Thread: Iraq/Dinar News up until March 28th 8PM CT.

I haven't seen this posted, thought it to be interesting:

Iraqi Stock Exchange joining International Federation of Bourses
After its participation in the establishment of the Union of Arab Stock Exchanges
26 March 2007 (Iraq Directory)
It is expected that Iraqi market for securities will witness important developments during the coming period, when it is hoped that it will join the International Federation of Bourses, as well as completing rules and procedures of circulation for the non-Iraqi, Arabs and foreigners, after the government agreed to that, and authorized the concerned bodies to prepare instructions in this regard. Also, the market continued to take measures to complete the project of electronic transaction and central depository, since it means achieving connectivity with Arab and international stock exchanges and guarantees the continuity of mutual investment and stock circulation.
This was emphasized by the Executive Director of the Iraqi market for securities, Taha Ahmed Abdul Salam, explaining that the Iraqi Stock Exchange has participated earlier this year in the establishment of the Arab Union of Stock Exchanges trough the Iraqi Securities Association; also, joining the market to the Union of Asian Bourses was done early last year, and the stage of training on the use of electronic circulation system has been completed, and is continually installing devices and equipment for the direct application of this system and transfer the investors’ files from the participating companies to the deposit center, which will help in dealing with everyday problems of the work in the Stock Exchange and speed up the circulation of shares, as well as encourage investors to train and move to electronic trading and accept the inclusion of new companies in the market; in addition to the expansion of investment through signing agreements with the concerned bodies in Kurdistan to open a hall for securities circulation there, electronically connected with the Iraqi market in Baghdad, as well as studying a similar step for opening of a circulation hall in Basrah.
It is noteworthy that the Iraqi market for securities implemented during 2006 93 circulation sessions at the rate of two sessions per week, during which 58 billion shares were circulated, worth 146 billion dinars.

http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php/article/15899

Iraqis May Allow Baathists to Return

By STEVEN R. HURST and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
Associated Press Writers

Posted: 19 minutes ago

BAGHDAD — Iraq's prime minister and president will introduce a bill in parliament as early as Tuesday that allows former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party to return to government jobs and join the military, two Iraqi officials said.

The measure - long demanded by the U.S. to appease Sunnis - provides for a three-month challenge period after which Saddam's ex-followers - including those who worked in the feared security apparatus and paramilitary forces - would be immune.

The measure goes to parliament under the names of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, and President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd. Shiites and Kurds make up nearly 80 percent of Iraq's population and both were severely repressed by Saddam's largely Sunni regime.

"We present the draft law of Accountability and Justice to parliament to build an Iraq that is accessible to all Iraqis determined to build a new, democratic Iraq that is far from sectarianism, racism, tyranny, discrimination, exclusion and disenfranchisement," al-Maliki and Talabani said in a joint statement released late Monday.

linky...
Iraqis May Allow Baathists to Return :: WRAL.com

U.S. talks to Iraq rebels over anti-Qaeda front

Mon Mar 26, 2007 2:13pm ET

By Ross Colvin and Claudia Parsons

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi officials have held contacts with Sunni Arab insurgent groups to build an alliance against al Qaeda, the outgoing U.S. ambassador said on Monday, in an opening to what he called "more patriotic" groups.

Zalmay Khalilzad also said he was cautiously optimistic that "success is possible" in Iraq, but urged leaders to act fast if they were to maintain Washington's support amid growing pressure in the United States for a timetable to withdraw troops.

"Coalition commanders have been able to engage some insurgents to explore ways to collaborate in fighting the terrorists," Khalilzad told his final news conference in Baghdad.

"These insurgents are also in touch with the government seeking reconciliation and cooperation in the fight against the al Qaeda terrorists," he said before leaving Baghdad on Monday.

Khalilzad, an advocate of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, said U.S. and Iraqi officials had met representatives of insurgent groups several times for talks.

He said talks "have taken place and they are continuing to take place," but declined to give specifics because "people's lives are at stake".

