Thread: Archive News - Iraqi Dinar Think Tank - 06/05/09 - 04/09/09

the source of government business: Iraq is not eligible to enter competitions in the world with products

Good God, "said Sami Associate Director of the Economic Relations Department in the Ministry of Trade: The assessment of the negative impact of Iraq's accession to the WTO is not easy as it requires in depth studies of the activities of commodity production and service in the country and the extent of Toqlmh data with global trading system adopted by the World Trade Organization .

He added: that the reality of commodity production and service in Iraq is still underdeveloped and lacks infrastructure and the foundations for the advancement of the solid both at the level of legislation or practice, as well as weak performance of the other activities of assistance and infrastructure support, which reflected negatively on the public and the reality of the private sector, which was not mature and the possibility of an inability to play due role in this current stage.

Iraq's accession to the WTO and join this reality will not make it worse than it is, but at the same time, we should not follow the policy of burning stages and scrambling to join the accounts without a thought, whether at the level of technical requirements and decision-making and professional updating of legislation and the level of quality and information of what these organization ..

He continued: The above does not relieve us of the l.aptop and some negatives such as the imbalance of the economies of Iraq in the industrial sector and agriculture will not qualify to compete with the successful products of many Member States at the present time ..Unless Iraq is the activation of the sincere efforts for the reconstruction of economic reconstruction and to address structural imbalances in the economy, He said that the Iraqi market will be local consumption fever away even without the awareness of the strengthening of local production in order to increase its exports .. Indeed, the fragile and that of industry and agriculture in Iraq and placed in front of the commodity and service to compete with goods and services received may lead to the closure of some factories and companies vulnerable, unable to compete ..

The goodness of God: that joining the WTO could impose the abandonment of some of the policies and laws currently in force .. The detail in the analysis of the pros and cons of joining Iraq requires necessarily the answer to a question which is of great importance ..

(What is the cost of not joining the organization)?
Answer to this question that Algirallh only to identify the positives and negative aspects of accession does not give a clear indication of the cost incurred by Iraq in the event of non-membership, but there are some indicators to show that a position.. While Iraq is outside the framework of the trading system established by the World Trade Organization, producers of the member states to have the opportunity to obtain the largest share of world markets, and will impact negatively on the national product of Iraq in the subject of competition and marketing as too late to join.. He added: Iraq's accession to the delay means the loss of investment opportunities, where the markets are better equipped than the member states with each other to attract foreign direct investment due to the fact that the market can be unpredictable as well as transparency and stability of legislation made by the investment climate ..

He said: This opportunity not only slow down to enter the capital invested in Iraq, but also delay in the entry and development of technology, knowledge and employment opportunities .. And other member states will be present in the organization had gained more experience from the experience of entering Iraq in the global trading system under the early conditions of the World Trade Organization allows them to exercise a greater and more systematic in the protection of the national product as well as the protection of their business.

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Iraq: 30 billion Dolarks air delays in the reform of the oil sector

He and the former Iraqi Oil Minister Ibrahim Bahr al-Ulum said the delay in the reform programs cost Iraq oil sector lost about 30 billion dollars, adding to the complexity of multiple factors has increased the problems of the sector

Warning of the failure of the authorities concerned to take the sector of the bureaucracy governing the first stage of work, it will suffer more crises, the decline in production.

The Uloum in a newspaper interview to the desire of companies to invest in Iraq, "and may have taken the decision to do so with a clear things up," pointing to "the absence of legal framework and lack of conformity of the political blocs to see specific investment matters that may affect the resolution, However, the remaining companies vision in terms of the timing of entry and contractual hopes to achieve at the expense of Iraq."

The Uloum that overcome the current approach of the Ministry of oil contributes to the activation of the position, but the companies remain wary of investment, even crystallized oil policy, and solve the problem of illegal contracts entered into by the ministry.

On Iraq's intention to hold a workshop for the oil companies in Baghdad on the first round of licensing, said that the prospects for the success of the first licensing round, "small for technical reasons related to the nature of the fields and the other involving the ministry on the second round of the discovered fields," considering that the overlap in licensing rounds reduces the chances of competition, and delay the adoption of the resolution required, and he feared that "shall be as determined by the technical support contracts, which increases the chances of monopoly and weaken the competition, this is not in the interest of Iraq."

He explained that there was poor planning in dealing with the file of the oil investment, criticized the 80 billion barrels of oil investment in the form of impulsive.

He pointed out that the licenses purchased the first large companies, which are still in the cycle of knowledge of the technical details, legal, financial, and hundreds of questions submitted to the Ministry for clarification, and the Istanbul meeting in this regard did not achieve the objective.

"There is almost unanimity among the experts and the Iraqis should be the survival of the fields produced by the administration of the first licensing round Iraq, despite the need for foreign companies to develop them.

