Iraqi Dinar / US Dollar auction results for Wednesday 12-18-2024

Advertisement No. (5266)

The amount:

Total amounts of transfers abroad (transfers, credits)
274,471,985

Total cash withdrawals
5,900,000

Total total sales
280,371,985

Note that: The selling price of documentary credits and international settlements for electronic cards is ( 1310 ) dinars per dollar.

The selling price for transfer amounts abroad is ( 1310 ) dinars per dollar.
The cash selling price is ( 1305 ) dinars per dollar.

cbi.iq/currency_auction

Al-Sudani’s advisor: Iraq is out of debt risks

The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, announced that Iraq has emerged from the dangers of external debt.

Saleh told the official newspaper that “after getting rid of the heavy burden of its debts, Iraq has transformed from a country indebted to others to a country that can be a creditor to others,” noting that “the country is called the ‘young creditor’ because it possesses a degree of youth in the economic aspect, which has raised its credit rating, despite the problems of the region.”

He added that “Iraq has gotten rid of the burden of external debts for the first time, which had shackled it economically,” noting that “what remains of its debts to international parties constitutes less than (9) billion dollars that will be paid between now and the year (2028).”

Saleh explained that “debts are paid off through allocations in the federal general budget,” noting that “the ratio of debts to the gross domestic product does not constitute a burden on the state, as it amounts to (5) percent of the gross domestic product.”

He considered Iraq a well-fortified country, in terms of external debts (in other words, it is outside the risks of external debts), which gives the country high credit at the present time,” noting that “internal debts are confined within the (government banking) system.”

Almaalomah.me

Article 140 Committee: Agreements to resolve the issue of agricultural lands in Kirkuk

Babakir Siddiq, announced on Wednesday that agreements had been reached to resolve the problem of agricultural lands between Kurdish and Arab farmers in the province.

A friend told Shafaq News Agency, “Kirkuk Governor Ribwar Taha Fateh headed the Article 140 Committee to find solutions, especially after the disputes that took place in the Balkana Sarkaran areas in the Dibis district between the Kurds and Arabs over agricultural lands.”

He added, “The Article Committee sent a committee to Kirkuk and held a meeting with the Director of Agriculture in Kirkuk and Kurdish and Arab farmers. A number of decisions were reached that will contribute to finding solutions for agricultural lands between Kurdish and Arab farmers. We will hold a meeting next Sunday with the head of the Article 140 Committee for the purpose of reaching decisions to resolve this problem, which contributes to the cultivation of the lands.”

He added, “Some decisions of the dissolved Revolutionary Command Council require a decision from the Iraqi Parliament in order to cancel them and restore rights to their owners through legal methods and formulas that satisfy all parties.”

Kirkuk Governor Ribwar Taha announced on Tuesday, November 12, that there are about 14 judicial decisions on agricultural areas of about 1,500 dunams, while there are no problems on about 18,000 dunams owned by Kurdish farmers.

Taha said in an interview with a number of media outlets, including Shafaq News Agency, that “the governorate administration held meetings with the Joint Operations Command and the commander of the 8th Division to address the problems of four agricultural districts in the district of Dibis (60 km northwest of Kirkuk), namely Bakana, Sarbshakh, Karbalak and Shinaga,” explaining that “after discussions with farmers from both the Kurdish and Arab components, it became clear that there are 14 judicial decisions regarding 1,500 dunams, and everyone agreed to keep them pending until their issue is resolved.” He added that “there are areas estimated at about 18,000 dunams that do not have any judicial problems or decisions preventing farmers from cultivating them, and their owners can cultivate them freely.”

He pointed out that the Department of Agriculture in Kirkuk was contacted to identify the districts that have judicial decisions, with the aim of protecting these lands until their fate is decided, as well as identifying the lands that do not have disputes to encourage farmers to work in them.

For his part, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Shakhwan Abdullah revealed that everyone is working to return agricultural lands to their rightful owners, and all political blocs agree to pass the law that restores the rights of the Kurds and Turkmen.

Kirkuk Agriculture Director Zuhair Ali told Shafak News Agency that 300,000 dunums of agricultural land are still outside the agricultural plan in the governorate.

