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

Iraq aims to allow foreign investors to own land

Iraq's investment commission is pushing for foreign firms to be allowed to own land, a move seen as key to attracting the developers required to build houses and repair and expand the country's creaking infrastructure.

National Investment Commission Chairman Sami al-Araji told Reuters on Monday the proposal was one of several amendments to an investment law that was meant to herald a flood of foreign capital, but has been neutered by bureaucracy and red tape.

Violence in Iraq has fallen since last year, but that has yet to be accompanied by major investment. The cash-strapped and oil-reliant country is keen to stimulate its private sector after oil prices tumbled from last year's record highs.

"The investor has a right to own Iraqi land. The lands open to investment will be administered by the investment commission, without going through the ministries," Araji said, outlining two amendments to the law meant to strengthen its powers.

Araji hopes the amendments will be ratified by September.

Businessmen have long bemoaned the difficulty in securing land in Iraq. Some is protected by agricultural laws, and other laws only grant foreigners land ownership for a limited time, after which it and any buildings on it revert to the state.

Other proposed amendments include the exemption of foreign investors from having to bid for plots of land or stakes in public-private partnerships. Instead, the commission will be able to allocate land or stakes at its discretion if it feels the investment will benefit Iraq.

The commission aims to attract about $500 billion of foreign investment by 2015, including for the development of millions of new homes, and hotels to cater for millions of Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims who visit holy sites in Iraq each year.

Araji said there was great interest in investing in Iraq, which has the world's third largest proven oil reserves, but that plans had been hit by the global financial crisis.

"Before then we travelled, had discussions, then the crisis happened and the credit needed for investment ended."

There has also been a spike in violence lately, sowing doubt about the durability of recent security gains, but Araji said potential investors he had spoken to were unperturbed.

"We haven't had an investor come to us and say we cannot invest anywhere because of tensions. They know it's temporary."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/8524922

Exporting oil from Kurdistan region oil fields can increase Iraqi revenues, Iraqi official says

There is no basic revenues to compensate the shortage in 2009 annual budget, Fadhil Nabi deputy Iraqi finance minister told PUKmedia today May 25.

Exporting oil from the Kurdistan region oil fields can increase Iraqi revenues and to compensate the shortage in 2009 annual budget. As it was expected Iraq to export 2 million barrels of oil per day, but due to decreasing oil production currently only one million and 800,0000 barrels are exported daily, therefore exporting oil from Kurdistan regions oil fields can solve that issue.” Fadhil Nabi said.

http://pukmedia.com/english/index.ph...11188&Itemid=1

Originally Posted by Offshore-Wealth.com

Interesting,

Now this is a real breakthrough for Iraqi gov. all 140 lawmakers agreed on something, a frist. lol

Hussein al-Shahristani has got to GO, and GO quickly.

Success to all, Mike

Iraq oil minister under fire for failing to boost output

Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani is expected to be summoned before parliament soon to face a grilling for failing to boost crude exports from the oil-rich nation, MPs said on Tuesday.

Lawmakers have gathered 140 signatures, more than enough for Shahristani to be called before the assembly to answer questions about the ministry he has headed for the last three years. If MPs are dissatisfied with the minister's explanations, a no-confidence motion could follow -- and he could potentially be fired by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

"The reason is that he has performed badly and parliament wants to ask questions and hear what the minister has to say," Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish MP, told AFP.

"There could be a motion of no-confidence and this demand will be presented to the premier who will take a decision on what to do."

Ezzedine Al-Dawlah, a Sunni Arab MP in the largest Sunni bloc the National Concord Front, confirmed the plans but could not say when Shahristani would go before lawmakers.

The summons comes at an especially sensitive time. Iraqi Trade Minister Abdel Falah al-Sudani stepped down on May 14 amid allegations of corruption and embezzlement linked to the nation's food assistance programme. His resignation was accepted by Maliki on Monday after lawmakers began to prepare a no-confidence motion.

