Thread: Iraq/Dinar News. 09/05 to 01/14/07

Iraq envoy: U.S. oil investment waiting on legal changes

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HOUSTON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. oil companies are slowly building their relationships with the Iraqi government in anticipation of a new legal regime that will allow them to invest there, the Iraqi ambassador to the U.S. said Monday.
"I see very strong interest from U.S. energy companies in Iraq," Ambassador Samir Shakir Mahmood Sumaida'ie told Dow Jones Newswires after a speech in Houston.
The companies "have visited me at the embassy and expressed that interest," while "waiting for things to be put in place," he said.
The passage of a new investment law in the next two or three weeks and a new hydrocarbons law "within this year" will create the right conditions for major U.S. investments, he said.
U.S. oil companies are "already building up their relationship with the ministry of oil" and providing training to Iraqi technicians, said Sumaida'ie, who added that he would meet with Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) executives on Monday.
The Iraqi oil sector has suffered from the turmoil that has submerged the country since a U.S.-led coalition overthrew Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003. Violence and the lack of a federal petroleum law has kept foreign companies at bay.
But oil majors are reportedly discussing investments in the Iraqi Kurdistan, where the security situation is better than in other areas, the region's oil minister said recently.
Baghdad, however, has long held that deals not approved by the federal government are null.
In the speech Monday, which was hosted by the Bilateral U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce, Sumaida'ie advised oil executives to "get a foot in the door" in the areas that are currently safe, and "work your way outward."
The benefits of oil, however, belong to the entirety of the Iraqi people, he pointed out. Revenues will be allocated according to the regions' needs.
Any reconstruction efforts would be impeded by a U.S. retreat from Iraq, Sumaida'ie said. A withdrawal "would create a security vacuum" and "would suck in regional powers," he said.
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Stor...93C6DFE654F%7D

Originally Posted by shotgunsusie

what 'administrative and security reasons' are indicating that it be postponed til wednesday? dont have the paperwork done? lol
and if they dont get it done by the 22nd according to the constitution it is dead in the water.

bloody hell the paint is DRY already!!

I know..how do you say "Bite me" in arabic?!!

Hmmmm... 2 weeks from today is 10/23. 3 weeks is 10/30. tadaaaa end of October.

Originally Posted by archangel

Iraq envoy: U.S. oil investment waiting on legal changes

PrintE-mailDisable live quotesRSSDigg itDel.icio.usLast Update: 6:06 PM ET Oct 9, 2006


HOUSTON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. oil companies are slowly building their relationships with the Iraqi government in anticipation of a new legal regime that will allow them to invest there, the Iraqi ambassador to the U.S. said Monday.
"I see very strong interest from U.S. energy companies in Iraq," Ambassador Samir Shakir Mahmood Sumaida'ie told Dow Jones Newswires after a speech in Houston.
The companies "have visited me at the embassy and expressed that interest," while "waiting for things to be put in place," he said.
The passage of a new investment law in the next two or three weeks and a new hydrocarbons law "within this year" will create the right conditions for major U.S. investments, he said. U.S. oil companies are "already building up their relationship with the ministry of oil" and providing training to Iraqi technicians, said Sumaida'ie, who added that he would meet with Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) executives on Monday.
The Iraqi oil sector has suffered from the turmoil that has submerged the country since a U.S.-led coalition overthrew Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003. Violence and the lack of a federal petroleum law has kept foreign companies at bay.
But oil majors are reportedly discussing investments in the Iraqi Kurdistan, where the security situation is better than in other areas, the region's oil minister said recently.
Baghdad, however, has long held that deals not approved by the federal government are null.
In the speech Monday, which was hosted by the Bilateral U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce, Sumaida'ie advised oil executives to "get a foot in the door" in the areas that are currently safe, and "work your way outward."
The benefits of oil, however, belong to the entirety of the Iraqi people, he pointed out. Revenues will be allocated according to the regions' needs.
Any reconstruction efforts would be impeded by a U.S. retreat from Iraq, Sumaida'ie said. A withdrawal "would create a security vacuum" and "would suck in regional powers," he said.
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Stor...93C6DFE654F%7D

Originally Posted by Vipor

Hmmmm...

what happened to the 12th??