He added that these lands include the areas of Hanjir and Shawan, parts of Yaiji, Dibs and Daquq districts, explaining that farmers can file complaints through documents with the courts of first instance.

He pointed out that the Federal Supreme Court confirmed in 2019 the continued validity of Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, which aims to cancel the demographic change policies imposed by Saddam Hussein’s regime, and implement statistical procedures and a referendum on the annexation of the disputed areas to the Kurdistan Region.

Article 140 stipulates the cancellation of the demographic change policies pursued by Saddam Hussein’s regime in the disputed areas in favor of the Arabs at the expense of the Kurds, and then a census of the population before the final step, which is to hold a referendum in which the population determines whether they wish to join the Kurdistan Region or remain under the administration of Baghdad.

The implementation stages of the article were scheduled to be completed by the end of 2007, but security and political problems prevented this.

In 2019, the Federal Supreme Court ruled that Article 140 of the Constitution of the Republic of Iraq would remain in effect, stressing that this would continue until its requirements were implemented and the goal of its legislation was achieved.

Shafaq.com

Implementing the electronic payment system for inmates in Iraqi prisons

The Iraqi Ministry of Justice announced, on Tuesday, the signing of a contract to implement the electronic payment system and financial transfers for inmates in correctional departments, stressing that the aim of the procedure is to “protect their money, reduce the burden on their families, and control the prices of shops inside prisons.”

The ministry explained in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency that the contract was signed between the Iraqi Reform Department and the Agricultural Cooperative Bank, one of the formations of the Ministry of Finance, within the framework of the government’s orientations to adopt electronic payment and within the directives of the Prime Minister in this regard.

The statement added that the new system includes securing financial transfers for all inmates, issuing electronic payment cards for their families, in addition to electronic payment tools for inmates inside prisons.

The Ministry confirmed that it will bear all the costs of issuing the cards in support of the inmates and to ensure the provision of this technology that enhances financial transparency and contributes to protecting the inmates’ money and reducing the financial burdens on their families.

For his part, the Director of the Agricultural Cooperative Bank stated that his bank is ready to implement the agreed-upon procedures, including issuing cards and electronic payment tools for inmates, and providing deduction devices inside prisons.

He pointed out that all financial transactions will be subject to national security supervision and in accordance with the instructions of the Central Bank of Iraq.

Shafaq.com

Iraq out of the list of major countries holding US bonds

The US Treasury Department announced on Tuesday that Iraq is no longer a major foreign holder of US bonds.

Shafaq News Agency reviewed the Treasury report for September, which showed that Iraq was not among the top 20 countries holding US bonds, after it was ranked among the top holders last year with a holding of $32.6 billion.

The report indicated that “Japan topped the list of major countries in holding US bonds, with holdings amounting to $1.123 trillion, followed by China in second place with holdings amounting to $772 billion, while the United Kingdom came in third with $764 billion, the Cayman Islands in fourth place with $420 billion, Luxembourg in fifth place with $417 billion, and Canada in sixth place with $370 billion.”

The report explained that Saudi Arabia was the only Arab country that maintained its position among the 20 largest holders of US bonds, as its holdings amounted to $143.9 billion.

The report indicated that the total holdings of US bonds by countries around the world in September amounted to 8 trillion and 872 billion dollars.

US bonds are a type of debt instrument issued by the US government to raise money, and many countries buy them as a safe investment.

In the past years, many Arab and foreign countries, including Iraq, owned large amounts of these bonds, and over time, Iraq’s holdings of US bonds decreased until it left the list of the 20 largest countries holding these bonds.

Shafaq.com

Postponing the budget amendment until after the legislative holiday

Members of the House of Representatives reported that the amendment to the budget law sent by the government to the House of Representatives was postponed and postponed until after the legislative holiday. Several representatives indicated that the arrival of the amendment before the legislative session holiday and its connection to the controversial laws before the House of Representatives led to its postponement until after the holiday.

