The Sudanese financial advisor reveals a surprise regarding the dollar: Watch for the decline
The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Saleh, confirmed that the dollar exchange rates in the parallel market began to approach the official price set at 1,320 dinars per dollar after the recent measures taken by the Central Bank and the Iraqi government.
Saleh said in a press interview, “The high capabilities of Iraq’s currency reserves and the good management of directing them to finance foreign trade have resulted in a significant improvement in the exchange rate in the parallel market over the past period.”
He added, "The dollar exchange rates in the parallel market have begun to approach the official price, for reasons including the regularity of foreign trade for the private sector through the compliance platform, the Iraqi banks showing great flexibility in dealing with it to secure foreign transfers, and Iraq's openness to cash transfers, including electronic payment cards and importing foreign currency into...
The country regulates the financing of foreign trade in various currencies, including the euro and the UAE dirham.
He pointed out that "the measures taken by the Central Bank and the Iraqi government and the large cash reserves created a flexible market for foreign currency that contained the fluctuations of the parallel market," adding that "the dollar exchange rates continue to decline and are approaching the official price." link
FRANK: The reason I share these with you is because the pattern is changing...
BANK STORY WOMAN: I called the branch office...of Chase. I could tell I was talking to a lower level employee but I decided to continue with my questioning. I asked, the clerk if they did foreign currency exchange and she said yes, ma'am we do. Then I asked her if the bank would be exchanging the Iraqi dinar and dong...She said not at this time ma'am...
FRANK: 'Not at this time'. That is a pinch of hope, no doubt.
BANK STORY WOMAN: I asked, do you have any idea when they might be exchanging? She said we never know. Not once did she tell me it was a scam. She was encouraging me. She did say we would have to have an account to exchange.
Integrity commission recovers 2bn dinars from ex-officials' inflated funds
Shafaq News / The Iraqi Integrity Commission disclosed on Sunday the retrieval of over two billion dinars into the state treasury from high-ranking officials, one of whom was an advisor to the former Prime Minister, on charges of illicit gains and the notorious "theft of the century."
The commission, in a statement, detailed that it received 1.3 billion dinars from the accused, who served as the former Prime Minister's technical advisor, constituting part of the inflation and illicit gains in their assets.
Additionally, they succeeded in returning 775 million dinars, representing the value of a bribe received by the detained accused, the office manager of the Baghdad governor, from a foreign company.
This was in exchange for awarding project contracts to specific companies. Also, they retrieved a sum nearing 25 million dinars from the rental revenues of properties belonging to the detained accused, the wife of the former General Director of the Tax Authority.
Frank26: US DOLLAR ONLY USED IN 3 OFFICIAL WAYS INSIDE OF IRAQ"..........F26
Banks await the arrival of dollar shipments
12/20/2023 Baghdad: Shukran Al-Fatlawi
Iraq is awaiting dollar shipments imported by government and private banks after the recent agreements between the Central Bank and the American side. It is hoped that they will contribute to curbing and reducing exchange rates in the parallel market.
Although government sales are made at a price of 132 thousand dinars per hundred dollars, prices in the parallel market currently range between 153 thousand and 155 thousand per hundred dollars.
The head of the Association of Private Banks, Wadih Al-Handal, said: “The recent measures of the Central Bank of Iraq and the government, with regard to facilitating trade financing using new currencies, represented by the euro, the dirham, the Chinese yuan, and the Indian rupee, are a step that contributes to reducing the exchange rate of the dollar in the parallel market,” noting that “
The regulation of trade financing carried out by the government and the central bank through the entry of other goods into the platform will lead to an increase in trade financing.”
He confirmed in a statement to “Al-Sabah” that “private banks are taking great steps in expanding international relations with international banks, which facilitates the financing of Iraqi trade with countries around the world,” explaining that “the Prime Minister’s great support for the private sector is considered the beginning of reforming the Iraqi economy.”
Especially since the private sector is an important partner for the government, in providing services and jobs and reducing poverty.”
