More Than 3 Billion Shares Traded In The Iraq Stock Exchange During The Week
Market Economy News – Baghdad The Iraq Stock Exchange witnessed remarkable activity during the second week of July 2024, as more than 3 billion shares were traded with a total value exceeding 3 billion Iraqi dinars.
The main trading index ISX60 rose by 2.84% to close at 904.16 points, while the ISX15 rose by 1.73% to close at 1016.57 points.
These indicators indicate the continued confidence of investors in the Iraqi market, and reflect the positive developments in the Iraqi economy in general.
Highlights from the weekly report:
Significant rise in trading indicators: The ISX60 index rose by 2.84% to close at 904.16 points, while the ISX15 index rose by 1.73% to close at 1016.57 points.
High trading activity: More than 3 billion shares were traded with a total value exceeding 3 billion Iraqi dinars.
Investor Confidence: The rise in trading indicators reflects the continued confidence of investors in the Iraqi market. Views 29 2024/07/11 – https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=45124
Iraq Stops Dealing With The Chinese Yuan…And The Currency Basket Is An Alternative
Time: 2024/07/11 09:13:56 Read: 2,639 times {Economic: Al Furat News} The Parliamentary Finance Committee revealed that Iraq has decided to stop dealing with the Chinese yuan in financial transfers.
Committee member Moeen Al-Kazemi said in a press statement that “the US Federal Bank imposed on Iraq to stop dealing in the Chinese yuan, under the pretext that there was manipulation in some transfers or certain problems occurred.”
He believed that “many decisions by the Central Bank are imposed by the US Federal Bank,” according to him.
Al-Kazemi pointed out that “Iraq’s money, as we know, is placed in the US Federal Bank as a result of the sale of oil at a rate of 3.5 million barrels per day, and this money enters the US Federal Bank and is not transferred to Iraq in cash, but is transferred to Iraq through transfers issued by the Central Bank and the Federal Bank is notified and then the Federal Bank is convinced of this transfer and commercial transaction and on the basis of it releases amounts to the relevant parties exporting to Iraq.”
He noted that “many of the Central Bank’s procedures are governed by the American will, and this will may be explained for administrative and financial reasons, non-financing of terrorism, and others,” believing that “the reasons are political with the aim of pressuring the Iraqi government,” according to his expression.
Regarding the impact of canceling dealing in the Chinese currency, Al-Kadhimi pointed out that “the merchant and the Central Bank have multiple options and not to deal only with the dollar, so this suspension is temporary and not permanent.”
As for what the Parliamentary Finance Committee will do in this regard, a member of the committee explained, “We will ask the Central Bank to address the issue and for the currency basket to be diverse, so that the options are more for the Central Bank and Iraqi merchants.”
It is noteworthy that Iraq has strengthened its assets denominated in yuan through the Singapore Development Bank to finance Iraqi trade and imports with China by about $ 12 billion annually.
Iraq has also moved to strengthen its assets in the Emirati dirham and negotiated an increase in its assets denominated in euros to finance trade with the European Union, and Iraq has also begun opening bank accounts in the Indian rupee for a number of Iraqi banks.
Since the beginning of 2023, the Central Bank of Iraq has issued several decisions aimed at maintaining the stability of the general monetary and economic situation and confronting the risks of fluctuations in the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar against the US dollar, in addition to facilitating import and export operations by opening new horizons with international banks, including Chinese banks.
Among the decisions of the Central Bank of Iraq is to enhance the balances of Iraqi banks that have accounts with Chinese banks in Chinese yuan, as dealing in yuan directly without the mediation of the US dollar contributes to facilitating and accelerating financial transactions, and will reduce import costs and protect against the risks of fluctuating exchange rates within Iraq. LINK
For The First Time, Iraq’s Non-Oil Revenues Record An 11% Increase
Economy 2024-07-11 | 404 views Alsumaria News – Economy Today, Thursday, the head of the “Iraq Al-Future” Foundation for Economic Studies and Consultations, Manar Al-Obaidi, revealed the total non-oil revenues for the year 2024, while he indicated that the non-oil revenues for the first five months of the year recorded an amount of 6.24 trillion Iraqi dinars.
