With what I am hearing from the banking side…this may be it. I am feeling exceptionally good as to where we are at right now. News is pointing to right after July 4th from the banking side. I continue to get similar things for between the 4th and the 15th out of Iraq. I am hopeful this is accurate...We are watching it wind down to completion.
Thurs. 27 June 2024 MarkZ
The new Iraqi Dinar Rate was not in the Wed. Gazette, but they did fully expect their new rate in the month of June. The country cannot function too long with the ATMs loaded with the new gold-backed Dinar Note. Banking contacts say it will happen sometime between July 4-8, while outsiders were saying July 12-13.
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MarkZ
[via PDK] My Iraqi contacts say there was not a rate in the Gazette yesterday. They expected to see a rate posted there yesterday but there was not one according to 3 sources on the ground there. They still expect to see the rate in the month of June and we have a few days left.
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Tues. 25 June 2024 MarkZ
I am getting inundated with bank contacts telling me to expect that things have already started …but coming to fruition in banks after the 4th of July. With a rollout in the days immediately following. I believe the 4th is on a Thursday this year… so I was told the roll out around the 6th and 7th. That is the rumor. Remember, we don’t know the timing. I am sure getting a heck of a lot from the banking side that things are now moving quickly and that is what they are preparing them for.
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I did hear from 3 or 4 military sources and Reno and the Treasury…rumors that are all over the place, some saying it’s happening right now, to no – its tomorrow…to Its already started, to all kinds of timing rumors in an concerted effort to cloud timing. …I think it’s a good things to see them in panic mode trying to cloud timing.
I am getting inundated with bank contacts telling me to expect that things have already started …but coming to fruition in banks after the 4th of July. With a rollout in the days immediately following. I believe the 4th is on a Thursday this year... so I was told the roll out around the 6th and 7th. That is the rumor. But remember we don’t know the timing…but, I am sure getting a heck of a lot from the banking side that things are now moving quickly and that is what they are preparing them for..
2. Bilateral Investment Agreements and Taxation Treaties
Vietnam maintains trade relations with 200 countries, and has 65 bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and 26 treaties with investment provisions. It is a party to five free trade agreements (FTAs) with ASEAN, Chile, the Eurasian Customs Union, Japan, and South Korea. As a member of ASEAN, Vietnam also is party to ASEAN FTAs with Australia, New Zealand, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong.
Vietnam finalized an FTA with the European Union in 2015, but the agreement has neither been signed nor ratified. In addition, Vietnam is a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which was signed on March 8, 2018. Vietnam is a participant in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations, which include the 10 ASEAN countries and Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand, and it is negotiating FTAs with other countries, including Israel.
Vietnam has signed double taxation avoidance agreements with 77 countries, listed at http://taxsummaries.pwc.com/ID/Vietnam-Individual-Foreign-tax-relief-and-tax-treaties . The United States and Vietnam concluded and signed a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTA) in 2016, but the agreement is still awaiting ratification by the U.S. Congress.
There are no systematic tax disputes between the government and foreign investors. However, an increasing number of U.S. companies disputed tax audits resulting in retroactive tax assessments. These cases may stem from Vietnam’s chronic budget deficits and the need to find sources to fill the revenue gap left from falling tariffs and falling oil revenues. These retroactive tax cases against U.S. companies can obscure the true risks of operating in Vietnam and give some U.S. investors pause when deciding whether to expand operations.
In February 2017, the government released Decree 20/2017/ND-CP, effective since May 2017, which introduced many new transfer-pricing reporting and documentation requirements, as well as new guidance on the tax deductibility of service and interest expenses.
6. Financial Sector
Capital Markets and Portfolio Investment
Although Vietnam welcomes foreign portfolio investment, Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) still classifies Vietnam as a Frontier Market, which precludes some of the world’s biggest asset managers from investing in its stock markets. Vietnam is working to meet the criteria necessary to attain “emerging market” status and attract greater foreign capital inflows.
While the government has acknowledged the need to strengthen both the capital and debt markets, there has been no substantial progress, leaving the banking sector as the primary capital source for Vietnamese companies. Challenges to raising capital domestically include insufficient transparency in Vietnam’s financial markets and non-compliance with internationally accepted accounting standards.
