Article: "Election Commission: The preliminary results will be announced this evening, and we will conduct a manual count in front of everyone"
Article: "Chairman of the Board of Commissioners: The electoral process is proceeding smoothly, and the voting machines will stop at six in the evening"
Article: "Iraq agrees with the UAE to launch financial transfer and trade financing operations between the two countries"
Quote: "The Central Bank stated in a statement...that Central Bank Governor Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq met in Dubai with the Chairman of the First Abu Dhabi Bank Group, Hana Al Rostamani, indicating that during the meeting it was agreed to launch financial transfer operations between the two countries and finance trade and imports between them. Iraq and the United Arab Emirates in the UAE dirham currency through First Abu Dhabi Bank "
Article: "Samsung: Iraq represents the most prominent market in the Middle East"
Article: "The World Gold Council announced, on Thursday, that Iraq and 4 Arab countries possess more than one million tons of global gold reserves ." Quote: "Iraq maintained its ranking of 30th globally out of the 100 countries listed in the table with the largest gold reserves, as it has not purchased gold since May, bringing its gold possessions to 132.7 tons, which represents 7.7% of the rest of its other reserves ."
Article: "Zain Cash relaunches the “Western Union” service"
Quote: "In light of the rapid development in the world of financial transfers and a renewal of the company’s commitment to providing safe and reliable services to its customers, Zain Cash has relaunched the Western Union service after updating and developing it, "
Article: " Government source: Starting to implement the banking arrangements agreement with Türkiye”
Quote: "The Central Bank has reinforced tens of millions of euros as an initial payment to cover retailers’ imports from Turkey."
BANK STORY PERSON: I'm a pastor south of Nashville...yesterday I thought I'm gonna do my due diligence and reach out to some of the banks in my area...The Franklin/Brentwood area south of Nashville is the richest county in the United States...The first bank was a Pinnacle Bank...the oldest bank in Nashville...I talked to the branch manager and she knew nothing...
She knew zero about it...I walked over to the Wells Fargo...I said I'm curious if you guys verify and exchange foreign currency her eyes lit up. She said, which currency have you got? I said the Iraqi dinar. She said, sir we do not and the reason we do not is because there have been several times Wells Fargo has got burned by bad currency...
I thanked her for her time and I thought ok two strikes let's try Chase which is 50 yards away. I walk into Chase in Franklin, Tennessee, asked for the branch manager...I said sir do you do anything with foreign currency?He said yes we do. He said which currency have you got. I said the Iraqi dinar. He said absolutely yes. He was very excited about it. We were standing right there in the middle of the lobby and he didn't try to hold back his facial expression,
language or anything. He said, yes, we would love to do business with you.
FRANK: Did he say anything else like yeah, we know or we're in preparation, we're getting ready?
Bank Story Man: I said, how are you aware of that. He said, we've been waiting for this to transpire...
I said, depending on the amount dinar our group brings in to you, can you work with us on the transaction fee or even eliminate it?He said sorry sir we are not...The way Chase has got it established...they have it baked in. That was his exact words, baked in transaction fee into the rate...He can't change it. I said so no matter what outlet...location or the amount of dinar? He said that's right, it will not change.
FRANK: What was that fee did he say?
BANK STORY MAN: He said around 4%.
FRANK: Wow, I've always said a fair rate is anything like 1%, 2% or 3%. I guess they decided to go one more percent. That's a lot of money.
BANK STORY MAN: He said I also I want you to be aware of something. He said when you come in to do your exchange, he said realize we can only do $5,000 increments at a time.
In a statement, the group added that, as friends and partners of Iraq, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the World Bank commit to supporting Iraq in the implementation of a comprehensive and ambitious reform agenda, paving the way to sustainable and inclusive economic development.
Statement of the Iraq Economic Contact Group of the G7, European Union and World Bank
On December 12, the Iraq Economic Contact Group (IECG) held the final meeting of 2023, co-chaired by Italy and the United States. As friends and partners of Iraq, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the World Bank commit to supporting Iraq in the implementation of a comprehensive and ambitious reform agenda, paving the way to sustainable and inclusive economic development.