For his part, economic expert Dr. Mustafa Hantoush explained to “Al-Sabah”: The Central Bank used Instructions No. 4 of 2011 regarding the import of currency by banks licensed in the country that have the right to carry out this process to enhance capital
or for the purposes of addressing monetary crises.
He added that the US Federal Bank had earlier reduced the dollar payments that were delivered to the Central Bank due to money laundering and the seizure of the dollar by some countries close to Iraq, but the Central Bank agreed with the US Treasury on a successful and correct step to support local banks by establishing relationships with foreign banks.
And the gradual transition of operations to enhance the balance of its accounts, which is consistent with what the bank previously announced in its plan to gradually reduce dependence on the electronic platform until it ends its work next year. Hantoush stated that there are banking transactions and deposits received in dollars, and related operations were carried out in dinars with the approval of the Central Bank, because the depositor requests dollars or transfers coming from abroad that are deposited in bank accounts, and there is no payment in dollars except in dinars, which requires strengthening capital, (A NEW EXCHANGE RATE WITH VALUE -F26) and according to this process, the Central Bank Al-Iraqi agreed with the US Treasury on a successful step in this regard. (#1 TOLD AKI & WS, & THEN WE TOLD YOU, FAMILY -F26)
He continued that the American side deals as a merchant, concerned with the issue of profit, by imposing a reduction in the supply of the dollar, but on the other hand, when it sees its banks and companies making a profit, it agrees to most of the procedures, and it is a theory that it follows in managing the world economically.
It is noteworthy that a government source revealed that government and private banks imported $255 million within two weeks, and that a number of other requests to import the dollar are on their way to being audited and implemented, with other amounts expected to arrive within the next few days.
In turn, Imad Al-Muhammadawi, who is interested in economic affairs, told Al-Sabah: The steps taken by the Central Bank, represented by approaching banks to finance small merchants from Turkey in the euro, are extremely important as it reduces the burden and crises of using the dollar in commercial transactions. LINK
Expert warns of a rebound in the dollar/dinar exchange rate near the new year
Shafaq News/ An expert on Saturday warned of a rebound in the US dollar exchange rate against the Iraqi dinar that might follow a consistent pattern of decline towards the end of the current year.
The Iraqi government attributes the drop in the dollar rate to many factors, including the country's strong foreign exchange reserves and the efficient management of foreign trade.
"The rate in the parallel market is gradually approaching the official benchmark, due to the recent growth of private sector trade, the adherence to forex regulations, and the great flexibility of the banks managing the exchange platform," said Mudher Mohammed Saleh, the financial and economic advisor to Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani.
Saleh added that the opening up to transfers through various methods, including payment cards, importing physical foreign currency, and diversifying the hard currency reserves has also contributed to the decline in the US dollar rate in the parallel market.
Saleh said that the central bank's monetary policy is being "accurately and positively" implemented in accordance with short- and medium-term plans to maintain stability for the national economy.
"Therefore, the exchange rate will continue to decline in the parallel market," he said.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Sulaymaniyah Stock Exchange, Kurban Jabar, revealed that the dollar exchange rate is expected to fluctuate in the coming days due to the Christmas holiday.
He attributed the recent drop of the US dollar exchange rate against the Iraqi dinar to the success of a campaign the Iraqi government launched to boost external transfers by the beginning of the new year and its intention to deal in Iraqi dinars in all financial transactions."
"Of course, delivering the green banknotes directly to the banks, basically five banks, instead of the Central Bank of Iraq was also a major influence," Jabar said.
Jabar confirmed that there is an intention to link those banks to a bank in Oman and to increase the number of banks soon. He explained that if financial transactions in the country were unified in Iraqi dinars, this would allow the dinar to recover and the dollar exchange rate to decline, as the demand for the US dollar would be limited only to traders and citizens who wish to travel abroad.
Jabar pointed out that it is expected that there will be fluctuations in the dollar exchange rate during the remaining days of the outgoing year since major companies are either on vacation or doing the final financial assessment of the year.