculture, forestry, fishery, and processing industry, along with the large demand for high-quality packaging in the world such as high-grade packaging paper, which presented great export opportunities for Việt Nam's packaging industry.

FiinGroup also said in its report that packaging was one of the fastest growing industries in Việt Nam, with an annual growth rate of 13.4 per cent between the 2015-20 period. It was expected to continue double-digit growth in the coming years.

The strong development of the packaging sector in Việt Nam was driven by solid growth of such related sectors as F&B, consumer goods, export activities, and the robust development of modern trade.

To support the development of the local packaging industry, FiinGroup mentioned several solutions for domestic packaging companies, including catching up on the key trends in global packaging materials and designs, such as environmentally friendly and biodegradable products or products from recycled materials.

They should also have a thorough understanding of the requirements/commitments on certification of origin, technical standards, and sustainable development of the bilateral and multilateral FTAs Việt Nam signed in recent years to boost exports.

They should also pay attention to accelerating digital transformation, and automation of manufacturing processes to improve efficiency and product quality, it said.

— VNS   LINK

Iraqi News Highlights Wednesday Afternoon 1-18-23

Iraqi News Highlights Wednesday Afternoon 1-18-23

Tlm724 Administrator Bondlady’s Corner

The $100 Category Exceeds 161,000 Dinars With The Closing In Baghdad And Erbil

Posted On2023-01-18 By Sotaliraq  The exchange rates of the dollar rose against the Iraqi dinar, today, Wednesday, with the closure of the main stock exchange in Baghdad, and Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region.   Our correspondent said that the central Kifah Stock Exchange in Baghdad closed at 161,400 Iraqi dinars for 100 dollars.

While the prices this morning were 160,500 Iraqi dinars for every 100 dollars. Our correspondent indicated that the buying and selling prices in exchange shops in the local markets in Baghdad rose, as the selling price reached 162,000 Iraqi dinars, while the purchase prices reached 160,000 dinars for every 100 dollars. For every 100 dollars, the purchase price is 161,950 dinars for 100 dollars.  LINK

https://www.sotaliraq.com/2023/01/18/%d9%81%d8%a6%d8%a9-100-%d8%af%d9%88%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%b1-%d8%aa%d8%aa%d8%ae%d8%b7%d9%89-161-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%81-%d8%af%d9%8a%d9%86%d8%a7%d8%b1-%d9%85%d8%b9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a5%d8%ba%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%82/

The dollar settles at 159,500 dinars in the Iraqi market

Economie| 10:03 - 01/18/2023  Baghdad - Mawazine News   Today, Wednesday, the exchange rates of the dollar witnessed stability in the local markets.   Selling price: 159,500 dinars per 100 dollars  Buying price: 159,200 dinars per 100 dollars   https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=216940

Oil Prices Continue To Gain On Expectations Of A Recovery In Chinese Demand

Economie| 08:44 - 01/18/2023  Follow-up - Mawazine News  Oil prices rose, on Wednesday, to continue the gains from the previous session, driven by optimism that the easing of strict restrictions related to Covid-19 in China will lead to a recovery in fuel demand in the largest oil importer in the world.

Brent crude futures rose 52 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $86.44 a barrel by 0151 GMT, after rising 1.7 percent in the previous session, according to Reuters data.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 55 cents, or 0.7%, to $80.73 a barrel, after rising 0.4% on Tuesday.

"Oil prices have been supported by growing hopes that fuel demand in China will rebound after the recent shift in its COVID-19 policy," said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities.

"OPEC's optimistic outlook on Chinese demand has also supported market sentiment," he added, predicting an upward path this week. https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=216932

The President Of The Republic To The President Of The European Bank For Reconstruction: Iraq Possesses The Will And Has The Capabilities For Comprehensive National Development

Wednesday 18 January 2023 18:34 | Economical Number of readings: 131

Baghdad / NINA / - The President of the Republic, Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid, received today, Wednesday, in the World Economic Forum building, the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Odile Renaud Basso.

President Rashid stressed, during the meeting: "Iraq possesses the will, and has the capabilities and energies to support a comprehensive national development."

He added: "The Iraqi government affirms that the promotion of sustainable local development takes place through building strategic regional and international partnerships, and encouraging the private sector in Iraq."/ End 2   https://ninanews.com/Website/News/Details?key=1027494

Al-Nusairi: 426,000 Beneficiaries Of The Central Bank's Initiatives

Money and business   Economy News-Baghdad  Today, Wednesday, the economic and banking advisor to the Association of Iraqi Private Banks, Samir Al-Nusairi, praised the results achieved by the Central Bank's lending initiatives amounting to 18 trillion dinars.