Vietnam has two stock exchanges, which are the HCMC Stock Exchange (HOSE) and the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX). The State Securities Commission (SSC) regulates both. As of February 2018, HOSE and HNX had total market capitalization of approximately USD 220 billion, surpassing 110 percent of Vietnam’s GDP. Government bonds account for one fifth of the total market capitalization traded on the HNX. A trading floor for unlisted public companies (UPCOM) operates at the Hanoi Securities Center, where many equitized SOEs first list their shares (due to lower transparency requirements) before moving to HOSE or HNX. Roughly 90 percent of the combined market capitalization is in HOSE.
Vietnam complies with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Article VIII. The government notified the IMF that it accepted the obligations of Article VIII, Sections 2, 3, and 4, effective November 8, 2005.
Banks charge relatively high interest rates for new loans because they must continue to service existing non-performing loans (NPLs). Domestic companies, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), often have difficulty accessing credit. Foreign investors are generally able to obtain local financing.
Money and Banking System
The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) estimates that around 70-80 percent of the total population are underbanked or do not have bank accounts, due to an inherent distrust of the banking sector, the engrained habit of holding assets in cash, foreign currency, and gold, and the limited use of financial technology tools. Since recovering from the 2008 global downturn, Vietnam’s banking sector has been stable. However, despite various banking reforms, Vietnam’s banking sector continues to be concentrated at the top and fragmented at the bottom.
By the end of 2017, state-owned or majority state-owned banks accounted for over 46 percent of total assets, and over 40 percent of equity capital in the banking sector. The estimated total assets in the banking system is USD 454.6 billion. In addition, 31 private joint-stock commercial (private) banks, all smaller than the state-owned banks, are gradually gaining market share. There were also nine foreign-owned banks (HSBC, Standards Chartered, Shinhan, Hong Leong, Woori Bank, Public Bank, CIMB Bank, ANZ and United Overseas Bank), 49 branches of foreign banks, 47 representatives of foreign banks, and two joint-venture banks (Vietnam-Russia Bank and Indovina Bank).
Vietnam has made some progress on reducing its NPLs, but most domestic banks remain under-capitalized with high NPL levels that continue to drag on economic growth. Accurate NPL data is not available and the central bank frequently underreports the level of NPLs. Other issues in the banking sector include state-directed lending by state-owned commercial banks, cross-ownership, related-party lending under non-commercial criteria, and preferential loans to SOEs that crowd out credit to SMEs. By law, banks must maintain a minimum chartered capital of VND 3 trillion (roughly USD 134 million).
Currently, the ceiling for total foreign ownership in a Vietnamese bank remains at 30 percent, with a 5 percent limit for non-strategic individual investors, a 15 percent limit for non-strategic institutional investors, and a 20 percent limit for strategic institutional partners. In early 2017, the Prime Minister promised to increase the limits of foreign ownership in local banks, though he did not specify the new ceiling. Prudential measures and regulations apply the same to domestic and foreign banks.
We are unaware of any lost correspondent-banking relationships in the past three years. However, after the SBV took over three failing banks (Ocean Bank, Construction Bank, and Global Petro Commercial Bank (GP Bank)), and placed Dong A Bank under special supervision in 2015, correspondent-banking relationships with those banks may have been limited.
Vietnam has begun studying blockchain technologies in financial services and SBV established a steering committee on financial technology (fintech) in March 2017.
Foreign Exchange and Remittances
Foreign Exchange Policies
There are no restrictions on foreign investors converting and repatriating earnings or investment capital from Vietnam. However, funds associated with any form of investment cannot be freely converted into any world currency.
The SBV has a mechanism to determine the interbank reference exchange rate. In order to provide flexibility in responding to exchange rate volatility, the SBV now announces the interbank reference exchange rate daily. The rate is determined based on the previous day’s average interbank exchange rates, taking into account movements in the currencies of Vietnam’s major trading and investment partners.
Remittance Policies
Vietnam allows foreign businesses to remit profits, capital contributions, and other legal investment activity revenues in hard currency. There are no time constraints on remittances or limitations on outflow remittances of profits or revenue. However, outward foreign currency transactions require certain supporting documents (such as audited financial statements, import/foreign-service procurement contracts and proof of tax obligation fulfillment, and approval of the SBV on loan contracts etc.).
