Kirkuk: Mediation for calm… but the “explosion” could happen at any moment, 10 SEPT

 Kirkuk: Mediation for calm… but the “explosion” could happen at any moment

Kirkuk: Mediation for calm... but the explosion could happen at any momentVarious political mediators are moving to control the calm in the city of Kirkuk (north of Baghdad), after violent friction between demonstrators and security forces, which was close to the outbreak of widespread violence.

Although the mediations have so far been able to restore cautious calm to the city, the roots of the problem have not been resolved, and it appears that the current movements do not have a strategic plan for normalization in Kirkuk.

Meanwhile, a large number of military vehicles carrying soldiers from the army and special forces, and riot control units, arrived in Kirkuk after reports of a possible Kurdish demonstration in the center of the city.

A senior officer said: The security forces have higher orders to prevent any unauthorized demonstration, while observers from the city’s residents expect that “the atmosphere is completely ready to explode.”

It seems that supporters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party see the current truce as a “setback for their presence in Kirkuk,” while their competitor, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, is regaining its local influence there, due to the increasing rapprochement of its leader, Bafel Talabani, with the Shiite factions.

The latter two apply to some extent the saying “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” against Masoud Barzani in Kirkuk, but settling scores in this way, and in a nationally complex city, would seem like “playing with fire,” in the words of a local official in the Kirkuk government.

The city was supposed to be subject to Constitutional Article 140, which stipulates the normalization of the situation through a population census and a referendum on its fate, but after federal forces took control of the city in 2016, Shiite party leaders considered that there was no need for this article of the constitution.

rawabetcenter.com

Iraq stock market. The last place to trade "fils" and its "black" market defraud the price of the dollar, 10 SEPT

 Iraq stock market. The last place to trade "fils" and its "black" market defraud the price of the dollar

 2023-09-09 | 21:11

Economists said that the Iraq Stock Exchange relies on the shares of leading companies such as the Babel Hotel and Pepsi, while most other offered institutions sell their shares at a low price less than a dinar, so that the value is recorded in "fils", a currency that has not been in circulation for many years.

Duraid Al-Enezi – Securities expert for Network 964:

The stock market in Iraq is emerging but is active.

– The market was established in the time of the former regime, but it was established with small amounts of money because Iraq was going through an economic blockade.

After 2003, the market witnessed a reactivation as it shifted from a centralized system to a market and stock system.

– The stock market suffers because it does not contain sufficient industrial and agricultural companies and depends on trade, banks and some hotels.

– The prices of the leading shares (the most popular), do not exceed 10 dinars per share, while the majority of shares are sold at "fils".

– The market suffers from multiple problems, for example, if the manager of a joint stock company rehabilitates the company or even buys a car for the company, these expenses are deducted from the dividends of its shareholders.

– The market also suffers from limited profitability compared to stock exchanges in the countries of the region, which rely on a solid economic strategy and work in various fields.

Another controversial issue is that companies these days are not officially selling their shares, but rely on a recently emerging black market. Official direct selling is based on the official exchange rate, while the black market sells shares at the dinar rate traded in exchanges.

The issue of the dollar and its price fluctuations have significant effects on the stock market as the sudden decision to devalue the dollar by the government inflicted millions of dollars in losses on the stock exchange.

Bassem Antoine, an economist for Network 964:

– The stock market in Iraq needs significant development at the level of management and heads of companies that offer shares on the stock exchange.

– The fluctuation of the price of shares includes many companies participating in the stock exchange as some shares are sold for 150 fils.

There are more than 120 companies that offer shares on a daily basis for sale on the stock market.

Government support for this market is weak, although a boom in the market can have significant positive effects on the country's economic reality.

– There are a few companies that maintain their market value, such as the Babylon Hotel and Pepsi, and this came against the background of the economic management of these companies.

– The fluctuation of dollar prices has significant negative effects on the market as it devalues the dinar and thus the value of companies' shares declines.    LINK

Iran to remove dollar from tourism ties with regional states - Mehr News Agency (9/9/23), 10 SEPT

  Iran to remove dollar from tourism ties with regional states - Mehr News Agency (9/9/23)

TEHRAN, Sep. 09 (MNA) – The Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) announced that the dollar will be removed from tourism exchanges with the countries of the region.

Currently, Iran's trade transactions with other countries are generally carried out in euro, dirham, yuan, ruble, rupee, and dinar currencies, the CBI governor Mohammadreza Farzin said on Saturday.

Tourism and non-commercial transactions are made with the dominant currencies of the euro and the dollar, Farzin noted.

He further added that removing the dollar from non-commercial and tourist transactions happened for the first time in the country during the Arbaeen pilgrimage this year.