Al-Nusairi said, "The official data for the year 2022 indicate that the beneficiaries of the initiatives amounted to about 426,000 citizens, and that the total amounts that were lent out of the total allocation amounted to 11.5 trillion dinars, with an implementation rate of 63%, at the total level, of which the allocations for revitalizing the housing sector constitute 8. 6 trillion dinars, with an implementation rate of 86% for the Real Estate Bank and 78% for the Housing Fund, to encourage citizens to buy housing units or establish residential properties in residential complexes and cities, up to 150,000 housing units.

Al-Nusairi stressed that "the loans granted by private banks constitute 62% of the allocation to them from the Central Bank of 4 trillion dinars, in addition to allocating another 4 trillion dinars to specialized government banks such as the Industrial and Agricultural Bank, financing large projects and to renewable energy projects,"

explaining that "the total loans granted For all sectors except housing, it contributed to the operation of 60,000 small, medium and large projects, and the employment of more than 271,000 unemployed beneficiaries in these funded projects, including graduates, craftsmen and citizens.

He explained, "The remaining amounts of the 18 trillion dinars, amounting to approximately 6.5 trillion dinars, will be granted this year 2023 to finance small and medium-sized agricultural, industrial, housing, commercial, health and tourism projects and for all economic sectors. It is expected to increase in light of the need to revitalize the economic cycle and stimulate the national economy."

Views 168   Added 01/18/2023 - 11:25 AM  Updated 01/18/2023 - 7:16 PM

https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=31953

The President Of The Republic: The Importance Of Strengthening Relations With The European Bank Regarding The Diversification Of The Economy

Money and business  Economy News – Baghdad President of the Republic Abdel Latif Jamal Rashid received, on Wednesday, the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Odile Renaud Basso, in the World Economic Forum building.

The President of the Republic stressed, according to a statement by his office, "the importance of strengthening relations with the European Bank, especially with regard to diversifying the economy and enhancing its stability, as well as creating appropriate conditions for achieving sustainable economic development that focuses on facilitating business implementation and providing an attractive environment for effective investment."

He added, "Iraq possesses the will, and has the capabilities and energies to support a comprehensive national development," noting that "the Iraqi government confirms that the promotion of sustainable local development takes place through building strategic regional and international partnerships, and encouraging the private sector in Iraq."

The President of the Republic called for "international cooperation to preserve the movement of global food trade and prevent disruption in its supply chain, in a way that enhances global food security."

In turn, the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development expressed the bank's pride in the close relations with Iraq, praising the success of the Iraqi efforts to achieve economic reform, and stressing the European Bank's keenness to develop joint cooperation at various levels.

Views 1   Added 01/18/2023 - 6:49 PM   Updated 01/18/2023 - 6:49 PM

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Central Bank Governor Calls For Support For Iraq In The Face Of Climate Change

Economie| 12:50 - 01/18/2023   Baghdad - Mawazine News, Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Mustafa Ghaleb Makhaif, called, on Wednesday, to support Iraq in facing climate change and reducing its negative effects, stressing the importance of continuing and developing cooperation with United Nations programs.

A statement by the Central Bank, received by Mawazine News, said, "The Governor of the Central Bank, Mustafa Ghaleb Makhaif, received the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program in Iraq, Aoki Lootsma, and his accompanying delegation."

The statement added, "During the meeting, they discussed aspects of joint cooperation between the two sides in several aspects, especially programs and policies aimed at combating poverty and unemployment, according to the priorities set by the government program."

Makhaif expressed his desire "to continue and develop cooperation with United Nations programs, including the Development Program, which provided great support to Iraq in the humanitarian and development aspects."

He called for "supporting Iraq in facing climate change and reducing its negative effects on vulnerable groups in society," reviewing "the plans adopted and financed by this bank for the transition to clean energy."

For his part, Loutsma appreciated the efforts "provided by the Central Bank of Iraq in the development and banking fields," noting that "Iraq possesses many important opportunities, which the program seeks to achieve more cooperation in order to invest and direct them towards development, and the development of various sectors throughout the country in light of The joint action strategy for the coming years, which the UN program is working to complete, and present to the Iraqi government in the coming weeks. Ended    https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=216956

To read more current and reliable Iraqi news please visit BondLady’s Corner:

https://www.bondladyscorner.com/

Wednesday Morning Iraq Economic News Highlights 1-18-23

Wednesday Morning Iraq Economic News Highlights 1-18-23

Collecting Parliamentary Signatures To Demand Discussion Of The Dollar Crisis In The Parliament Session

Baghdad today – Baghdad Today, Wednesday, the head of the Parliamentary Rights Bloc, Representative Saud Al-Saadi, announced the collection of 25 parliamentary signatures regarding placing the dollar exchange rate crisis file on the agenda of the parliament session.    LINK

How Did The Iraq Wars Affect The Real Estate Market In Dubai?