Sovereign Wealth Funds
The State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) technically qualifies as a sovereign wealth fund (SWF), as its mandate is to invest dividends and proceeds from privatization in assets outside of the state-owned sector. It was estimated at USD 2.8 billion in June 2016 (an updated estimate is not available.) However, the SCIC does not manage or invest balance-of-payment surpluses, official foreign currency operations, government transfer payments, fiscal surpluses, or surpluses from resource exports. SCIC’s primary mandate is to manage the non-privatized portion of SOEs. By July 2017, the SCIC managed a portfolio of 141 equitized SOEs, including 134 joint-stock companies, and three limited companies in various sectors. The SCIC invests 100 percent of its portfolio in Vietnam, and the SCIC’s investment of dividends and divestment proceeds does not appear to have any ramifications for U.S. investors. The SCIC budget is reasonably transparent, audited, and can be found at http://www.scic.vn/ .
In addition, the SCIC is working toward membership in the IMF-hosted International Working Group on SWFs.
Article: "Finance begins distributing estimates of the state's current expenditures, revenues, and public investment projects" That's a lot of words for one thing. You know what it is? The budget has the new exchange rate in it. These steps will reveal the new exchange rate.
Question: "When they release the new rate in country will it be international? Will we be able to exchange or will there be a delay in between?" When the CBI releases the new exchange rate, that's it. It's automatic. There's only one exchange rate. There aren't two...
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Frank26
What sense would it make for Iraq to join, at a program rate, the WTO? It makes no sense. The Vietnamese dong it's in the WTO but...they are totally different. They deal with China and they have undervalued currency. Vietnam is a totally different scenario. Going into the WTO at a program rate is ridiculous...Everything is waiting for the new exchange rate so everything will make sense...
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💢 Latest from Frank 26 ~ Iraq IQD NEWS 6.26.24
FRANK26: AL SUDANI (IRAQ PRIME MINISTRY) and his team go to the US treasury and deliver the monetary reforms that Sudani is going to implement for RV and RI of the IQD.
That is the reason why they are reforming the banking sector, which will increase the value of the Iraqi dinar.
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💢 Latest from Frank ~ 6.19.24
Frank: [The new ATMs] are everywhere now. It's not hundreds, it's not thousands, it's tens of thousands of them. They are everywhere that an Iraqi citizen can walk to. They are at their hookahs...mosques, barber shops...street..banks...corners, they're everywhere...There's going to be a massive rush going into the banks.
Iraq is preparing to establish a project that will change the oil map.. Will it affect energy producers?"
If you change the oil map, you change the exchange rate/the value of the currency of Iraq.
Quote: "Iraq's financial budget for the current year included the new pipeline project at an amount estimated at approximately 6.5 billion Iraqi dinars ($4.9 billion)"
I don't need to go any further than that...1.32 is what the citizens of Iraq are potentially in a position to receive. This article proves that there's a different rate in the budget...
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The investment law is being passed.You'll see it very soon. They have no choice. Sudani is extremely happy about it because that's how you're going to be able to get these new contract with the new exchange rate.
What is the time of the float? ...I want to watch the float. I want to calculate exactly just when I want to go ahead and exchange the rest of my dinar. Here's the problem. In the same manner they are giving [Firefly/Iraq citizens] a specific amount of time to turn them in, they will give us a specific amount of time to turn them in.
Did you see...Iraq and Kuwait are now linking with their fiber optics? This is extremely important part of the monetary reform...They know it's no longer a secret what is happening with the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar.
Things are going perfect. Everything is moving with such perfection that no one can do anything about this right now.
How much time will they [Iraqi citizens] have to trade in 3 zero notes?
[Boot's on the ground Firefly's bank friend] told Firefly you're going to be given a short amount of time to exchange your Iraqi dinar.This is the very first time ever that we have information from a very good source [saying] you're going to have a specific amount of time to trade in your 3 zero notes.
Today, Saturday, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Mohsen Al-Mandalawi considered the US Congress’ draft against the head of the judiciary, Judge Faiq Zaidan, a dangerous precedent and a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.
