[via PDK] Question: Rumor has it that currency dealers have been notified to stop selling currency after 11:59 CST. Any idea if this is accurate at all?
MarkZ: I was told they would stop selling right before the RV…of course they can change the wording and maybe slow down if they think it’s really close.
We were warned that we would see rough things before it happened and we are…
I firmly believe we are much closer than it appears. ...they could just pull the trigger at any time.
Question: What do you still expect as the rate for the dong?
MarkZ: I still expect the low $2 range…$2.25ish. But, most of my sources say it could be more in the $3 dollar range …we shall see.
...They are making certain that everything is conducted in dinar from here on out. For government function they can only use dinar…no other currencies...
Question: Do we need a new speaker of the house before Iraq can move forward?
We are being told that the ball is in Iraq’s court now…so no…
Question: ...are we close...just asking for a friend?
MarkZ: I think we are close…It certainly feels close.
Deputy: The development road project attracts the interest of 45 countries, 20 OCT
On Friday, Representative Baqir Al-Saadi confirmed that the development road project has attracted interest from 45 countries.
Al-Saadi mentioned in an interview that “The Development Road Project” is gaining more and more attention on a global level. According to studies, the project is expected to be economically successful and will focus on five significant areas in terms of changing the course of international transportation from Southeast Asia towards Europe.
According to the speaker, 45 countries have shown interest in the development road project. Some of these countries have even announced their intention to invest directly in the first phase by implementing various projects. The investments in this project will ultimately result in the creation of 10 new cities along the path of the road – from Basra all the way to the border with Turkey.
He highlighted that the project marks the beginning of a transformation in the region’s economic activity and the development of land routes that transport goods worth hundreds of billions of dollars annually.
The Iraqi government recently initiated a development project aimed at diversifying the economy and leveraging its strategic location on the international transport map.
Zimbabwe’s Plan to Drop US Dollar in 2025 Seen as Non-Starter | Bloomberg (10/19/23)
The US dollar will remain the dominant currency in Zimbabwe even after the government’s December 2025 deadline to stop its use in the economy, the country’s largest independent asset manager said.
Imara Asset Management, which oversees more than $100 million, said the dollarization of the economy is actually accelerating since authorities curbed the local currency’s availability in July to preserve its value. Data from the national statistics agency showed 80% of all economic transactions in Zimbabwe are now done in the greenback, up from 75% earlier this year.
“We are making the bold assumption that the US dollar will remain in place for a good while yet,” wrote John Legat and Shelton Sibanda, the company’s chief executive officer and chief investment officer, wrote in a quarterly note to clients Thursday. “The loss of the use of the US dollar would be a disaster for the economy.”
The Zimbabwe dollar has had a rocky history. The southern African nation abandoned it in 2009 when hyperinflation set in, and turned to the US dollar as the main medium of exchange. The currency was reintroduced in June 2019, outlawing all other legal tenders including the greenback. But again, that policy policy was reversed in April 2020 following the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The government currently plans to allow the use of the US dollar until December 2025 and no more.
The uncertainty over the next currency regime has forced banks to be cautious on lending beyond 2025. That’s raised borrowing costs for businesses and individuals and also curtailed the availability of funding for long-term investments. Previously, US dollar loans from banks were paid off in the local currency, with lenders suffering losses from the foreign-exchange volatility.
Banks and citizens want a stable currency that stores the value of their money and a stable environment must be created in the medium to long-term, according to Lawrence Nyazema, president of the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe.
“There is nothing wrong with using a mono-currency,” as long as the local unit is stable, said Nyazema. “The use of multi-currencies beyond December 2025 imply that banks can continue lending in the same currencies beyond the period.”
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said last week that authorities were “mulling over” the next steps on the currency policy. “We will not do things in a manner that will jeopardize the growth that we have seen so far,” said Ncube.
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has fiercely defended a return to the sole use of the Zimbabwe dollar.
Meanwhile, Imara also cast doubt on the gold-backed digital money, the so-called “ZiG” launched earlier this month. It said there is no proof that the ZiG is either backed by any physical gold or can be converted into gold and is largely a “project” of the central bank.
“Whether the ministry of finance also supports the concept is still relatively unknown,” the Harare-based brokerage said.
Shafaq News / The "Future Iraq" Foundation, dedicated to economic affairs, reported on Friday that the assets of eight Iraqi private banks have surged over the past five years to more than 13 trillion IQD.
The eight banks are as follows: Mansour Bank, Commercial Region Bank, Ashur International Bank, Islamic South Bank, Iraqi Islamic Bank, Baghdad Bank, Development Bank, and Iraqi Al-Ahli Bank.
The foundation stated in a report published today that the assets of these banks have increased by 108% from 2019 to 2023, reaching a total value of 13.7 trillion IQD in 2023, up from approximately 6.6 trillion IQD in 2019.
The report attributed this increase to the growth of deposits in these banks, which have risen by 131% to a total of 8.8 trillion IQD in contrast to the 3.8 trillion IQD in 2019.
Moreover, the revenues of these banks have soared by 285% compared to 2019, with an expected total of 908 billion IQD by the end of 2023, up from 235 billion IQD in 2019, as outlined in the report.
Member Of Parliamentary Investment: The Government’s Approach Is Not To Delay Budget Instructions
Time: 10/20/2023 13:04:42 Read: 572 times {Economic: Al-Furat News} A member of the Parliamentary Investment Committee attributed the delay in issuing the financial budget instructions to the appeals submitted to them in the Federal Court.
Asaad Al-Bazouni told {Al-Furat News} agency, “We do not expect that there is a government trend regarding delaying the issuance of budget instructions, and that the financial allocations are in place and the government has taken some measures in this regard, and that the delay may be due to the completion of the budget file and its appeals.”
He added, "We do not expect that the government's approach will be delayed."
On June 12, the House of Representatives voted on the federal budget law for the years 2023-2024-2025, after discussions that lasted for five days.
On August 7, the Federal Supreme Court decided the federal government’s appeal of the budget law.
Parliamentarians attributed the Ministry of Finance’s delay in the allocations to ministries and governorates more than five months after approving the budget to “a lack of financial liquidity, or to crossing the largest possible period of time to move away from the financial deficit, or to the delay that occurred in legislating the law and then in issuing implementation instructions,” while others attributed it. to fear that its funds would be exploited in the local elections scheduled for next December 18.
Iraq, for the first time in its history, approved a three-year financial budget in a single draft law, which Parliament voted on last June, and the government defended the move by saying that it aims to develop plans for important projects in The country, in addition to avoiding the problem of delaying the approval of financial budgets every year for several months.
The budget for the current year and the next two years, according to the budget law, amounted to 153 billion dollars, with an expected deficit of up to 48 billion dollars, and the price of oil was approved at 70 dollars per barrel, as exports constitute... Iraqi oil represents more than 96% of Iraq's financial imports.