Extending the satisfactory experience of Arbaeen (removing dollar) to other countries in the region is under expert review and operational planning, he added.

https://en.mehrnews.com/news/205795/Iran-to-remove-dollar-from-tourism-ties-with-regional-states

Intel has a $1.5 billion factory in southern Vietnam for assembling, packaging and testing chips, the biggest in its global network, and has had plans to expand it.

Amkor is building near Hanoi "a state-of-the-art mega factory for semiconductor assembly and testing," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on a visit to Hanoi in July. The company has dozens of open positions on its Vietnam web page.

Chip designing firm Marvell has said it plans to build a "world-class" centre in Vietnam. 

U.S. officials have repeatedly said that assembling and designing were the segments of the chipmaking industry where Vietnam was likely to grow faster, although a shortage of engineers could slow the industry take-off.

Vietnam has also ambitions to build its own chipmaking factories, or fabs. GlobalFoundries is specialised in making integrated circuits on wafers for smartphones, cars and other applications.

Vietnam is a major exporter of smartphones and electronics.

An executive at a major U.S. chips firm said the Vietnamese government had been holding meetings with most major chips companies in the country, including Intel, Samsung and Qualcomm, to ask for advice on setting up the country's first fab.

U.S. officials have also said an upgrade of formal ties with Vietnam could help collaboration on artificial intelligence (AI), a sector in which Google is a major global player.

Vingroup, Vietnam's largest conglomerate and the parent of Nasdaq-listed electric car maker VinFast, has a unit focussed on AI.

Boeing may announce a deal involving the sale of 50 of its 737 MAX jets, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Boeing declined to comment.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/exclusive-top-us-chipmakers-tech-firms-attend-vietnam-meeting-biden-visits-3758281

"RV UPDATE" BY MILITIAMAN, 10 SEPT

 Militia Man  

2023-24-25 budget has not been opened.  They're not spending money yet.  I don't think anybody out there has any data to support the fact that they have.  I haven't seen it.

Article quote:  "...Many Iraqi people including the Kurds may not have known in order to clarify part of the secrets of the crisis despite Baghdad's efforts to overcome them."  What are they talking about? 

 They're giving an excuse why some things didn't happen.  They're giving themselves a way out and that way out was something that was secret.  What could not be disclosed to them until the last minute? 

...My view on it is that secret, that unknown, is likely going to turn out to be an exchange rate change...

  For Iraq to go international they're  going to have to be article VIII compliant with the IMF and their currency exchange rate..

.They haven't come this far to go ahead and do the status quo...All the news...is phenomenal...

Why haven't they [Paid the salaries]?  There's got to be a reason for it and we believe it comes down to that the 23, 24, 25 budget is going to have an internationally acceptable exchange rate that's going to be on the Forex so that we all as investors can freely trade the Iraqi dinar in an international environment.  That's the whole purpose of us being here...

September 9, 2023 BY NADER FROM MID EAST

An Economic Specialist For Nina: An Increase In The Monetary Supply Without Growth In The Economic Base Constitutes A Weakness In The Local Currency, 10 SEPT

 An Economic Specialist For Nina: An Increase In The Monetary Supply Without Growth In The Economic Base Constitutes A Weakness In The Local Currency

Saturday 09, September 2023 11:03 | Economical Number of readings: 434  Baghdad / NINA / The specialist in economic affairs, Durgham Muhammad Ali, confirmed: “An increase in the monetary mass without growth in the economic base constitutes a weakness of the local currency,” indicating: “The monetary mass of the local currency amounted to 116 trillion dinars.”

Muhammad Ali said in a statement to the National Iraqi News Agency ( NINA ) that, “There is no actual development of the Iraqi economy and that growth is the result of relatively improved oil prices, which is an unguaranteed issue, so the central bank has limits on the size of the local monetary mass that must be adhered to.”

 Stating: “What frightens economists is that there will be printing of the local currency with the same specifications outside the framework of the Central Bank to purchase cash dollars, and this is something that the state is closely following up to prevent it from happening.”

He explained that "the bank's monitoring of the rise in the monetary supply makes the equation accurate to maintain the actual strength of the Iraqi dinar, and that the central bank has accurate calculations of currency reserves as a cover for the local currency."

Advisor to the Prime Minister, Mohamed Al-Najjar, revealed that the monetary mass of the local currency has reached 116 trillion dinars, indicating that initiatives to expand electronic payment are consistent with the government’s directions.

Al-Najjar said, “Electronic payment is an important axis for developing the Iraqi financial sector and moving it to an advanced stage in the country’s monetary policy,” noting that “the size of the Iraqi monetary mass amounts to 116 trillion dinars, of which 30-40 trillion dinars are circulating within the banking system.”/ End 8   

https://ninanews.com/Website/News/Details?Key=1076406

Iraq News How We Know the IQD Will Increase in Value #iqd BY SANDY INGRAM