Shafaq News/ Director General of the Oil Products Distribution Company, Hussein Talib, revealed on Thursday the high rates of fuel refueling via electronic payment cards.
Talib said, in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency, “The company introduced the electronic payment service since April last year, and began gradually spreading the experiment to fuel filling stations in Baghdad and the governorates,” noting that “sales through the use of electronic cards recorded 35% last April.” One million, while November of last year recorded more than 350 million dinars,” they considered this an indication of the success of the experiment.
Talib stated, “The first quarter of this year will witness the gradual transition to electronic payment completely throughout Iraq,” stressing that “the company divided the governorates into electronic payment companies approved by the Central Bank.”
Talib called on citizens to “procure electronic payment cards to learn more about the service and discover its positive aspects.”
[via PDK] ...a number of banking contacts keep saying to “stay calm- it’s coming”...I feel fantastic about where we are. Iraq says it is pushing forward with its economic reforms this month…Let’s see what happens in January.
...with the government forcing the use of dinar only from now on…they need to have a higher value…or these people who have the green light to come in and start building are not coming…I am being told from my folks on the street over there to watch in the coming days or weeks for the rate of dinar on the prices of goods to change. To me this signals there is going to be a substantial change. And they told us they are going to implement their economic reforms in the month of January. And the exchange rate is a key issue in those.
...I have ZERO doubt that we are going to reset and the Iraqi dinar, Vietnamese dong, and others are going to do exceptionally well…It’s all in our history.
A lot of banking contacts are thinking we will see solid movement by the second…today on the first is a holiday and they are consolidating and moving things together…meaning possible announcements...There is a lot of fantastic chatter on what is going to. happen in the next 24 hours or so….
The Iranian Riyal Instead Of The Dollar.. Who Benefits From Financing Trade Between Baghdad And Tehran?
Posted On01-04-2024 By Sotaliraq Ayoub Saad Iraq began a project to import Iranian goods in the riyal currency instead of the US dollar, as it considered this step important and would contribute to increasing trade exchange with neighboring regional countries.
According to experts, this will put a big question mark on how Iraqi merchants can buy Iranian currency, because that requires either using the US dollar or using the Iraqi dinar, which will be returned again to Iraq for the purpose of being replaced with the dollar, given the very modest volume of Iraqi exports to Iran.
Assistant Director General of the General Foodstuff Company, Muthanna Jabbar, said in an interview with (Al-Mada), “The project was adopted by the Central Bank of Iraq in coordination with Iraqi government banks, starting with the Iraqi Trade Bank, Al-Rafidain and Al-Rashid Bank, and other accredited private banks.”
He adds, “The project depends primarily on reducing the internal demand of importing merchants for the dollar currency,” noting that “imports from Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia are in the internal currency. It is possible to adopt the internal currency as an alternative currency and calibrate the dollar prices within a specific mechanism in the banks.”
He continues, “Banks have a network of correspondents covering all locations of the world, and are also connected to stock exchanges. If the importer is from China or Iran, he is originally purchasing a specific commodity or commodity in that country’s currency.”
Jabbar explains, “Accreditation is opened on the basis of that country’s currency and is calibrated in dollars, so the Iraqi Trade Bank ensures through the correspondent network that it provides that country’s currency to the merchant applying for the platform for the purpose of import.”
The Assistant Director General of the General Foodstuff Company states, “This step will contribute to increasing trade exchange with regional neighboring countries on the basis of the dinar against the currency, which will help strengthen the dinar and reduce the demand for the import dollar.”[/size]
It is noteworthy that the volume of trade between Iraq and Iran reaches 10 billion dollars per year, and is divided into 95% in favor of Iranian goods, goods and services, and 5% in favor of Iraqi exports, in addition to amounts equivalent to the volume of this trade that Iraq pays to the Iranian side in exchange for importing the gas necessary to operate the stations. electrical.
For his part, economic expert Nasser Al-Kanani said, during a brief interview with (Al-Mada), that “the issue is not easy, and is in the negative interest of Iraq,” noting that “the government is forced to take this measure because it imports from countries under a blockade.”
It is noteworthy that the Central Bank of Iran confirmed the start of a project to settle its country’s exports abroad in the national currency, the riyal, and the issue of settling Iranian exports via the riyal currency outside the borders has been studied by the Central Bank for several months, and that its entry into force will address the requirements of exporters to Iraq and Afghanistan, in addition to the draft regulations. The cross-border riyal was formulated by the Central Bank, and practically two banks have started this project, and soon it will be circulated to all the country's banks.