Al-Obaidi said in a tweet followed by Sumaria News, “Non-oil revenues account for 11% of total revenues, and oil revenues are below the 90% barrier,” indicating that “non-oil revenues for the first five months of the year amounted to 6.24 trillion Iraqi dinars.”
He pointed out that “oil revenues for the first five months of the current year amounted to 48.4 trillion Iraqi dinars, and income and wealth tax revenues increased by 118%.”
He added that “commodity tax revenues increased, production fees by 285%, and fee revenues increased by 50%, while oil revenues increased by 6.4%.”
Al-Obaidi considered that “the increase in non-oil revenues is an achievement of economic reform policies and mechanisms for controlling taxes and customs tariffs, and it is expected that total non-oil revenues for the year 2024 will reach around 15 trillion Iraqi dinars, but they are far from the plan in the 24 budget tables, which amounts to 27 trillion dinars.” LINK
Iraq Needs 5 Million Housing Units
Iraq 2024/07/11 Experts in sustainable development, real estate and economic development have estimated that Iraq needs nearly 5 million fully serviced, organized housing units to end the housing crisis that has been rampant for decades.
The researcher in private sector development and finance, Dr. Aqil Jabr Al-Muhammadawi, said in an interview with Al-Sabah: “Baghdad is at the forefront of the housing deficit indicators in relation to the population at 31 percent, and the housing deficit rate for the years 2023-2024 reached 26 percent of the total population of Iraq, which is 45 million people, according to statistics from the Ministry of Planning.”
He pointed out that “the housing deficit index has the highest priority in the challenges of the current executive government, and the challenges of the housing, housing and construction sector as a whole have cast a shadow over the importance of evaluating the strategic plans for housing and housing in successive governments, up to the age of the current government.”
He explained that “Iraq has been witnessing a real and actual housing crisis for decades and successive governments, as a result of the lack of implementation of large housing projects that meet the current gap of about three million housing units, in addition to the exorbitant prices of real estate.”
He stressed that “the worsening housing crisis requires adopting an approach and policy of joint effort between the state and the population, and integrating financing of the public and private housing sector, through comprehensive, effective and integrated solutions and collective efforts in which all state institutions, mixed government sectors and the private sector come together, in addition to allocating an appropriate independent budget within a strategic plan for housing and housing, commensurate with the size of the housing crisis.”
Al-Muhammadi called for “finding investment allocations for housing in the federal budget, reprogramming the national housing project, evaluating the proposed projects in the strategic and development plans, enhancing the (residential complexes) strategy and highlighting the participation and role of the private sector, including an integrated infrastructure, supporting allocations and developing the activities of the (Housing Fund), and facilitating the work of local, Arab and international private real estate investment companies.”
For his part, the head of the Osool Foundation for Economic Development and Sustainable Development, Khaled Al-Jaberi, told Al-Sabah: “The deficit rate in housing units in Iraq exceeds 5 million units, while local investment bodies were able to reach the threshold of approximately 200,000 units, which is a small number compared to the total deficit.”
He pointed out that, “In addition to what was mentioned above, the governorates, especially Baghdad, suffer from poor land distribution.”
“This situation has led to traffic congestion and increased pressure on infrastructure, including sewage, water, sanitation and other municipal services, which has put pressure on the government to provide funds to be spent on solving the problems created by the chaos of land distribution through investment for local authorities,” Al-Jabri said, noting that “therefore, solutions to establish new cities come to cover a large part of the current deficit, and over time, these cities are expected to help confront the population growth rate, which is estimated at about 2.5 percent annually.”
https://alsabaah.iq/99356-.html