IMF sees strong growth in ME, Central Asia




WASHINGTON: Economies in the Middle East and Central Asia are set to remain strong, but a worsening of the security situation could severely dent growth, an International Monetary Fund report said on Sunday.

The report said growth across the region is outpacing the global economy, but cautioned that a worsening of Iraq’s “security problems” for example would likely have a negative impact on neighboring countries and their economies.

“Economic performance in the Middle East and Central Asia region remains strong, despite security problems and recent asset price reversals,” the fund said in its Regional Economic Outlook for the Middle East and Central Asia.

“Growth in the region continues to outpace global growth and should average six-to-seven per cent in 2006 and 2007,” the IMF said. The fund estimates the region’s economic growth will expand to 6.6 per cent in 2006 from 6.3 per cent in 2005, before slowing to 6.2 per cent in 2007. “Inflation continued to edge up in 2005, averaging 7.25 per cent, but appears to have stabilised in the first half of 2006,” the report noted.

The outlook by the Washington-based fund also highlighted ongoing security concerns. “The conflicts in the region and the worsening security situation, if not resolved, could affect the region’s economic performance significantly,” the report noted.

It said that Iraq, where tens of thousands of American troops are still fighting a violent insurgency, in particular is facing critical economic challenges. “Significant challenges remain in Iraq for pursuing its program of economic stabilisation and reform,” the report said.

“Not least of these challenges are the ongoing security problems as well as corruption, especially in the oil sector. Until these are decisively addressed and solved, progress in reconstructing the Iraqi economy and its institutions will continue to be slow,” the report said.
Elsewhere across the region, the IMF said that programmes were being put in place to improve social and physical infrastructure. Such programmes have been largely funded by windfalls from oil exports. “High oil prices and commodity prices have helped underpin economic growth,” the report said.

It singled out Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kuwait as states that have seen particular benefits from the recent spurt in world oil prices, which rocketed up to around 78 dollars a barrel this summer before falling sharply in recent weeks to around 60 dollars.

Across the region, “monetary policy has been largely accommodative, although tightening is now underway in some states where inflation has picked up.” The IMF expects all country groupings to make further progress in reducing debt, with the likely exception of Lebanon, which is trying to rebuild its infrastructure following an Israeli offensive. “Lebanon’s debt ratio is likely to increase further in 2006-2007 unless substantial foreign grants become available,” the report said. The IMF also recommended that the “region’s financial sector could strengthen its risk management policies and lessen the risk of instability.”


http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=27614

Originally Posted by CharmedPiper

Three projects for the territories before the Iraqi Parliament today

(Voice of Iraq) - 10-10-2006 | This issue was sent to a friend


Three projects for the territories before the Iraqi Parliament today
Iraqi Vice expected to witness a meeting of the Iraqi parliament today, the drafts of the new law Territories controversial, after the 1609/86 decision of the Constitutional Court, the concurrent operation of sections 118 and 142 of the primacy of one without the other.
She said another Hashemite speaking from the list of the United Iraqi Alliance that today's meeting will put three drafts of the law of the provinces, It went on to "Public Opinion», said that the parliament will vote on one of the projects submitted by the parties on the issue of federalism to choose the most suitable and appropriate for all spectra of the people. She explained that there is three drafts submitted by each of the Rules of the United Iraqi Alliance and the Iraqi List and Iraqi Accord Front », However, they did not reveal any details about any of the three projects. She pointed out that the three projects will be presented to members of Parliament and then vote on them to get approval.
She expressed fears of the Hashemite out that the presence of members of the political blocs objecting to the law of the meeting, which will lead to the postponement of the meeting because of lack of quorum ».
But Sheikh Hamid burdensome, the leading member, on the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq », he said it was not true sense draft, but the drafts and proposals ». He added that he would be reading drafts "the form of the first and second opinion, and therefore will be voting», the draft is expected to receive that are not inconsistent with the terms of the Constitution the consent of Deputies.
The deputy said Karim Mohsen have deployed, the leading member of the Virtue Party, The draft law submitted by the Non Virtue of the Parliament that would resolve the dispute between the demands of the Federation is rejected. He continued : "I included the composition of the territory of our province and one module, and preserve the territorial powers, At the same time retain its population and administrative unity of the same province. »


Sotaliraq.com

today,, tomorrow,,, ??? huh?

