IRAQ | Economy

[sheytanElKebir]

Iran is also blocking water to Iraq so remove that from the list.

[sheytanElKebir]

jesus bloody christ. now they;'re all at it.

Iraq parties call to earmark 15% of budget to citizens

Wednesday, February 09, 2011 11:07 GMT
Iraq’s 2011 budget was at the core of discussions in Tuesday’s Parliamentary session. A number of Iraqi parties insisted on allocating a share of the budget to the Iraqi people.

The revised draft budget passed by the Iraqi Cabinet to Parliament stipulates to allocate 500 billion Dinar to the Trade Ministry in order to increase ration cards.

Al Ahrar Party and Al Iraqiya List called to earmark 15% of the budget to Iraqi citizens.

A number of parties however threatened not to vote on the draft budget unless the government submits the end year accounts reports of the different ministries.

Iraq’s Parliamentary Education Committee called for its part to increase financial allocations of the Education Ministry which is in dire need of building up more than 4000 suitable schools for students.

Iraqi MPs voted in Tuesday’s session on forming an investigation committee to look into the reports of an international organization on human rights violations in a secret prison in Baghdad.

Parliament Speaker Ousama Al Nujaifi scheduled the next session on Sunday February 13. The draft budget is expected to be discussed during the next parliamentary session after reviewing the reports of the financial and economic committees, a source from the Parliament told Alsumaria.

so that is it then. Iraqis do not want work, investment, constructing the country. They want some handouts to survive to the next day.

THe oil money should not be in the hands of the government! It should be held by a national investment company which invests in public and joint-stock companies!

Any "social security" type payments can only come from taxes and levies by government (where it has to compete with all other government spending!).

but i am not surprised that allawi who spent 25 years of his life queuing for his social security cheque, simply is unable to formulate any economic plan that's slightly more complicated...

[BigDreamer]

the entire ration system should be scraped.. it's not needed anymore, and it's simply against the principles of market economics..

i doubt WTO will let Iraq in with such a huge ration system.. what a joke

[Persi]

Iraqi Cabinet Ramps Up Spending as Oil Prices Rise

09 February 2011

Iraq’s government submitted a revised draft budget to MPs for approval on Sunday, raising projected public spending as oil prices have increased, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said.

The new spending programme estimates overall expenditure at $81.86 billion, or 96.6 trillion Iraqi dinars, while income will be $68.56 billion, leaving a shortfall of $13.3 billion– about a 16 percent budget deficit.

Sunday’s submission is based on average oil prices of $76.5 per barrel and projected exports of 2.2 million barrels of oil per day (bpd), a figure which includes 100,000 bpd of exports from the autonomous Kurdish region.

A previous draft budget, sent to parliament on December 1, estimated spending of $78.8 billion based on oil prices of $73 per barrel.

Of the overall spending in the new budget, $56.44 billion will be operating expenses — primarily salaries and pensions for civil servants – and the remaining $25.42 billion will be dedicated to investment, Dabbagh said.

Energy sales are expected to account for 90 percent of revenues.

Dabbagh said the $13.3 billion deficit would be covered by “money accumulated from past surpluses and from internal and external loans.”

He added that the cabinet also gave the green light for the finance ministry to request a $4.5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, and a further $2 billion from the World Bank.

While Iraq’s projected oil price currently looks to be a conservative estimate — prices currently stand at around $89 in New York — its projected exports are more ambitious.

Iraq has not exported 2.2 million barrels per day of oil since the 2003 US-led invasion ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.

The country currently produces around 2.5 million bpd, with exports averaging around two million bpd, though the former figure is expected to rise to three million bpd by the end of the year, according to the oil ministry

[sheytanElKebir]

here's the full list of tariffs.

http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/wp-...f-Schedule.pdf

and it seems that the government has put the tariffs on Hold and won't bring them into effect, for fear of upsetting the mob with temporary price rises!

utter utter stupidity of the "mob".

