The Parliamentary Finance Committee confirmed, on Thursday, that the procedures of the Central Bank of Iraq to change the exchange rate of the dollar in the local Iraqi markets did not have any effect and did not achieve any real actual result, revealing a legal violation related to the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Al-Alaq.

Member of the Finance Committee, Mohammed Nouri, said in an interview followed by / Mawazine News /, that “the Central Bank of Iraq is still continuing its wrong procedures that did not have any effect and did not achieve any real actual result in changing the exchange rate of the dollar in the local Iraqi markets, which was negatively reflected on the Iraqi reality and inflation rates rose significantly in the past days.”

He added, “There is work on this issue by the Parliamentary Finance Committee, whether it was interrogations or changing the Governor of the Central Bank due to the legal age, as he exceeded the legal age, and this is a violation of the Civil Service Law,”

noting that “many topics will be addressed by the Council in the coming days, especially the dollar file due to the major delays, in addition to the control of foreign banks owned by owners of foreign capital, which causes a disruption to national security and Iraqi economic security.”

For some time now, the dollar price has been declining in the parallel market, where it has stabilized at 145,000 dinars per 100 dollars throughout the past period, but it has risen again to exceed 150,000 dinars a few days ago.

Since the beginning of last year, Washington has intervened to limit the smuggling of dollars from Iraq, which has led to the dollar price rising in the local market to a record level of 170,000 dinars per 100 dollars, due to the decline in the Central Bank’s dollar sales, given that it is subject to the international “SWIFT” financial system.

It is noteworthy that the Central Bank has decided to finance trade in euros, Chinese yuan, Emirati dirhams and Indian rupees, in steps to reduce demand for the dollar. https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=251934

Saleh: The Central Bank’s Dollar Reserves Are Solid And The GDP Rate Is Very Optimistic

The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, confirmed the cohesion of foreign reserves, especially the dollar, at the Central Bank of Iraq.

Saleh told Al Furat News Agency, “Covering urgent expenses in dollars, as they represent the desired demand for foreign currency, in addition to the level of sufficiency of incoming foreign currency flows and the level of maintaining the country’s reserves of the total foreign currency held by the Central Bank, is subject to two main factors.”

He explained that the first factor is “the nature of the oil asset cycle, which is still at its highest levels of global price increases due to the strength of global demand for energy, and that economic expectations indicate that potential price fluctuations towards a decline are still out of reach and are largely linked to the end of military operations in Ukraine, and the return of the flow of Russian gas and oil, especially to European markets, as the Russian Federation is the second largest oil-producing country in the world and leads the production and export of gas to major consumer markets in the European continent directly.”

The other factor, according to Saleh, “is related to the surplus in the current account of the Iraqi balance of payments, as estimates issued by international financial institutions indicate that this percentage of the surplus in the current account of the Iraqi balance of payments to the country’s gross domestic product is no less than {positive 6%}, which is a very optimistic positive percentage.”

He explained that “both factors indicate the cohesion of the country’s foreign reserves, which are generated by high oil export revenues to date, versus control over outward cash flows of foreign currency to meet local demand for imported goods, services and foreign benefits, as the current account of the balance of payments indicates that it is in a positive and stable position and is consistent with the general budget’s spending tendencies during the current fiscal year 2024.”  LINK

Economist: The Iraqi Banking Sector Has Achieved Significant Growth

Banks  Economy News – Baghdad  Today, Thursday, the head of the “Iraq Al-Mustaqbal” Foundation for Economic Studies and Consultations, Manar Al-Obaidi, confirmed that the Iraqi banking sector has been able to achieve growth in many areas during the past period.

Al-Obaidi said in a tweet followed by “Al-Eqtisad News” that the data of the Iraqi banking sector between 12-31-2022 and 5-31-2024 indicate that the banking sector, despite all the challenges and shocks it faced during this period, was able to achieve growth in many areas, specifically in financial inclusion, as well as an increase in bank assets and maintaining the volume of deposits despite everything that was raised about the sector.

Al-Obaidi published a table showing all the figures related to the Iraqi banking sector between December 13, 2022, and May 31, 2024. At Link Below is the table published by Al-Abid- https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=45590

Al-Sudani Receives The Approval Of The Coalition Of Companies That Won The Investment Opportunity For The Baghdad Metro

Baghdad  Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani received today, Thursday, the approval of the coalition of companies that won the investment opportunity for the Baghdad Metro.

Al-Sudani’s office stated in a statement received by / Mawazine News /, that “the Prime Minister chaired, today, Thursday, a meeting dedicated to following up on the Baghdad Metro project, as His Excellency received the approval of the coalition of companies; Vaskhod & Wonter International Capital, which won the investment opportunity to design, implement, operate, maintain, finance and transfer ownership (DBOMFT) for the Baghdad Metro project, according to the specific criteria specified in the investment portfolio, and the coalition includes French, Spanish and Turkish companies, with a German bank.”

According to the statement, Al-Sudani pointed out “the importance of this strategic project, the largest of its kind in the region, and what it means for a large city like Baghdad, with the latest international specifications, and in a manner that suits the service required to be provided, and keeps pace with future developments.”

The statement added, “The negotiation process will start between the Baghdad Municipality, the Investment Authority and the coalition, to set the technical, financial and executive details of the contract, which the coalition won, according to the investment opportunity for the Baghdad Metro, stated in Cabinet Resolution No. (23374) for the year 2023.

The coalition includes the French groups Systra and SNCF, the Spanish companies Alstom, Talgo, and SENER, and Turkish companies specializing in construction, in addition to the German Deutsche Bank.”

https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=251958

The Stock Market Ends The Week In Green

Market  Economy News – Baghdad  The Stock Exchange ended Thursday’s session in green, after its index rose by 0.35%.

The closing session witnessed the trading of 3.6 billion shares, worth 1.9 billion dinars.

591 deals were executed on the shares of 35 traded companies.

The value of the shares of 10 companies increased, while the shares of 9 other companies decreased.