The American magazine Forbes classified the Iranian riyal as the weakest in the world against the US dollar, as every one US dollar is equivalent to more than 422,000 Iranian riyals. “The difference is greater in parallel markets.”
Specialists believe that continuing to implement the decision to finance trade between the two countries in the Iranian currency would benefit the Iranian riyal but not the Iraqi one, due to the very modest volume of Iraqi exports to Iran.
According to statistics, Iran imported more than $263 million of various Iraqi products, witnessing a decline of 78% compared to previous years, and Iraq was one of Iran’s permanent trading partners over previous years and decades. LINK
Question: "Why do the [Iraqi] citizens want to keep using the dinar when the value is so low?"
Not everybody has access to the US dollar for one thing. #2 It's artificially low. A lot of Iraqi's know this. They know what's going on.
There's nothing they can do about it. That's one of the things, if you watch the parliamentary elections of Iraq one of the number one campaign promises all these guys make is we're going to add value to the dinar. They know it's artificially low. [They look around and think] we're selling more energy, the price per barrel is more, we have more customers and yet the dinar is [worthless] and we're all running around in poverty.
Question: "When it does revalue, when do we get out? How long do we wait?"
That depends on your own needs. Are you trying to get a house? Are you trying to pay off a loan? What is it because once you hit that number get out. Or if it doesn't go up to that number - Let's say you're trying to make...$250,000 and you realize the investment is only going to get you about $180,000, then get out! Diversify. Get into something else. Don't just stick around.
The only way you can answer those questions is you have to put a piece of paper down and realistically what is it that you want. You have to be realistic about it.
You can't say the first thing is I'm going to start off with a $50 million dollar mansion. Don't be stupid...Let's be a little more practical. A home over your head, debt free, for you and your family...then you can go for the big stuff. Your investments are based on that...what it is you want.
Monetary Conflicts: The Iranian-Iraqi Chamber Of Commerce Confirms The Continuation Of Exchanges Despite The Seizure Of The Dollar
January 3, 2024 Baghdad/Al-Masala Al-Hadath: Member of the Iranian-Iraqi Chamber of Commerce, Hamid Hosseini, said that the Iraqi Central Bank’s law to control the dollar and the announced restrictions do not mean the end of trade exchanges between the two countries or create problems in trade.
During a televised interview, Hosseini referred to the recent measures of the Central Bank of Iraq to deal with foreign currencies: The restrictions imposed after the adoption of this law were in no way a new or unprecedented event in the face of Iranian-Iraqi trade, as they had existed before in many ways.
He added: Naturally, this law made it difficult to exchange dollars in the markets of this country, which will naturally affect the process of commercial and international exchanges. These restrictions are very similar to the laws on buying and selling currencies in Iran and cannot be considered a complete ban on currency exchange.
He pointed to the consequences of applying this law on the foreign exchange process for Iranian merchants and businessmen in Iraq, and said: Nothing new will happen after this law, especially in a country like Iraq, where such issues can be easily resolved. Of course, perhaps export and import expenditures will rise slightly for a short period of time and the business process will face some risks, but it is unlikely that there will be a major problem in trade exchanges.
Referring to the political developments and events in the region and their impact on similar restrictions, this economic activist added: Such issues are generally related to political situations, relations and regional tensions, especially since Iraq is always under pressure from the United States and is forced to surrender to the demands of the United States often.
Hosseini expressed his hope that the positive trend of foreign exchange and trade between Iran and Iraq would continue, and he said: In Iraq, many people still do not want to transfer, buy and sell dollars through financial and banking networks or letters of credit and the like, and Iraqi exchange offices are still the main agent. To exchange currencies in this country.
He continued: Given the circumstances that Iraq is going through, there has always been a way to buy and sell currencies in this country, and Iran can continue its trade exchanges with this country in different ways. There is no doubt that despite the adoption of the new law in this country, the window is open for foreign exchange between Iran and Iraq, and the export process must continue in this way.
He believed that Iranian businessmen and merchants should not worry too much about the consequences of the new Central Bank of Iraq law, because other countries such as Russia, Syria, Venezuela, and others also face similar problems, but they were able to solve them.
In conclusion, he stressed that the Iranian government and the Central Bank are taking effective steps in this regard by providing more support and solutions for export operations and currency exchange with Iraq. https://almasalah.com/archives/78281