[BigDreamer]

they fear an uprising .. there is already high unemployment, no one wants to take the risk

[BigDreamer]

Iraq's economy prospers amidst Middle East turmoil

AME Info - [4/17/2011]
While many Middle Eastern countries have faced setbacks this year from the political unrest that has swept the region, Iraq is quietly enjoying an economic resurgence thanks to improved security, high oil prices, and a large influx of foreign investment.
Iraq's economy suffered greatly from many years of war, sectarian violence, and crippling sanctions, but its fortunes are on the rebound at a time when much of the region is in turmoil.
Fuelled in part by a sharp drop in violence throughout most of the country, Iraq's stock market surged over 25% in the first three months of this year, whereas the S&P Pan Arab Index is down about 8% year to date.

With one of the world's largest proven oil reserves, Iraq is also benefitting from oil prices that have soared above $100. The International Monetary Fund estimates that higher oil revenues will help Iraq's economy grow 11.5% in 2011, up from 2.6% last year.

Investment is also pouring in as optimism about Iraq improves. According to a recent report by Dubai Frontier Consultants, 156 foreign firms from 34 different countries announced new investments, service contracts, and other commercial activities in the country last year. The total reported value of these deals reached $42.668bn, an estimated 48.7% increase in total deal value over the previous year.

"Iraq is now potentially one of the more stable investment destinations in the region," says Kyle Stelma, managing director at DFC. "It's still a little chaotic, but it's the same type of chaos that we've seen in recent years...so if you're a potential investor, the things you're seeing in Iraq are nothing new. But if you're a hedge fund looking at Bahrain you're seeing something totally different. So it's that point of massive discontinuity that you see in places in North Africa and the Middle East that investors really don't like."

[sheytanElKebir]

About $57 million worth of cooking oil once destined for Iraq's national food ration program may be fed to animals because it was left outdoors for three years and passed its expiry date for human consumption.

A parliamentary committee Saturday suggested turning the wasted 30,000 metric tons of vegetable oil into fodder after saying it was left sitting at the port of Umm Qasr since 2008 while officials squabbled over the price.

Iraq has been hit by nationwide protests in recent months in which many demonstrators have complained about corruption and pressed the government to address food ration shortages. Iraqis receive monthly supplies of rice, cooking oil and other staples.

The committee said the Trade Ministry ordered the oil left at the port while it renegotiated the price with importers. Last month it finally agreed to take delivery after negotiating the price down from $1,900 to $1,800 a metric ton.

Wahda al-Jumaili, a lawmaker and a member of the committee, said Iraq contracted for the oil during the global financial crisis at a time when the world price dropped to $600.

"Imagine Iraq paid $1,900 as a unit price for this material," she said.

Iraq is considered one of the world's most corrupt countries. Protesters have lashed out at corruption and called for the ouster of many provincial politicians.

Jumaili said the committee had documents indicating Iraq had signed contracts in 2008 with 33 companies to import vegetable oil at $1,900 a metric ton.

Parliament decided to summon the former trade minister and other officials for questioning.

In addition to the wasted oil, a member of the committee said the ministry had to pay $12 million in storage fees and fines for keeping it at the port for so long.

[BigDreamer]

yea I read that one too few days ago..

seriously, how embarrassing !

[sheytanElKebir]

Originally Posted by BigDreamer

yea I read that one too few days ago..

seriously, how embarrassing !

just another day with the Iraqi "ministries"

[elusive]

Originally Posted by BigDreamer

Iraq's economy prospers amidst Middle East turmoil

AME Info - [4/17/2011]
While many Middle Eastern countries have faced setbacks this year from the political unrest that has swept the region, Iraq is quietly enjoying an economic resurgence thanks to improved security, high oil prices, and a large influx of foreign investment.
Iraq's economy suffered greatly from many years of war, sectarian violence, and crippling sanctions, but its fortunes are on the rebound at a time when much of the region is in turmoil.
Fuelled in part by a sharp drop in violence throughout most of the country, Iraq's stock market surged over 25% in the first three months of this year, whereas the S&P Pan Arab Index is down about 8% year to date.