Al-Mandalawi’s office stated in a statement received by Al-Rabaa, “The latter considered what was reported by American media regarding Republican Congressman (Mike Waltz) submitting a draft law amendment and including a clause affecting the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, Faiq Zaidan, as a dangerous precedent to be added to the record of actions of the Biden government, which supported In public, it is the most horrific mass massacre committed by Zionist gangs against the people of Gaza, and today they threaten to attack the sovereignty of states and their symbols without a legal justification that allows them to do so.”
According to the statement, Al-Mandalawi called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to “move through its diplomatic means and deliver a direct message that Iraq, with all its authorities, rejects such offensive interventions, which came from the American Congressman, describing them as tools of influence for other countries,” stressing that “Iraq is a sovereign country, and its relations with… “All countries are built on the foundation of mutual respect.”
He stressed that “the bill that is to be submitted to Congress by the Republican representative, if approved, will constitute a dangerous turning point that will affect, in one way or another, the nature of bilateral relations between the two countries.”
Al-Mandlawi stressed the full support of the House of Representatives for the “Chief of the Judicial Authority, and its absolute rejection of any abuse of his authority and that of all authorities,” noting “the keenness of the Presidency of the Council to follow up on these illegal actions and take all necessary measures to reject them.”
...all of this information...is coming from Iraq directly, and we have some sources there ...was at the Baghdad International Airport and was able to use his credit/debit card. An Iraqi citizen was able to use his credit debit card to not only obtain lower denominations on the ATM, but also purchase airline tickets – in the ATM – which I didn't know you could do...
He did have a rate, and he was...successfully able to transact business in Iraq - on the Iraqi dinar
...He said, our time will come in a couple of days, a couple more days, but I think he's probably right...This should be a bang up weekend for us.
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from Iraq, from the source in Fallujah and this source was saying that we would have the Iraqi 2024 budget in the gazette over this weekend, that would be Saturday or Sunday.
...when we get to the point when things are very quiet, which they are...we know that we're close, and we know that...this is about to go...
Washington is more than present in the Iranian presidential elections
6-28-2024
Washington is more than present in the Iranian presidential electionsTehran – Iranian voters head to the polls on Friday with their eyes set on choosing a president who can improve the economic and social situation so that Iran does not find itself under pressure from the United States, which is strongly present in the minds of Iranians and the statements of the candidates to succeed the late President Ebrahim Raisi.
Iran’s parliament speaker and conservative presidential candidate Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf warned that the next president may have to “sell Iran to Trump or create serious tension in the country” if economic problems are not resolved.
In the minds of Iranians, former US President Donald Trump is associated with his decision in 2018 to withdraw from the nuclear agreement unilaterally, which was the reason for the re-imposition of sanctions on Tehran and its exclusion from the global economy, which exacerbated the tensions affecting the Iranian political climate.
Candidate Qalibaf warns that the next president may have to sell Iran to Trump if economic problems are not resolved
Iran has seen mass protests over economic woes and women’s rights abuses. Tensions with the West have also risen with a series of land and sea attacks on shipping, either directly or through its Houthi proxies in Yemen, after the war in Gaza broke out.
What happens in the war and Iran’s future may depend directly on the United States, which the leader of the 1979 revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini, denounced as the “Great Satan” and is still reviled at major events such as a recent speech by the 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei warned against supporting candidates who “think that all paths to progress go through America,” a veiled criticism of the only reformist running, Masoud Pezeshkian, who hopes to return to the 2015 nuclear deal.
The six presidential contenders (two of whom withdrew on Thursday) chanted Trump’s name. Former hardline candidate Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi said that if Trump wins the presidential elections, “we will be able to negotiate with him and impose our demands on him.”
State media reported that Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani and Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, head of the Martyrs Foundation, withdrew from the race to support conservative candidates.
Cleric Mostafa Pourmohammadi says Iran should engage in talks with the United States before a possible second Trump presidency. But his campaign poster included a photo of himself standing in front of Trump, with the words “I am the one who can stand against Trump!” Hardline candidate Saeed Jalili mocked his rivals as “afraid” of Trump and vowed to fight him.
Trump has raised the issue of Iran during his election campaign in recent days. He said he wanted to “make a fair deal with Iran,” and tried to claim that Tehran, which has long called for the destruction of Israel, would have somehow struck a diplomatic recognition deal with Tel Aviv. “A kid could have made a deal with them, and (Joe) Biden did nothing,” he asserted.