Baghdad today – translation Hussain Sajwani, Executive Director of the Emirati Damac Company, said today, Tuesday, that the renaissance of the real estate market in the UAE is due to the problems that Iraq has gone through during the past years and will continue until recently.

Hussein said, according to what was reported by the American CNBC network and translated (Baghdad Today), that “the significant increase in the value of the UAE real estate sector, which continues to this day, is due to the direct benefit of the Emirates from the situation in Iraq," explaining, "Dubai, in particular, was the largest beneficiary." From the Iran-Iraq war, the Iraqi war in Kuwait, and the Iraqi-American war.

"The immigration of wealthy foreigners and companies from Iraq and some countries in the region due to the political and security events to the UAE has greatly raised the value of the real estate sector, and was the main reason behind its renaissance," he said, In a statement to the network on the sidelines of the Davos summit, pointing out that "the UAE is witnessing another renaissance in the real estate market." Because of the Russian-Ukrainian war," he said.

Sajwani explained that "the UAE real estate market expects an additional increase in value in the event of a conflict between Israel and Iran, despite the great danger that this conflict poses to the security of the UAE itself," noting that "the value of real estate rent has increased by fifty percent annually due to political and security problems in the region.  LINK

Baghdad And Erbil Stress The Importance Of Approving The Draft Oil And Gas Law And Solving Problems

Policy   2023-01-18 | Alsumaria News – Politics   The President of the Republic, Abdul Latif Rashid, and the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, stressed today, Wednesday, the importance of approving the draft oil and gas law and solving problems.

The media office of the President of the Republic stated, in a statement received by Alsumaria News, that "Rashid received, at his residence, the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, on the sidelines of the Davos Economic Forum in Switzerland."

He added, "During the meeting, the latest political and security developments in Iraq were reviewed," noting that "the President of the Republic stressed the importance of joining efforts and unifying visions regarding the challenges facing all Iraqis."

The statement indicated, "The meeting also discussed the misunderstanding between the Kurdish political parties and the need to focus on solving problems and putting the interest of the region's citizens first and at various levels, especially those related to government decisions directly related to people's livelihood."

Rashid called for "the necessity of giving priority to the national interest in all outstanding issues and finding decisive solutions to them in accordance with the constitution and the law, and the importance of approving the draft oil and gas law to achieve justice and adopt transparency in the distribution of wealth among Iraqis."

In turn, the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government stressed "the need to adopt serious dialogue to solve problems between the political forces and the necessity of reaching understandings that strengthen unity among Iraqis and achieve their aspirations for a free and dignified life."

The statement concluded: "Participation in the work of the Davos Economic Forum was discussed, and the importance of conveying a picture of the development, progress and stability that took place in Iraqi cities."  LINK

Baghdad And Erbil Stress The Importance Of Approving The Draft Oil And Gas Law And Solving Problems

WED, 01-18-2023, PM 3:32   KARRAR AL-ASADI   Today, Wednesday, the President of the Republic, Abdul Latif Rashid, and the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, stressed the importance of approving the draft oil and gas law and solving problems.

The media office of the President of the Republic stated, in a statement received by the news agency Noon, that "Rashid received, at his residence, the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, on the sidelines of the Davos Economic Forum in Switzerland."

He added, "During the meeting, the latest political and security developments in Iraq were reviewed," noting that "the President of the Republic stressed the importance of joining efforts and unifying visions regarding the challenges facing all Iraqis."

The statement indicated, "The meeting also discussed the misunderstanding between the Kurdish political parties and the need to focus on solving problems and putting the interest of the region's citizens first and at various levels, especially those related to government decisions directly related to people's livelihood. "

Rashid called for "the necessity of giving priority to the national interest in all outstanding issues and finding decisive solutions to them in accordance with the constitution and the law, and the importance of approving the draft oil and gas law to achieve justice and adopt transparency in the distribution of wealth among Iraqis.”

In turn, the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government stressed "the need to adopt serious dialogue to solve problems between the political forces and the necessity of reaching understandings that strengthen unity among Iraqis and achieve their aspirations for a free and dignified life."