Washington has repeatedly pressed the Shi'ite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to reach out to disaffected minority Sunnis, wary of the newly empowered Shi'ite majority.

linky...
http://today.reuters.com/news/articl..._0_US-IRAQ.xml

Khalilzad Bids Farewell
Monday, Mar. 26, 2007

"Success is possible," said U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad, referring to America's operations in Iraq during his valedictory press conference in Baghdad's Green Zone. His 21-month stint over, the Afghan-born Khalilzad is now headed for his next assignment: chief of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations. Smiling in front of reporters in a navy suit and fine, light-blue silk tie, he looked like a man refreshed rather than a diplomat with precious few victories to point to.

Khalilzad was instrumental in convincing the Sunni parties to participate in the December 2005 elections. But many of the promises that brought Sunnis into the government then have not been realized. The constitution, the writing of which was largely boycotted by Sunnis, has not been amended. And there has been nothing done to reform the vetting process that has blackballed many qualified officials who were tainted by complicity in Saddam Hussein's regime. Indeed, there have been several dramatic low points in Khalilzad's tenure in Baghdad: the bombing of the Samarra shrine that unleashed an unprecedented wave of ethnic cleansing and the mishandled execution of Saddam.

Khalilzad can at least tout disasters that have not happened as accomplishments: The Sunnis did not leave the government; the country managed to pull back from the brink of a full-blown civil war; the Iraqi parliament — however ineffective — did not dissolve. During the hour-long press conference, Khalilzad, who has made an art of providing quotes so diplomatic and academic that they cannot be sound-bitten, hedged every statement with a well-chosen adjective. Nevertheless, on balance, he saw hope ahead. He said the country was "fundamentally" heading in the right direction. He described himself as "cautiously" optimistic.

The Bush Administration has been heartened by the last month in Iraq. Khalilzad leaves as U.S. and Iraqi forces have converged to provide security in Baghdad and, he said, the Iraqi forces seem to be keeping up. Violence in the capital, he said, has "fallen nearly a quarter" since Operation Law and Order began six weeks ago. Iraqis are starting to trust their own security forces, he said, citing a steady amount of useful tips coming in during recent weeks. Also, there are indications, he said, that the tribes and some insurgents are turning on al-Qaeda in Anbar province. He added that some insurgent groups are negotiating with the Iraqi government to come into the political process. He successfully lobbied Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to pressure his political supporter Moqtada al Sadr to lay low during the rollout of the Baghdad security plan.

Khalilzad did admit that one of the toughest obstacles he faced was a "culture of consipiracy" among Iraqi politicians, rooted in years of oppression. Each small step in one direction was seen as a huge swing of loyalty. Getting them to trust each other has been an uphill battle, he said, especially when you consider that the Iraqis are faced with trying to do state building and nation building "at the same time."

Through all of this, Khalilzad said he has tried to impart to Iraqi politicians the impatience of Americans, that the American effort in Iraq is not an open-ended commitment. "We are an impatient people," he said. "I constantly signal to the Iraqi leaders that our patience, or the patience of the American people, is running out" — a point reinforced last week when the House voted to set a timetable for withdrawl of troops in Iraq in 2008.

Hammering that point home will be left to his replacement, veteran diplomat Ryan Crocker. Fresh from the critical post of Ambassador to Pakistan, Crocker is expected to start later this week. No stranger to the Middle East, Crocker has served as ambassador to Lebanon, Kuwait and Syria during his 36 years in the foreign service. He met his wife Christine working in the Baghdad embassy in 1979.

linky...
Khalilzad Bids Farewell | TIME

BAGHDAD, March 26 (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi officials have held contacts with Sunni Arab insurgent groups to build an alliance against al Qaeda, the outgoing U.S. ambassador said on Monday, in an opening to what he called "more patriotic" groups.

Zalmay Khalilzad also said he was cautiously optimistic that "success is possible" in Iraq, but urged leaders to act fast if they were to maintain Washington's support amid growing pressure in the United States for a timetable to withdraw troops.