Dr. Khalil Doski, a member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, expected that the second reading of the budget amendment would take place at the start of the next legislative session and then the vote. Doski added, in an interview with “Al-Sabah”, that “one of the reasons for the delay, according to the committee’s opinion, is that it is necessary to host the Ministry of Finance to discuss the issue, and since they are outside Iraq in the last week before the holiday, the second reading was postponed until after the hosting.”

For his part, member of the House of Representatives, Taqi Al-Waeli, stated that all laws were postponed until after the legislative holiday.

Al-Waeli said in an interview with “Al-Sabah”: “The budget amendment came within the paragraphs of the session’s agenda, which included the controversial laws (general amnesty, real estate, amending personal status), in addition to the fact that the tables were not sent to the budget amendment, and it contains violations of Article 12 of the law,” according to him.

Member of the Parliamentary Oil, Gas and Natural Resources Committee, Kazem Al-Tawki, noted that the amendment of the budget law came from the government after an agreement with the Kurdistan Region and political forces, in order to find solutions to the cost of producing a barrel of oil for extractive companies operating in the region.
Al-Tawki explained, in an interview with “Al-Sabah”, that the cost included in the budget amounted to 6 dollars per barrel, while the region demands that it be 22 dollars per barrel or more, which necessitated amending it to be 16 dollars after voting on the budget.
He explained that “the two parties agreed to assign a specialized company to study the production costs, and then calculate any financial increase or decrease retroactively,” explaining that “before the legislative session recess, this amendment was linked to the three controversial laws, which led to its postponement until after the recess.”

Dr. Safaa Al-Shammari, a specialist in the philosophy of public law and international investment contracts, believed that “approving the budget amendment depends on political, economic and legislative factors,” noting that in Iraq, this process may be more complicated due to the political dynamics between the government and parliament and the pressures of the economic situation.

Al-Shammari expected, in an interview with Al-Sabah, that “the parliament will approve the budget amendment within a short period if the government is able to garner political support for it. However, there is a need to address the structural causes of the budget delay, such as enhancing spending efficiency and achieving a balance between revenues and expenditures, to ensure that the amendments achieve their goals rather than being just temporary solutions.”

He attributed the reasons for the delay in amending the budget to “the economic challenges represented by the decline in oil prices, which is the main resource for Iraq, which led to pressures in implementing the original budget, and the high spending commitments compared to actual revenues that affected the government’s plans, and the complex amendments after the government proposed fundamental amendments that include redistributing some items, which requires a re-evaluation by parliament, in addition to the financial crisis and the management of the dollar through the Central Bank’s policy of controlling the exchange rate, which affected the stability of the local economy, which may have led to amending some financial aspects, and tensions due to disagreements between political blocs regarding the allocations of governorates and regions, and the distribution of revenues between the center and the region, which is always a point of contention.”

Alsabaah.iq

An economic expert warns of a rise in the dollar exchange rate in Iraq in the coming days

Economic expert Nasser Al-Tamimi warned, today, Tuesday (December 17, 2024), of a rise in the dollar exchange rate in Iraq in the coming days.

Al-Tamimi said in a press statement, “There are real fears in the Iraqi market of the continued rise in the dollar exchange rate after the suspension of the platform by the Central Bank of Iraq,” indicating that “this matter will constitute a shock, especially at the beginning of implementing the decision and will lead to a rise in the dollar, to increase demand for it in the parallel market.”

He added that “after the platform is stopped, most traders, especially small ones, will depend on the parallel market to finance their foreign trade, while continuing to finance trade with Turkey in dollars, through illegal means,” noting that “this is what will lead to the rise, and therefore practical steps must be taken to prevent this by the country’s monetary authority, and urgently.”

The Central Bank of Iraq revealed on Wednesday (September 4, 2024) the mechanism for ending the electronic platform for foreign transfers, while indicating that the placement of foreign transfer operations and meeting requests for the dollar are on sound paths and consistent with international practices and standards.

The bank said in a statement that “the electronic platform for foreign transfers managed by the Central Bank of Iraq began at the beginning of 2023 as a first phase to reorganize financial transfers in a way that ensures proactive oversight of them instead of subsequent oversight by the Federal Reserve auditing daily transfers. This was an exceptional measure as the Federal Reserve does not usually do this, and a gradual shift was planned towards building direct relationships between banks in Iraq and foreign correspondent and approved banks, mediated by an international auditing company to conduct pre-audit of transfers before they are executed by correspondent banks.”