The IECG is eager to strengthen its engagement with the Government of Iraq (GOI) through regular dialogue at both the political and technical level. This engagement is crucial to streamline cooperation between the two sides, identify and support common goals, and support the GOI's priority reform areas. The IECG commends Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani for appointing business and economics experts within his office and looks forward to collaborating with them.
The IECG was encouraged by Prime Minister Sudani's announcement of new economic reform initiatives throughout 2023 and the passing of a historic three-year budget that laid the foundation for implementation of the government's reform agenda. In October, Iraq gained membership to the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) - a move strongly supported by the IECG as the first step to unlocking new sources of investment and enhanced cooperation with other multilateral and bilateral financial facilities.
In the past month, the government convened conferences on Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and tax reform, including a new bank sector reform project with Rafidain Bank. Further, the GOI recently announced the establishment of the Iraq Fund for Development (IFD) alongside the Development Road project, and the Prime Minister strengthened economic ties with regional partners. The GOI's efforts to expand the use of digital platforms for financial transactions, with electronic payment and other e-commerce mechanisms, represent important steps to minimize the informal economy and reduce opportunities for corruption.
Looking ahead to next year, the IECG welcomes further cooperation in support of Iraq's economic and financial sector development, including Prime Minister Sudani's policies to strengthen the dinar and oversee monetary policy. Clear communication of new dinar policies during the transition period will help avoid adverse effects on Iraqi households and businesses as well as on development cooperation projects and foreign investments in Iraq.
The IECG also stands ready to support Iraq's next steps to becoming an EBRD Country of Operations, its journey toward World Trade Organization accession, and its potential partnership with the European Investment Bank (EIB). EIB's expertise in road, railroad, water and sanitation investments, climate action, environmental sustainability financing as well as urban transmission initiatives will accelerate key infrastructure measures and help facilitate a green transition.
The IECG urges further attention in 2024 to address the deficit and public sector wage bill, measures that would improve fiscal resilience. Timely budget execution will be critical to the GOI's ability to sustain important infrastructure investment, particularly in expanding domestic power generation, distribution, and expansion of green energy. Long-term sustainable economic development is contingent on a dedicated response to pressing climate and environmental challenges. Sustained investment in water management and infrastructure is critical to counteract the debilitating impacts of climate change.
To accelerate private sector growth, the IECG encourages government action to identify and address the challenges faced by domestic and international business, including efforts to promote transparent and predictable regulations. In this vein, we welcome further progress on the PPP, Companies, Industrial Investment, Customs, and Arbitration laws as well as timely implementation of the recommendations from the recent PPP and tax reform conferences.
On January 1, Italy and the United States proudly hand over the IECG to incoming co-chairs France and the United Kingdom. Under their leadership, the IECG will continue to support an ambitious reform agenda, promote sustainable economic development, and stand by Iraq's side as a reliable friend and partner in 2024. link
“The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has issued a public consultation on proposed amendments to its standard on banks’ exposures to cryptoassets.” These proposed changes will flesh out the criteria needed to back stablecoins with reserve assets and require Banks to have an understanding of how these procedures work to ensure a sufficient understanding of their use.
These public comments and proposed amendments will become crypto asset standards for the next economy. The purpose of public consultation is to allow citizen input to inform policy design along with decision-making processes.
This will be an update to a process that has already taken place and will be due on March the 28th, 2024.
[via PDK] We have seen the IQD listed on foreign exchanges around the world. But, this doesn’t mean the IQD is fully international with a new rate yet. But it is showing up on all kind of exchanges…regionally and internationally and locally on all kind of bank screens. It has never shown on these before. So we are headed in the right direction.
Question: What is the rate that is being shown?
MarkZ: Anywhere from $1 to about $4.81 depending on who, what or where it is being shown...My Iraqi sources seem to think something will happen this week. We are looking for huge stuff starting tomorrow on the 20th through Jan 1
The rumors are through the roof. From Iraq especially…that they have expectations for the next 48 hours and before the 20th. I do not know if it will happen on the 20th…but I do feel it will happen within the next few weeks. Banking contacts are all looking at the next 36/48 hours… We really are close...lets see what happens. But everyone stay grounded. You all know it’s inevitable. It’s a “when” and not an “if”...