"Coalition commanders have been able to engage some insurgents to explore ways to collaborate in fighting the terrorists," Khalilzad told his final news conference in Baghdad.

"These insurgents are also in touch with the government seeking reconciliation and cooperation in the fight against the al Qaeda terrorists," he said before leaving Baghdad on Monday.

Khalilzad, an advocate of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, said U.S. and Iraqi officials had met representatives of insurgent groups several times for talks.

He said talks "have taken place and they are continuing to take place," but declined to give specifics because "people's lives are at stake".

Washington has repeatedly pressed the Shi'ite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to reach out to disaffected minority Sunnis, wary of the newly empowered Shi'ite majority.

While Maliki has talked of the importance of national reconciliation, there has been little action on the ground.

CAUSES FOR OPTIMISM

Khalilzad said reasons for optimism included a fall in violence in Baghdad by 25 percent since a crackdown began in February, the improved performance of Iraq's security forces, and agreement on a new law to share out Iraq's oil equitably.

"These are positive indicators. But for success to be inevitable, more needs to be done," he said.

"We are an impatient people and I constantly signalled to the Iraqi leaders that the patience of the American people is running out," he added.

He said the government must demobilise militias, schedule provincial elections, amend the constitution to address Sunni concerns and reach agreement to "allow insurgents to lay down arms and join the political process".

A government source said on Monday a draft of amendments to a law banning former Baath party members from public sector jobs, which has been a source of deep resentment to Sunni Arabs, was finalised and ready to go to parliament.

Iraq has seen a surge in sectarian bloodshed during Khalilzad's 21 months as envoy, eclipsing the insurgency against U.S. forces and the Shi'ite-led government, and pitching the country towards all-out civil war.

As Khalilzad spoke, U.S. soldiers and Iraqi security forces battled gunmen in Iskandariya southwest of Baghdad, the scene of tit-for-tat attacks on Sunni Muslim and Shi'ite mosques in the past three days. Police said a curfew had been imposed.

At the news conference, Khalilzad was pressed on whether the U.S. contacts with the insurgent groups did not violate Washington's policy of not talking to terrorists.

"I did not say we've talked to terrorists," he said, drawing a distinction between terrorists and "reconcilable" insurgents.

Al Qaeda's adherence to a hardline form of Sunni Islam and indiscriminate killings have brought it into conflict with some Sunni tribes, particularly in western Anbar province.

Former Baathists, loyal to Saddam Hussein, form the bulk of the Sunni Arab insurgency. The Islamic Army in Iraq is believed to be the largest group of former Baathists and military officers fighting Iraqi and U.S. forces.

"One of the main challenges is how to separate more and more groups away from al Qaeda," Khalilzad said. "There's a real struggle going on in the Sunni Arab part of Iraq between al Qaeda and the other more patriotic groups."

Washington still views al Qaeda as one of the biggest threats to security in Iraq, although most of the killing now is attributed to sectarian violence between Shi'ites and Sunnis.

Despite hundreds of its members being killed or captured, the al Qaeda-led Islamic State in Iraq group is still able to launch attacks and is responsible for some of the worst bombs. (Additional reporting by Mariam Karouny and Waleed Ibrahim)

RIYADH, March 26 (Reuters) - Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Monday he would urge Arab countries at an Arab summit this week to take more concrete steps to help end the bloodshed in his country.

"More is currently required from the Arabs...Certainly the Arab states have a vision on how conditions can stabilise in Iraq but what is required is Arab presence, Arab movement or an Arab initiative," he told Reuters ahead of the summit in Riyadh.

"At the summit, we will be making specific requests," he said. "When the Arabs say, 'What do you want,' we will say, 'We want one, two, three, in terms of Arab movement".

In addition to adopting an Arab initiative for peace with Israel, Zebari said Arab foreign ministers had agreed at a meeting on Monday to support reconciliation efforts in Iraq.

"It was also agreed that the Iraqi government's efforts to achieve reconciliation would be supported," he said.

