Planning: Census operations will continue for two weeks starting from November 20
10/25/2024
The Ministry of Planning confirmed today, Friday, that the date for conducting the census on November 20 is fixed and unchanged, while it indicated that its operations will continue for two weeks until December 3, 2024.
The ministry's spokesman, Abdul Zahra Al-Hindawi, said in a press statement, "The ministry has completed the requirements for conducting the population census," stressing that "the percentage of completion of the requirements for enumeration and numbering reached 96% in all governorates, except for the governorates of the Kurdistan Region, which reached 65%." Al-Hindawi added, "The Ministry of Planning is anticipating the census as an event that has been absent from Iraq for 27 years, and has worked to provide all requirements for conducting the population census on 11/20-21/2024."
He added, "The population census project is huge and large and includes an inventory of everything above ground, including buildings, homes, and residential facilities," stressing, "the development of a comprehensive plan by the Ministry of Planning." He explained that "the inventory and numbering process was preceded by aerial photo census operations for all buildings throughout Iraq," stressing that "the inventory and numbering operations witnessed the addition of 10% of buildings through aerial photos, which records the expansion of the construction and building movement in Iraq."
Al-Hindawi said, "The ministry has prepared 40,000 well-trained researchers to record population census data," stressing, "The process of training 80,000 enumerators has begun, so that the total number of researchers will be 120,000."
He stressed that "the census staff is capable of completing its tasks in the required manner," while he explained that "the census process is distributed to every 100 families by a researcher to record their basic data (number of individuals, gender, age)," stressing that "the announcement of the initial results includes the general census (number of females + number of males) and the population of each governorate."
He added, "The census process will continue until December 3, 2024. The counted family will be referred to record data (housing, health and education), and its results will be the end of the census."
The Central Bank of Iraq decides to reduce interest to 5.5% in order to support economic growth
10/25/2024
The Central Bank of Iraq decided to reduce the interest rate from 7.5% to 5.5%, after the inflation rate decreased in Iraq.
According to the Ministry of Planning, the inflation rate has fallen from 8% to less than 3%.
Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Ammar Hamad, said, "Based on the monetary policy orientations to enhance access to targeted inflation rates in a manner that does not conflict with the expected economic growth rates, and is consistent with the policy of developing deposits and increasing credit rates aimed at targeting projects, the Board of Directors of the Central Bank decided to reduce the monetary policy rate to 5.5% instead of 7.5%."
He added that the securities, namely Islamic deposit certificates and traditional transfers, were reactivated according to an annual plan with two terms, 14 days with a return of 4% and 182 days with a return of 5.5%.
He stressed that the maximum investment limit does not exceed 50% of the total private sector deposits at the bank.
The Central Bank stressed that the bank's investment ceiling in a single auction does not exceed 500 billion dinars.
"PART 2 OF THE HYBRID MONETARY POLICY".........F26 (A 2ND SET OF BOOKS)
"Hybrid Monetary Policy".. Al-Sudani's Advisor Reveals the Central Bank's New Step
10/26/2024
The economic advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, explained today, Saturday, precise details about the importance and reasons for the Central Bank of Iraq’s decision to reduce interest.
Saleh told {Euphrates News} that: "It is clear that the monetary policy of the Central Bank of Iraq has become a policy that meets the requirements of growth in real economic activity, through activating its operational objectives aimed at reducing the cost of credit and financing within the joints of the economic system in general and the banking system in particular.
" He explained, "The Central Bank began, through its decision issued in accordance with its circular on October 24, to reduce the monetary policy interest rate (which is the rate at which the Central Bank of Iraq deals with the banking system) by about 200 percentage points, by lowering the interest at which the Central Bank deals with banks from 7.5% to 5.5%, which means that the Central Bank of Iraq has become following an expansionary policy in targeting the money supply in a manner that is consistent with activating the real sector in the national economy and confronting unemployment indicators in the overall economy."
According to the statement of the Prime Minister's economic advisor, "Despite the above, the bank in its new policy did not neglect the importance of continuing to control local liquidity levels and carrying out high sterilization operations, by offering debt instruments called Islamic certificates of deposit with a return that increases with the length of the amortization period of those securities purchased by the banking system, which are considered sovereign debts that can be mortgaged or discounted in the secondary market and are excellent debts."
He continued, "The monetary policy of the Central Bank has given a signal to the financial and banking system that its easy or flexible policy adopted by the bank in moving the liquidity of the economy is under continuous control in order to play the role of the monetary authority in combating inflationary activities and imposing economic stability as its first central goal." Saleh concluded by saying, "Between expanding the movement of economic liquidity as an expansionary policy and imposing control over liquidity levels by offering debt instruments in return at the same time in parallel, we can call the current monetary policy of the Central Bank of Iraq a {hybrid flexible monetary policy}." (A 2ND SET OF BOOKS -F26)
The bank decided to reduce the interest rate from 7.5% to 5.5%, in addition to reactivating the securities (Islamic certificate of deposit and money transfers) according to an annual plan and with two terms: with a return of 4% for a period of 14 days and a return of 5.5% for a period of 182 days.
We have been...told by my CBI contact on the committee that we should expect to see the ramped-up Project to Delete the Zeros sometime soon after the U.S. election period is over sometime in November.
This period of time through December will begin the process for the swap out with the newer lower denominations.
To me this also means about a 1:1 at par rate of the IQD with the US dollar. But remember this is IN-COUNTRY only. Also remember these actions ALWAYS have dependencies. Nothing is a guarantee! I want to make this VERY CLEAR to you today.
.the media is constantly broadcasting commercials about how the swap out will work. Then the news media from Iraq tells us about the “cash center” that recently opened in Karkh.
It is used solely for the intake of the three zero dinar notes or dollars. Folks they are already sucking in the three zero notes...So in reality, unofficially, the process of deleting the zeros has already begun. Yes, it is underway according to my CBI contact.
Waiting to be sent.. Oil and Gas Law on the Government Discussion Table
10/24/2024
Baghdad..
Member of the Parliamentary Oil, Gas and Resources Committee, Kazem Al-Tawki, confirmed today, Thursday, that the draft oil and gas law is awaiting approval within the Council of Ministers, indicating that the joint committees between the federal government and the regional government are
continuing their work to decide on the law.
Al-Tawki told Al-Maalouma Agency, “There are controversial articles that hinder sending the draft oil and gas law to the House of Representatives,” noting that “the draft is still in the government’s possession.”
He added that “the oil and gas law is still on the government’s discussion table,” noting that “the relevant committees are continuing their meetings in the hope of reaching an agreement on the controversial articles.”
He stressed that “there is a common vision between the governments of Baghdad and the region to complete the oil and gas law file and send it to the House of Representatives.”