The statement concluded: "Participation in the work of the Davos Economic Forum was discussed, and the importance of conveying a picture of the development, progress and stability that took place in Iraqi cities." https://www-non14-net.translate.goog/public/154064?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_sch=http

Barzani: We Reached An Agreement With Baghdad To "Freeze" Judicial Procedures Until The Oil And Gas Law Is Approved

Policy  - 18-01-2023 Number of readings: 3241  The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, said that the long-standing dispute over the sharing of oil revenues between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan regional government may be resolved within months, by agreeing on an oil and gas law.

The dispute between Erbil and Baghdad emerged in February of last year after the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court issued a ruling stating that the legal foundations of the oil and gas law in the Kurdistan region are unconstitutional.

In this context, Masrour Barzani said that the federal government pledged to freeze for the time being the judicial measures it had taken to "control the oil and gas revenues in the Kurdistan region."

In an interview conducted by Reuters with him on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Masrour Barzani said, “What we agreed on is that all these pressures on the Kurdistan Regional Government will stop and have stopped at the present time, and we will wait until we have an oil and gas law.”

Until this agreement is reached, the two sides will cooperate in managing oil fields, oil sales and revenue sharing, which the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region said will be formally included in the general budget at the end.

On the date of agreement on the oil and gas law, Masrour Barzani stated that it will be within months, and added, "We had a six-month time frame. I don't know how realistic this is, but I hope we can do it as soon as possible." https://www-dijlah-tv.translate.goog/index.php?page=article&id=323114&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en

Economist: Electronic Payment Reduces Corruption And Controls The Dollar In Iraq

Shafaq News/ The economist, Bassem Jamil Antoine, confirmed today, Wednesday, that electronic payment will reduce corruption and control the exchange rate of the dollar, while citizens considered that the process was unsuccessful in Iraq due to the poor living conditions of many of them.

Antoine said in an interview with Shafaq News agency, "Everything new that enters the citizen's daily life encounters a kind of objection and resistance until they get used to it," noting that "this situation requires operations before starting it, such as educating and educating the citizen about the importance of electronic payment, and awareness and media, especially Some citizens' culture in this matter is considered simple."

He added, "Although the process of starting electronic payment cards will be in the month of June, until the import of (POS) devices and (ATM) devices, there is also an option for cash payment that the citizen can use."

And Antoine stressed that "electronic payment has one of the good advantages in its use, which is reducing errors in cash accounts, and it also protects people from the transmission of diseases, and reduces corruption, as it will impose control on the dollar when capitals are released and laundered, meaning that there will be control over them, and this matter is also It is used in almost all countries of the world.

For his part, the citizen, Hassan Hadi, said in an interview with Shafaq News agency, "Despite the electronic payment process, it is considered one of the banking development processes, which is what is in effect in the countries of the world, but it cannot be applied in a country like Iraq," noting that "most of the citizens in Iraq are from The poor class, whose strength is on a daily basis, and therefore they do not have financial surpluses in order to fill the card with money to shop with it from shopping stores, restaurants, and other stores.

He added, "The banks in Iraq, whether governmental or private, are shrouded in many problems and administrative red tape that are difficult to deal with and issue such electronic payment cards."

Yesterday, Tuesday (January 17, 2023), the Prime Minister issued several decisions, including activating the electronic payment process in all aspects of our lives, directing the Central Bank of Iraq to facilitate procedures for granting licenses for collecting bank cards using points of sale (POS), reducing commissions on banks and obligating All centers and shops of all kinds by opening bank accounts and providing point-of-sale devices for electronic payment.  LINK

Oil: Increase In Liquid Gas Production Rates To 6,800,000,000 Tons Per Day

Energy   Economy News-Baghdad   The Director General of the General Company for Gas Mobilization and Services, Anmar Ali, announced, on Wednesday, the increase in the daily production rates of liquid gas to (6 thousand and 800 tons), and the production includes domestic, industrial, and commercial consumption, as well as the gas system for vehicles.

And Ali said in a statement by the Ministry of Oil that "the national effort succeeded in raising the production capacity of liquid gas cylinders to (158 million) cylinders annually, with an increase of (9 million) cylinders over the production of 2021," stressing that "the production of government and private factories covers domestic consumption, With a large surplus in warehouses and yards selling liquid gas.

Hussein referred to "the company's adoption of the method of direct selling to citizens in densely populated areas and at the official price," warning "some soulful people from exploiting citizens and selling outside the controls, instructions, and official pricing."

He added, "The company, through coordination with the regulatory, security and inspection authorities, will follow up and monitor the yards selling liquid gas cylinders and mobile vendors to monitor violations, and take legal measures against violators."

The general manager of the company noted the "export of large quantities of surplus national production of liquid gas to global markets." 52 views   Added 01/18/2023 - 1:30 PM   Updated 01/18/2023 - 2:39 PM

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