He added that “during the year 2024 and until now, 95% of the transfer process from the electronic platform to the mechanism of correspondent banks directly between it and Iraqi banks has been achieved, which means that only about 5% of it remains within the platform, which will be transferred using the same mechanism before the end of this year and according to the plan,” explaining that “some expectations about potential impacts on the exchange rate and transfer operations are baseless, because the process will not be sudden or in one batch at the end of this year, but rather it was originally achieved during the past period with effort and careful follow-up, except for the remaining small percentage that will be completed in the coming short period.”

He stressed that “trade with the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, India and China represents about 70% of Iraq’s foreign trade as (imports), which prompted the Central Bank of Iraq to find channels for transfer in euros, Chinese yuan, Indian rupees, and Emirati dirhams, through accredited correspondent banks in those countries, and (13) Iraqi banks have actually begun conducting transfer operations with a pre-audit mechanism that has been agreed upon and approved in addition to transfers in dollars.”

He continued: “With the provision of channels for personal transfers for legitimate purposes and external purchases through electronic payment channels and international money transfer companies and cash sales to travelers, and the payment of cash dollars for incoming transfers to the parties and purposes specified in the Central Bank’s published instructions.”

The Central Bank of Iraq stressed that it “put foreign transfer operations and meeting dollar demands on sound tracks consistent with international practices and standards and the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law.”

Explaining that “providing the aforementioned channels for all purposes at the official dollar price makes this price the true indicator of economic practices, which is proven by the reality of price stability and control of inflation, and any other price traded outside of these channels is an abnormal price that those with unorthodox or illegal practices resort to, who avoid official channels in their dealings, and bear the additional costs alone by purchasing at a higher price than the official price to delude others with the difference between the official price and the other.”

Burathanews.com

Parliamentary Finance: The Iraqi economy will not be affected by the Syrian situation

Member of the Finance Committee in the Iraqi Parliament, Moeen Al-Kadhimi, confirmed on Monday that the government and the Central Bank have taken several important measures to confront the security and economic challenges in the country, especially in light of the deteriorating situation in Syria.

Al-Kadhimi explained to Shafaq News Agency that the situation in Syria does not affect the Iraqi economy or the dollar exchange rate in the local market.

He added that the dollar exchange rate in the parallel market is currently stable, noting that the government is working to reduce the gap between the parallel exchange rate and the official rate to achieve greater economic stability.

Currency markets, especially in the Kurdistan Region, are witnessing significant changes with the “sudden” rise in the value of the Syrian pound against the Iraqi dinar.

After the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the Syrian pound continues its recovery against other currencies, especially the US dollar, which declined by 18 to 20% during the past few days.

Shafaq.com

Banking expert: Private banks do not support the Iraqi economy and depend on the Central Bank

Banking expert Mohammed Salem confirmed on Monday that most private banks are still “living” on the Central Bank of Iraq without engaging in any economic activity.

Salem told Shafaq News Agency, “Most private banks do not practice banking work in terms of credit except in a simple way, and therefore they do not contribute to stimulating the Iraqi economy, as currency exchange is the basis of their banking revenues, so they have come to depend on electronic trading, hard currency and electronic payment, as they obtain dollars from the Central Bank and sell them and obtain net profits without fatigue.”

He added, “Despite their distancing from providing bank loans, private banks were pioneers in electronic trading and in providing services to citizens and employees, whether related to automated teller machines or other electronic services, at a time when government banks were suffering from backwardness in this area.”

He explained that “these services provided by private banks encouraged employees to localize their salaries with them, while government banks, with the exception of the Trade Bank of Iraq, continued to suffer from the problem of the lack of localization of employees’ salaries.”

Salem stressed that “government banks, despite their failure to keep up with international and even private banks, remain faithful in preserving the money of their depositors, no matter how much they are exposed to theft and looting, which is what these banks witnessed in 2003.”

shafaq.com