With one of the world's largest proven oil reserves, Iraq is also benefitting from oil prices that have soared above $100. The International Monetary Fund estimates that higher oil revenues will help Iraq's economy grow 11.5% in 2011, up from 2.6% last year.

Investment is also pouring in as optimism about Iraq improves. According to a recent report by Dubai Frontier Consultants, 156 foreign firms from 34 different countries announced new investments, service contracts, and other commercial activities in the country last year. The total reported value of these deals reached $42.668bn, an estimated 48.7% increase in total deal value over the previous year.

"Iraq is now potentially one of the more stable investment destinations in the region," says Kyle Stelma, managing director at DFC. "It's still a little chaotic, but it's the same type of chaos that we've seen in recent years...so if you're a potential investor, the things you're seeing in Iraq are nothing new. But if you're a hedge fund looking at Bahrain you're seeing something totally different. So it's that point of massive discontinuity that you see in places in North Africa and the Middle East that investors really don't like."

good news!

[haiderpass]

Iraq To Stop Being World’s Garbage Dump
Posted on 24 May 2011. Tags: Industry & Trade

The three-day Conference on the Economic Future of Iraq began on Tuesday with representation from the World Bank and the Iraqi parliament.
Parliament Speaker Usama al-Nujaifi said that “Iraq has turned into the world’s garbage dump through bad commodities that were imported, a matter would have not existed were it not for legislative shortcomings.”
Yet he explained that new legislation will correct the problems, Aswat Al-Iraq reports.Nujaifi called for re-opening plant works to get Iraqis producing again.
The World Bank’s country director for Iraq, Hedi Larbi, said that infrastructure and institutions need to get working, and that the private sector needs to get moving: “The inflation of the public sector, increase in salaries, lack of legislation and non-partnership between the public and private sectors, all negatively affect the development of the private sector.”

great move, time to decrease the amount of low quality chinese products and start importing/producing the good stuff iraqis truly deserve.

[haiderpass]

$43bn Investment In Iraq In 2010
Posted on 24 May 2011. Tags: Investment

The ‘Investment in Iraq’ Summit recently concluded in Dubai and organized by Range Hospitality highlighted that Iraq has some of the most favorable foreign investment laws in the Middle East, making Iraq one of its most lucrative markets.
The summit witnessed keen participation from over 100 decision makers, entrepreneurs and investors representing diverse business backgrounds. Key speakers at the event included Ibrahim Al Baghdadi, elected Chairman of the Iraqi National Businessmen Council and Board Member of the National Investment Council of Iraq; Mohammed Al Assam, Chairman and Managing Director, Dewan Architects and Engineers; Mohammed Asaria, Vice Chairman, Range Hospitality; Kyle Stelma, Managing Director, Emerging Markets, Dunia Frontier Consultants; Khaled Saqqaf, Head of Jordan and Iraq offices, Al Tamimi & Company and William Wakeham, Founder and principle shareholder in AAIB Insurance Brokers.
Elaborating on the potential of the region, Kyle Stelma said: “In 2010, foreign firms and investors reported $42.668bn in investments, service contracts and other commercial activities across Iraq — an estimated 48.7% increase in total deal value over the previous year (2009).”

[haiderpass]

Dozens Of Countries Flock To Iraq
Posted on 24 May 2011. Tags: Baghdad, Industry & Trade, Investment

Just this week, we have seen a United Arab Emirates firm invest in a new Iraqi oil refinery, a German company discussing investing in Basram, and a Korean company building 25 power stations.
On top of that, there have been Iranian gas deals and Saudi Arabian interest in Iraqi telecoms, plus both British and Turkish firms have been mentioned in the topic of new investment in Iraq.
It is not surprising, then, that the Iraqi Department of Trade is expecting even bigger things for the next Baghdad International Fair.
30 countries and 1,500 companies are expected to attend from around the world, the Ministry for Trade said. Learning its lessons from last year, the preparations for this year are to begin earlier.