Interestingly, Joe Biden’s name was not mentioned during the Iranian election debates. Under Biden, the United States held several rounds of indirect talks with Iranian officials, before Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash in May.
The Biden administration has been broadly critical of Iran, particularly over the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022 and the women’s rights protests that followed, but has opened the door to Tehran’s access to some frozen assets abroad, including a deal that led to a prisoner swap between the two countries in September, less than a month before the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas.
Iranian oil sales cannot be ignored. Despite existing sanctions, Iran recently reported selling 2.5 million barrels per day. The lion’s share of those sales will likely shift to China, perhaps at a discount. Former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who concluded the nuclear agreement under President Hassan Rouhani, attributed these sales directly to the policies of the Biden administration.
If re-elected, Biden may try to work quietly and indirectly with the Iranians toward a deal that could later be put on the table
“The increase in crude oil sales was not the work of our friends, but when Biden came to power, a policy of easing sanctions was adopted,” he said, adding in an indirect reference to the hardliners: “Let Trump come and see what our friends will do.”
As broader talks in Vienna with world powers to revive the nuclear deal collapse, Biden may try to replicate a strategy he adopted when he was vice president under Barack Obama: working quietly and indirectly with the Iranians toward a deal that could later be put on the table.
The Biden administration believes that Iran has not carried out operations to develop a nuclear weapon, but it has taken provocative steps recently.
The International Atomic Energy Agency says that Iran is the only country that has enriched uranium to a high level of 60 percent, even though it does not possess nuclear weapons, which is a level slightly below the level needed to make weapons, while it has continued to store large quantities of uranium.
Biden’s re-election is likely to mean a continuation of the carrot-and-stick approach that continued during his term. But if Trump is re-elected, it could herald further complications.
In 2020, Trump ordered a drone strike that killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, even as he insisted he wanted a deal with Tehran.
“National Bank Violations” Put Central Bank Governor in Parliamentary Questioning
2024-06-28 | 04:09
National Bank Violations Put Central Bank Governor in Parliamentary QuestioningAlsumaria News – Local:
Today, Friday, MP Alia Nassif announced that she will direct a parliamentary question to the Governor of the Central Bank, Ali Al-Alaq, regarding the violations committed by the National Bank.
Nassif said in a blog post on the X platform that I followed Alsumaria News”We sent a parliamentary question to the Governor of the Central Bank, regarding the National Bank’s violation and breach of Iraqi laws.”
She added, “The question included an inquiry about the number of Iraqi and non-Iraqi employees in the National Bank, the number of executive positions held by non-Iraqis in this bank, and the reasons for not disclosing the salaries of its employees, especially non-Iraqis, to the Social Security Department due to information about tax evasion.”
They put the date wrong on there. It is July 18th.
On the news in Iraq, they are being told that they will be official, full members of the wto.
Eddy said that the news was hinting that they were already members of the wto.
Eddy asked why would they, we don't have a rate. Frank said you will have a rate way before then.
Frank said he got a Walkingstick report after talking to Eddy They said that they have work meetings tomorrow to discuss the rate in the budget, the new notes, and the timing of the release of the new notes.
Frank says we are in a serious time. He may have made some super cryptic message at the end, I can't tell. It was hard to hear with all the traffic behind him.
Sounds like he feels that it could happen this week from the way he talks. He said explicitly that it would be way before the 18th. We will see.
The dollar’s “stubbornness” against the Iraqi dinar widens the “gap” between the official and parallel prices
6-28-2024
The dollars stubbornness against the Iraqi dinar widens the gap between the official and parallel pricesShafaq News/ Iraq has been seeking for two years to end the phenomenon of dealing in dollars in the local market, while economic experts indicate that the Central Bank of Iraq’s measures have achieved “relative” success in controlling hard currency.
The
year 2023 witnessed an unprecedented rise in the dollar exchange rate, reaching 1,700 dinars per dollar and continuing for several weeks before gradually declining at the end of the year to reach a level ranging between 1,470 and 1,450 dinars per dollar during the past two months.
The Iraqi currency crisis began after the US Treasury Department banned 14 Iraqi banks from the global banking transfer mechanism known as SWIFT in an attempt to prevent the smuggling of dollars to Iran…