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Director of the Southern Oil Company: contracts of foreign oil companies walking Iraq's economy
Antrzalaalami of the communication / optical anti-Basra

Controversial and wide on the first round of licensing foreign oil companies and the government which specialists they go to these contracts will lead to the deterioration of the Iraqi economy as well as the reported gross error in giving the big profits of these companies at the expense of the Iraqi personnel, the government confirmed its part to move forward with entering into such contracts in the 29 and 30 June, which serves as the Iraqi economy.

The Al-Hassan Fayad, director of the Southern Oil Company said the main reason for his opposition to the decision to contract with foreign companies, the standard contract is not sufficient to know the details and the lack of clarity of the contracts, adding that the contracts Sitwdi to the problem of significant economic and prepares the way for the Iraqi economy based on oil wealth, however, this companies.

Hassan added, "We have many alternatives and is by focusing on the second licensing round since it contains the newly discovered oil fields and developed by the Ministry of Oil, which was called the green fields which really need to be developed by these companies."

He stressed that good management of such projects should be limited to Iraqi and foreign oil companies to develop oil and gas fields not only manage.

For his part, said Jafar Dhia, director of operations in the Southern Oil Company to the non-denial that Iraq needs to help these companies to develop fields to increase oil exports, but stressed the need to engage the Iraqi side in these decades of experience as possible to work to develop Iraqi oil fields, as happened in the field of Nasiriyah, which was done a few days ago and the hands of Iraqi exclusive.

The auction to be held jointly by the end of the month by 32 companies from the world's leading energy companies to develop oil and gas fields in Iraq.

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Iraqi oil minister to face parliament on Tuesday

Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani will appear before parliament on Tuesday to defend the country's first major auction of oil field contracts since the fall of Saddam Hussein, officials said.

Some lawmakers doubt the contracts are in Iraq's best interests, arguing the country has already invested large sums of its own in the fields, and they want to grill Shahristani on the details.

Oil Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said Shahristani and senior officials from the petroleum contracts and licensing directorate would answer questions and remove any "ambiguity" about the deals, which are due to be announced on June 29-30.

Eager to win access to the world's third-largest oil reserves, 32 of the world's biggest energy companies have qualified and paid to take part in the tender.

But the fixed-fee service contracts to develop Iraq's six biggest producing oil fields and two undeveloped gas fields have drawn criticism within the state-run oil sector.

The tenders are a cornerstone of the country's plans to boost output to over 6 million barrels per day from 2.3-2.4 million bpd within five years. Baghdad needs cash from bigger oil sales to rebuild after decades of conflict.

The secretary of parliament's oil and gas committee said the minister had to explain his approach.

"The oil minister must convince us why the government should have spent $8 billion to develop oil fields, but then offer them to foreign firms like pieces of cake," the secretary, Jabir Khalifa Jabir, said.

Parliamentary sessions are slated to start at 1100 a.m. local time (0800 GMT).

The office of the deputy speaker of parliament confirmed the oil minister would attend but did not know at what time.

Tuesday's summons was not linked to separate moves by parliament's oil and gas committee to quiz Shahristani over his ministry's inability, to date, to restore oil output to the levels seen before the 2003 U.S. invasion.

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Iraq Islamic banks urge law reform to boost growth

There is huge potential for Islamic finance in Iraq, banking officials said, and the country's central bank said it was looking at ways to encourage the sector's growth in response to demands from Islamic banks.

Islamic banks first opened in Iraq in the 1990s and seven of the country's 42 banks are now Islamic, meaning they comply with Islamic laws prohibiting interest, the trading of debt and investment in some sectors, such as pornography and alcohol.

"There is a great demand for Islamic banks in Iraq. The problem is Iraqi banking law does not differentiate between regular and Islamic banks," Iraqi central bank senior advisor Mudher Kasim said in an interview this week.

"The central bank at the moment is studying a new law for Islamic banks," he added, giving no timeline.

Iraqi society has become more religious since the 1990s, and clerics and Islamist groups wield great influence.

Demand from the world's 1.3 billion Muslims for investments that comply with their beliefs has soared and assets that comply with Islamic law are estimated to be worth up to $1 trillion.

The central bank's move is in response to Islamic banks' requests to loosen broader banking rules on the size and type of investments they can make relative to capital and cash reserves.

The rules are meant to ensure banks are solvent, but Islamic banks derive much of their profits from investments, which are distributed among account holders in place of interest.

Iraqi law restricts investment in real estate, where Islamic banks in the Middle East have concentrated much of their cash in recent years, to no more than 15 percent of capital, Kasim said. He said that was one area of Iraqi banking law under review.

ISLAMIC BANKS PUSH FOR REFORMS

Abdul-Hussein al-Rabaie, of Iraq's Al-Bilad Islamic Bank for Investment and Finance, said business had soared since it opened in 2006, but legal constraints have hampered further growth.