[elusive]

great news thanks haider

[haiderpass]

no probs bruvs

[iraqishi3i]

Banks in Iraq move towards modernisation

Eight years on from the US-led invasion of Iraq and with seven months to go until the remaining American combat troops are due to leave, thoughts are turning from guns to butter.

In particular, the belated arrival of the international oil companies has boosted Iraq’s hydrocarbon exports and its macroeconomic prospects. The International Monetary Fund forecasts real gross domestic product growth in Iraq of 9.6 per cent this year and gross official debt falling from $107.8bn to $33.9bn.

Yet it is clear the banking system in Iraq remains under-developed – particularly for a country of more than 31m people.

Hussein al-Uzri, chairman of Trade Bank of Iraq, estimates there are still only 4.5m bank accounts in the country.

Set up in 2003 in the immediate aftermath of the invasion, government-owned Trade Bank has 15 branches but it is opening outlets in Hilla, Mosul, Kirkuk and Ramadi this year. Normality, Mr Uzri argues, is returning to what were previously no-go areas.

Even if security is improving somewhat, James Hogan, chief executive of Dar Es Salaam Investment Bank, points out that there are still fewer than 800 branches countrywide. This contributes to a huge and persistent reliance on cash.

“We have learnt across the banks to get quite adept at manhandling – I use that term deliberately – fairly large amounts of cash on a day-to-day basis. That obviously has security and logistics challenges and insurance implications that you don’t normally associate with banking,” says Mr Hogan with some understatement.

Now, attention is turning to communication systems and interoperability. There are, for example, 239 automated teller machines (ATMs) in Iraq but the individual banks have yet to see the benefits of linking up and, Mr Hogan says, half the machines may not be working at any one time.

Dar Es Salaam uses an expensive satellite network for its 16 branches. Maintaining the network is “probably one of the bigger costs of doing business” in Iraq, Mr Hogan says.

Carl Rosenquist of Synercom, a consultancy working on a USAID-funded project to automate the Iraqi payments system dating back to 2005, says a wholesale system is in place. It provides the “backbone” for real time settlement and clearing for cheques, direct credits and debits between the banks – but it is not fulfilling its potential.

“That system is basically not being used a lot because first of all there is no regulation mandating the use of it and secondly there is no retail infrastructure that creates interbank transactions,” Mr Rosenquist says.

Elsewhere in the world, institutions have generally determined, after a period of time, that it is better to co-operate than to maintain standalone systems of ATMs and points of sale. The owners and managers of Iraqi banks have yet to reach that conclusion.

For Iraq, mobile telephony is the way forward, Mr Rosenquist says, because of the security situation and because of the much higher rates of telephone penetration compared with bank accounts.

This month, USAID held a conference in Baghdad to promote the merits of private sector-led banking and mobile banking.

“A mobile payment system . . . would allow people to pay anytime, anywhere, and anybody to pay,” says Mr Rosenquist. “We need to make sure that it becomes easy to get a bank account.”

He says a tender will be issued in August for a switching system to link the mobile networks.

“Basically it is a tender for a central switch that will be a hub for all the other switches,” he says. The contract, likely to fall in the range of $15m-$20m, is due to be awarded by the end of the year and the project can then be rolled out over the following six to eight months.

Mr Hogan adds: “A lot of this can happen very quickly. You have got the political will – certainly more so than we have seen over the past couple of years – and the energy on the part of the various banks to pull together.”

Rasheed and Rafidain, the state-owned behemoths that between them account for 80 per cent of bank customers in Iraq, already operate a switch that allows pensioners to pick up their payments from a local branch. A second system, Amwal, aims to do the same for armed forces personnel but is less successful than envisaged, bankers say.