Allegations of graft have also surrounded Shahristani although oil ministry spokesman Assem Jihad insisted that parliament was only interested in understanding oil production.

"The summons is not related to corruption, but to examine production rates." Jihad told AFP.

"We hope that the questions will focus on professional matters and not politics or the settling of old scores," he added.

During his tenure, Shahristani has failed to increase production above 2.2 million barrels per day and taken only tentative steps toward drumming up foreign investment.

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidAN...Output%20Boost

Addax company says it will begin to export oil from the Kurdistan region on Sunday

The Chief E.xecutive Officer's Addax Petroleum on Monday that oil and gas company expects to start exporting oil from the fields of Kurdistan province of Iraq on Sunday.

Said Leslie Blair, Managing Director of Addax Petroleum in the Middle East, told a news briefing on the sidelines of a conference on the oil that the company listed in Toronto and London, expects to be allowed to use a pipeline to export oil from Iraq to Turkey, which Stgve trucks from across the resource-field scope scope.

He said Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, has given consent to this, noting the company will be ready by Sunday.

http://209.85.227.132/translate_c?hl...6AWswIRwDTXJJA

Originally Posted by Seaview

Maliki agrees to trade minister’s resignation

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Monday agreed to the resignation presented by Trade Minister Abdulfalah al-Sudani, according to a statement from al-Maliki’s office.

“The premier agreed to the resignation presented by al-Sudani,” said the statement received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“The minister had presented his resignation on May 14 but the premier postponed it to give the parliament the opportunity to exercise its supervisory role within the constitution and the law,” it added.

http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=113685

Interesting,

Finally, after all this time, they are going after corruption, looks like Maliki wants to bolster his re-election hopes by finally attacking the blatant fraud and corruption in Parliament. Oil minister is up next, so if he is forced out, which is inevitable in my opinon, this will be good for all of Iraqi's, and everyone else concerned with corruption issues holding back progress in Iraq.

Success to all, Mike

Minister of Finance to meet the representative of UN Secretary-General

Met with Finance Minister Baqir Jabr Zubaidi, the representative of UN Secretary-General Ibrahim Kmbari which is now in Baghdad.

An official source at the ministry of the reporter that "During the meeting, they discussed the issue of convening the Conference of the International Covenant (Alcolmbak) by the end of 2009 and the coordination on the development agenda of this conference, attended by the foreign ministers of the countries of the world, adding that The two sides discussed bilateral issues between Iraq and the United Nations He The representative of the Secretary-General to support Iraq in all areas that contribute to the advancement of economic reality and to enhance its international "..

The source added that the minister called United Nations cooperation with Iraq and assist in the conversion of 20% of Iraq's debt to the formation of the remaining funds to invest in Iraq to help reconstruction and the strengthening of its economic After deducting 80% of the debt of $ 140 billion dollars.

The meeting was attended by the Ambassador of Sweden to the UN mission Brjita al-Ani, the Kingdom of Sweden as a sponsor of the recent International Conference of the Covenant, also attended the meeting, the representative of the World Health Organization in Iraq, Dr. Naima Hassan discussed with short Minister the issue of support for Iraq in the field of health and assistance for the advancement of by hospitals and medical services provided to the Iraqi people.

http://209.85.227.132/translate_c?hl...euc6EvZl30OhUw

Originally Posted by Offshore-Wealth.com

Interesting,

Finally, after all this time, they are going after corruption, looks like Maliki wants to bolster his re-election hopes by finally attacking the blatant fraud and corruption in Parliament. Oil minister is up next, so if he is forced out, which is inevitable in my opinon, this will be good for all of Iraqi's, and everyone else concerned with corruption issues holding back progress in Iraq.

Success to all, Mike

Iraq trade minister resigns amid corruption claims

Iraqi Trade Minister Abdel Falah al-Sudani has resigned amid allegations of corruption and embezzlement linked to the nation's food assistance programme, the prime minister's office said on Monday.

"The prime minister has agreed to accept the resignation of Abdel Falah al-Sudani, the minister of trade," it said in a statement.