Another law restricts total investments to less than 20 percent of capital and cash reserves.

"We have problems with the central bank. I want to take part in development and investment in Iraq, but I cannot have a ceiling on investment," he said, adding that Iraq's Islamic banks were pushing for a cap of 50 percent.

They are also pushing for a cut in the reserve requirement for Islamic banks to 15 percent of capital and cash reserves, from 25 percent now, and for looser capital adequacy rules.

Basel II international banking guidance says an institution's total regulatory capital must be at least 8 percent of its risk weighted assets, based on measures of its credit risk, market risk and operational risk.
Rabaie said the equivalent figure in Iraq was 12 percent, and argued that Islamic banks should be given more leeway because they took less risk than non-Islamic banks.

Islamic laws have largely shielded Islamic banks from investments that have crippled other banks, such as collateralised debt obligations, by requiring deals to be backed by tangible assets and shunning the trading of debt.

But some analysts argue that the sector's focus on real estate and the relative shortage of assets that comply with Islamic law means Islamic banks face other risks.

Bilad has about 7,000 account holders, whose deposits rose to about 358 billion Iraqi dinars ($306 million) by the end of 2008 compared to 58 billion dinars a year earlier.

Its capital had quadrupled to 100 billion dinars since its foundation, and it expects to hit 200 billion dinars in 2010.

Although the figures are tiny by global standards, private Iraqi banks are beginning from a low base after years of war.

Private banks also face an uphill task competing with Iraq's much bigger and better funded state banks, Rafidain and Rasheed.

Last month Boston Consulting Group, which advises financial institutions providing Islamic services, said banks in the Middle East and Asia were looking at opportunities in Iraq. ($1 = 1170 Iraqi dinars)

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Update......

Shahristani is in front of the House of Representatives for the defense of the country's first auction

Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, the oil will be on Tuesday before the Parliament to defend the country's first auction of offshore oil contracts.

The Jihad and al-Shahristani said the senior officials of the Department of Licensing and oil contracts to answer questions and remove any ambiguity on the transactions scheduled to be announced on 29 and 30 of the current month of June.

He added that the Jihad al-Shahristani, will explain the terms of the contracts will be signed at the first session with the licensing terms of the winning companies raised a lot of talk and accusations in the last period of this contract, indicating that the charges for health and lack of objectivity and the minister will explain to members of parliament as saying.

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World Trade Center was organizing a conference on Iraq investment

A statement of the World Trade Center and the U.S. Department of Commerce, in cooperation with the World Trade Center in the state of Michigan, organized a conference in Detroit on trade and investment in Iraq with the participation of officials from the economic sectors in Iraq and the Help Center of U.S. exports in Michigan in the twenty-sixth of this month.

The statement pointed out that the conference will discuss investment opportunities in Iraq and the steps taken by the Iraqi government for the development of the movement of investments to Iraq.

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Sales decline to the central bank (114) million

Closed the canteen in the Iraqi Central Bank daily sale of foreign currency to a low level of dollar sales of 114 million and 550 thousand dollars after he has achieved in its day on Monday, 145 million and 740 thousand dollars at a fixed exchange rate was 1170 dinars per dollar.

This was announced by Information Office of the Bank's bulletin obtained (and the Iraqi News Agency Information / conscious) a copy of which was between that of the total dollar sales were distributed among 5 million paid in cash at the bank exchange rate of 1183 dinars per dollar, including the amount of the commission of the World (13) dinars per dollar.

While the value of foreign Alihulat 109 million and 550 thousand dollars in cash and the bank paid a fixed exchange rate was 1173 dinars per dollar, including the World Bank's commission of $ 3 dinars per dollar.

Did not make the 16 banks participating in the auction, any offers to sell the dollar, the Bank shall receive a commission of $ (13) dinars per dollar with a deduction of (1) JD / Dolreetn amounts purchased.

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Develop a plan to activate the economic cooperation between Iraq and the United Arab Emirates

Ministry of Agriculture has a plan to activate the economic cooperation with the United Arab Emirates.

An official source at the ministry told the independent press, said the plan to activate the investment in the agriculture sector after the conventions sector support by the UAE, adding that the government of the United Arab Emirates donated their Iraqi counterparts more than 10 thousand **** shoot in addition to the processing of agricultural machinery of modern laboratories and visits to the transfer of experiences.

The source noted that the plan will provide the vaccine industry and the required feed and increase fertility, production and purchase of livestock products, good prices to encourage farmers to take advantage of the cultured and the products.

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Ammar al-Hakim, Chalabi discuss ways to strengthen the United Iraqi Alliance

Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Islamic Council Ammar al-Hakim with the Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmed Chalabi, ways to strengthen the United Iraqi Alliance.

During the meeting, they discussed ways to expand and strengthen the Alliance in order to ensure carrying out his duties, especially the national benefits in terms of the next phase.

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