Originally Posted by texaslonghorns

What I want to know is if there isn't a reval before the Eid checks are issued, will the bank have the 300 billion in cash to give out? You know they are going to cash everyone of those checks immediatly

i mean this govt is slow but they seem to be a bit brighter than this, lol.

Originally Posted by goldraker

Yes where will this money come from? One explanation could be that. If they do an RV of say 1 to 1. Then all of a sudden like magic they will have trillions of dinars = to USD's! I will also add backed by the World Bank & IMF! Also Fiat money come into play! Nation building plus the world market, if freely traded!!!!!!!!

Who else want's to take a crack at this! Very GOOD question!!!..........

its the same premise as if we all go to the bank and cash out all our dinar how will they ever have enough money to give us? i dont know about you but i wont be walking out of the bank with in excess of 6 million dollars. lol
im pretty sure the iraqis WONT take ten grand out in cash.

the purpose is to infuse the economy. they do that by creating reason to start savings accounts, some of which is spent for consumer goods and services which boosts the economy but these people havent had diddly for a few years, i dont suspect they will go out and blow the entire wad on a gem covered hookah.

they wouldnt be giving out the grants if they had no intention of revaluing before their date so its really a mute point.

Hmmmm, Something keeps bugging me, I hope that some of you can ease my mind. What on earth are they using to determine what is going to be in the 2007 budget. They seem to have determined what they are going to spend, and therefore what they are going to earn. If I were running a business, and I knew there was going to be a price change in the near future, why would I got to the effort of putting big costings together that are going to change. Now I know that if they do it right, they can re-calculate instantly at a new rate, however it still puzzles me why they would bring out a big budget that has massive spending in it and costings based on the current rate. Now Iraq needs to outsource many of its resources like steel and everything else they need to build ports and so forth and those items cost a pretty penny. However if the RV goes through soon then the costings on projects will significantly reduce, anything that is being imported is going to cost less, and anything that is exported is going to produce significantly more. However this is assuming that all prices are based on the current value of the USD or EUR. It would be really interesting to see some of the details of the budget, what they are forecasting to see if this takes into account many of these things. They can’t work out what they are going to spend unless they know what they are going to earn, so have they used the current exchange rate. And again why would they do this if they know it is going to change potentially in the immediate future.

I would really like to wake up one morning and see everything has been done, but every now and again something happens that just makes me think “what the?” Like how much common sense do they really have, if people don’t roll up to parliament because they don’t want to vote on a law, and they can reasonably expect that to happen, why put it on the same day as the ones that they really do want to get passed, none of them will ever pass if they don’t have quorum. I may be asking too much, or being a little harsh, but it has been going to happen and going to happen and then something goes wrong. However these things going wrong are not completely so unexpected, they are not un-avoidable, they are things that are going to happen and they come up with the same excuses over and over again.

No I am not having a dig at anyone here coming up with excuses, so please don’t try and twist my words, I am having a dig at the members of parliament, the president and prime-minister who come up with reasons why it has not been done. Saying week after week we expect the FIL to be passed by next week, a week goes by and we hear sorry that day in parliament nobody showed because they didn’t want to vote on something else. If that were happening in any other country then I can guarantee that those people would not be in that position for very long. I have looked at so many things that show that what people are saying about 1:1 or even more are within the realms of possibility, I believe that it can and will happen. Will it happen tomorrow, I won’t hold my breath. Should it happen, well yes it damn well should.

Originally Posted by jsfletcher

what happened to the 12th??

Oh, don't get me wrong j. As most everyone else, I am hoping for tomorrow or any day now. I was just highlighting the comment that falls in line with every other post of gettin er done within October.