Sudani, a member of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shiite Dawa faction, had already been questioned by parliament over claims relating to imports for Iraq's food rationing programme. The minister was accused of importing expired commodities -- sugar -- and procuring illegal contracts as well as failing to fight corruption in his ministry. Sudani's resignation comes as Maliki and other top officials in his government have called for more efforts to combat the rampant graft that makes Iraq's one of the world's most corrupt countries. Earlier this month more than 100 PMs signed a petition calling on parliament to sack the Sudani. Last week he underwent a grilling in parliament at Maliki's request before the premier officially accepted his resignation.

"Parliament was not satisfied with the answers," according to Sabah al-Sadi, head of the Council of Representatives of Iraq's Integrity Committee.

Maliki's office said: "The trade minister submitted his resignation on May 14, but the prime minister delayed his acceptance in order to give parliament a chance to question him first in the name of the law and the constitution."

Iraqi media have reported that two of Sudani's brothers, one who worked for the ministry and one who headed the Iraqi Grain Board, were arrested on April 30, in southern Iraq's Samawa city. Six more wanted trade officials remain at large.

Anti-corruption officials and the Iraqi army went to the ministry's offices in central Baghdad on April 29 to detain the nine people on corruption charges, according to a New York Times report a few days later. Their attempted roundup triggered a 15-minute gunfight between the military and the minister's security team. Only the minister's spokesman, Mohammed Hanoun was detained, the report said.

The ministry operates a nearly six-billion dollar annual budget that provides a monthly public food distribution programme for Iraqis. It also manages the import of grain, seeds and construction materials. Iraq's food rationing system was established in 1995 as part of the United Nations oil-for-food programme following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The public distribution programme has been plagued by mismanagement and corruption since the 2003 US-led invasion.

Watchdog group Transparency International ranked Iraq in 2008 as the world's third-most corrupt country only behind Somalia and Myanmar.
Born in 1947, in Iraq's oil-rich city of Basra, Sudani, holds a doctorate in biochemistry. He became an exile in Britain at the end of 1970s before returning after the fall of Saddam Hussain.

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidAN...ption%20claims

Deputy calls for fear of lack of borrowing from the International Monetary Fund

Reduced the economic decision of the Commission in the parliament, deputy Yonadam Kanna we fear the importance of the existence of a negative impact on borrowing from the International Monetary Fund.

We noted that the amounts borrowed by the intention of Iraq relating to specific projects "and not all investment projects," he said, at the same time, that Iraq would reject the conditions that affect the national sovereignty and we attributed that Iraq sought to borrow from the International Monetary Fund to the need to complete the projects described in Balstratejip energy. adding that Iraq did not have the liquidity of the funds necessary for the implementation of those projects, in addition to States, which promised the reconstruction of Iraq did not implement their promises, he said.

http://209.85.227.132/translate_c?hl...AOjFoV5FgxjX4Q

Iraq has hopes high on International Pact Conference

Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki met with United Nations Secretary General’s advisor for the international pact affairs in Iraq Ibrahim Gambari. Al Maliki noted that some countries seek to keep Iraq under international monitoring and under Chapter VII. Al Maliki hoped that the International Pact Conference to be held in Baghdad would attain required successes and lift sanctions off Iraq.

For his part, Gambari considered that the conference due to be held today in Baghdad will focus on international pact issues including appropriate rule, Iraq’s relations with neighboring countries, national reconciliation and the role of the United Nations in the country.

http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News...onference.html

Demand for the dollar slightly down on Tuesday

Demand for the dollar dropped further in the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) auction on Tuesday, reaching $150.942 compared to $154.185 million in the previous session.

“The demand hit $48.670 million in cash, covered by the bank at an exchange rate of 1,176 Iraqi dinars, and $102.272 million in foreign transfers outside the country, covered at an exchange rate of 1,173 Iraqi dinars per dollar,” according to a CBI news bulletin received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

None of the 21 banks that participated in today’s session offered to sell dollars.

http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=113726