Though dangerous, banking in Iraq can be fruitful. Dar Es Salaam has been profitable since the day HSBC bought 70 per cent of the bank in 2005. Trade Bank made $361m last year compared with $305m the year before on assets of $14,991m.

And interest in Iraq is picking up, even if from a low base induced by years of extreme violence.

“Almost every day we have foreign investors coming to the bank,” Mr Uzri says. “They are coming and they are spending time. That is very encouraging.”


A cash dispensing machine in Baghdad, one of only 239 in the entire country

[iraqishi3i]

Iraq To Be In The Black For First Time

The Iraqi government is increasing spending by about 25% next year to USD98.45bn, but higher oil prices will still allow it to balance its books for the first time, reports Reuters.
Next year’s budget will be based on an oil price of $85, due to consistently high oil prices at $100 or more. Even after spending increases, this will cover this year’s deficit and still bring next year’s budget up into the black
This year’s budget is around $80bn based on an average oil price of $76.50 per barrel and 2.2 million barrels per day in exports.
“We expect the rise in revenue coming from the difference in the (projected) oil price will be enough to cover the deficit planned in the 2011 budget,” al-Esawi said. ”Any increase in oil prices or a rise in oil production will be allocated to cover the deficit.”
Next year’s budget, if approved by cabinet and parliament, will allocate an additional $34bn for investments. At $85/barrel, the new budget will cover this and wipe out the deficit of $13bn this year.
Central bank governor Sinan al-Shibibi told Reuters that Iraq GDP excluding the oil sector will grow by 6 percent in 2011, as fast as the current core inflation rate of 6.1%. Add oil in, and GDP growth could be 12%, and that will also be the goal for next year.

[BigDreamer]

very good news

[Persi]

Citigroup, Bank of Baghdad Announce Strategic Partnership

Posted on 31 May 2011.

Citigroup and Bank of Baghdad have announced a strategic partnership which offers corporate clients, with major business presence in Iraq, a seamless cash management solution and other relevant banking services.

The client offer encompasses account services, domestic and international payments and collections, liquidity management and electronic banking solutions, backed by a comprehensive customer service and streamlined documentation processes.

This key partnership leverages Citi’s state-of-the-art global cash management platform, as well as Bank of Baghdad’s franchise and extensive branch network. The partnership also gives Bank of Baghdad, a subsidiary of Kuwait’s Burgan Bank, access to Citi’s global network across more than 107 countries for cash management solutions and other banking services.

Steve Donovan, Head of Global Transaction Services, Middle East & Pakistan at Citi, said:

“We are delighted to announce this partnership with Bank of Baghdad which is in line with our commitment to Iraq as well as our strategy to bring the right capabilities to our clients through our own global network or through partnerships with prime local banks. This alliance certainly creates a win-win situation for our mutual client base.“

Dr. Younes Brouche, Executive Vice Chairman at Bank of Baghdad said:

“Bank of Baghdad has had a long standing and successful relationship with Citi. It brings together our bank’s extensive network in Iraq, our product suite and service excellence with the global reach of Citi. We look forward to working with Citi to provide valued clients with bespoke solutions to help them with their operations in Iraq.“

Eduardo Eguren, Chief Executive Officer at Burgan Bank Group, said:

“We are pleased to announce this winning partnership. Bank of Baghdad is a fast growing member of Burgan Bank Group and has successfully placed itself as one of the major players in Iraq. This partnership will indeed add value to both Bank of Baghdad’s and Citi’s clients as well as to Burgan Bank Group clients.“

Citi has been in the Arab World for nearly 50 years and views the region as critical to its global franchise. It currently offers full scale corporate banking services across ten Arab countries including Egypt, UAE, Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait as well as Pakistan. Its consumer banking services cover UAE, Egypt, Bahrain and Pakistan, while it maintains close relationships with high net worth clients in the region through the Citi Private Bank.