The March 28-29 summit, to be attended by Arab heads of states, is expected to relaunch the 2002 peace plan which offers Israel normal ties with all Arab states in return for full withdrawal from all land occupied in the 1967 Middle East war.

Arab foreign ministers have agreed they would not make alterations to the proposal as sought by the Jewish state.

"It was agreed that the Arab peace initiative would remain intact without changes," Zebari said. "Work groups will be set up to follow up implementation of the initiative with the U.N., the Quartet, the Security Council and other international parties."

BAGHDAD, March 26 Two 10,000-barrel-per-day refineries will be built in northern Iraq in an attempt to ease bottlenecks and address the fuel shortage.

The Iraqi newspaper Azzaman reports the Iraq Oil Ministry signed contracts with state and private Iraq firms to build the refineries. The projects, worth $60 million, will be located in Irbil and Sulaimaniya.


The north can produce about a third of Iraq's oil, but faces problems exporting it and the refineries that are in operation operate at capacity. Electricity is unreliable, causing work stoppages, and demand is high.

The country as a whole faces shortages of crude products such as fuels for transportation, cooking and heating. Officials in Kurdistan, which has been relatively autonomous since 1992, have said Baghdad is not doing enough to deal with its fuel crisis.

The ministry did not set a timeline for building the refineries.

Sorry can't get this to put a space between Shares Purchased, Stock Price, Assumed Exchange Rate, Totat Dinar, and Total Dollars to forms columns.




Before a Reval

Shares, Stock, Assumed, Total, Total
Purchased, Price, Exchange Rate, Dinars, Dollars

10,000, 10 Dinar, 1000 IQD to 1USD, 100,000, 100

So it cost a US investor 100 dollars to purchase 10,000 Shares of stock excluding any bank charges for the exchange of dollars to dinars. And this puts 100 more dollars into the company in Iraq.



After reval of 1 IQD to 1 USD

Share Stock 1 to 1 Total Total
Sold Price Exchange Dinars Dollars

10,000 .01 Dinar 100 100


Here are the questions.

Would the stock price of the company drop with the increase in the exchange rate or would it stay the same? If the stock price stays the same (10 dinars) the foreign investor makes a lot of money without a real increase in the value of the company. If the stock price drops (.01) in accordance with the reval of the local currency, that company can still be bought up for very little, because the stock priced dropped so much because of the revaluation.

So the question is will it be more beneficial to revalue the currency now before the exchange opens to foreign investors or latter?


Any and all input is welcome.

Originally Posted by RfxLady

[/COLOR]

Great find. OSW, SGS and Wm Knowles - what's your take on this - reval for dinar which must be used to get on the exchange.
Marcia

we had to wire usd into warka and establish a usd account which then funded a dinar account of which they remove dinar to purchase stocks through warka investment brokerage for us. it has been established for a couple years now and both years weve earned about a mil interest on the dinar account which isnt too shabby. i believe ducky has purchased 3 or 4 mil dinar worth of stocks out of there.

Originally Posted by nikki

Iraqis May Allow Baathists to Return

By STEVEN R. HURST and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
Associated Press Writers

Posted: 19 minutes ago

BAGHDAD — Iraq's prime minister and president will introduce a bill in parliament as early as Tuesday that allows former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party to return to government jobs and join the military, two Iraqi officials said.

The measure - long demanded by the U.S. to appease Sunnis - provides for a three-month challenge period after which Saddam's ex-followers - including those who worked in the feared security apparatus and paramilitary forces - would be immune.

The measure goes to parliament under the names of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, and President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd. Shiites and Kurds make up nearly 80 percent of Iraq's population and both were severely repressed by Saddam's largely Sunni regime.

"We present the draft law of Accountability and Justice to parliament to build an Iraq that is accessible to all Iraqis determined to build a new, democratic Iraq that is far from sectarianism, racism, tyranny, discrimination, exclusion and disenfranchisement," al-Maliki and Talabani said in a joint statement released late Monday.

linky...
Iraqis May Allow Baathists to Return :: WRAL.com

i believe one of the stipulations set forth to accomplish. good show!!