Monday Morning Iraq Economic News Highlights 4-3-23
Member Of Parliamentary Finance: Passing The Budget Takes From One Month To 45 Days
Money and business Economy News – Baghdad A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Mueen Al-Kazemi, confirmed, on Monday, that his committee will meet today, in the presence of Finance Minister Taif Sami, to discuss the budget items, including the reasons for its rise to 200 trillion dinars, including 150 trillion dinars for the operational budget and 50 trillion dinars for the investment budget, and how to address the deficit of 64 trillion dinars.
Al-Kazemi added, “The committee is serious about expediting the completion of the budget accurately, and there must be a real review of the budget and reducing the deficit. It will be through meetings with ministries and institutions, reviewing numbers, reducing some chapters, and transferring from one chapter to another.”
He stated, “The share of the Kurdistan region in the budget is 12.67 percent, which is approximately 16 trillion dinars,” explaining that “the revenues of the Kurdistan region will be reviewed.”
Al-Kazemi pointed out, in an interview with the official news agency, that “passing the budget takes from one month to 45 days.”
Regarding the confirmation of contractors, Al-Kazemi said, “The confirmation of contractors was taken into account in the 2023 budget through the job grades that were created in the Ministry of Finance, including the 280,000 job grades for lecturers and the 74,000 grades for higher and first degrees, and so on with regard to electricity contracts, the Baghdad Municipality, and other self-financing departments.”
Al-Kazemi added, “The salaries of employees, who numbered nearly 4 million employees, amount to approximately 58 trillion dinars.” https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=33303
Currency Traders Expect The Dollar To Continue Falling For Three Reasons
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The US dollar continues to decline against the Iraqi dinar, on Sunday, as the stock market in Sulaymaniyah witnessed a drop in its price below 1,500 dinars.
Traders in the currency market said, in a press interview seen by “Takadam”, that “the exchange rate of the dollar will be parallel to what was set by the Central Bank of Iraq for three reasons, the first of which is that the global stock exchange began dealing with the exchange rate announced by the central bank, and the second is the pumping of large sums of dollars into The market is by the bank, and the last reason is the return of citizens’ confidence in the decisions of the Central Bank.”
Traders expected that “the dollar will stabilize in the provincial markets at 1400 dinars per dollar.”
Earlier today, a government official predicted that the price of one dollar against the local currency would drop to approximately 1,400 dinars by the end of this week.
“The dollar is witnessing a daily decrease of one to two dollars,” the official said in a press interview.
He added, “The price will then witness stability and a slow decline until it reaches near the official price, with a rise of about three or four orders of magnitude from the official price of 1,300 dinars against one dollar,” adding that there is “a plan for the parallel price to be near the official price and not to fall directly in order It does not affect merchants and the market.” https://takadum-news.com/archives/157431
Al-Awadi: If It Were Not For The Government’s Measures Towards The Dollar, “The Currency Market Would Have Collapsed”
Money and business Economy News – Baghdad Government spokesman Basem Al-Awadi considered that had it not been for the government’s measures towards the dollar, “the currency market would have collapsed.”
Al-Awadi added, in a televised interview, that “financial transfers from Baghdad to the Kurdistan region are the salaries and rights of employees and their strength, and they cannot be punished because of political differences.”
On the electricity file, Al-Awadi stated, “The Minister of Electricity promised to produce 24,000 megawatts, and I believe that it will provide 18 to 20 hours per day, and the Prime Minister stressed that the supply of electricity is different this summer.” https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=33307
An Economist Told NINA: The World Bank’s Expectations For The Iraqi Economy Are Unrealistic And Pessimistic..And It Will Reach 6% In 2023
Monday 03, April 2023 09:22 | Economical Number of readings: 496 Baghdad / NINA / The expert in economic affairs, Raad Twij, described the World Bank’s expectations of a decrease in the growth of the Iraqi economy in the years 2023, 2024 as / unrealistic / and pessimistic, indicating that the growth rates in Iraq will reach 6% in 2023.
Twigg said in a statement to the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA / that “the pessimistic expectations of the World Bank for the years 2023 and 2024 may be unrealistic, indicating that, growth in the Iraqi economy is fast and strong and has exceeded 9% in 2022, as a result of the rise in oil prices at the time, despite the decline in oil prices in early 2023, they remained stable within the average range (70-75 dollars) per barrel in the first half of 2023.
He pointed out that “the political and security conditions are stable, developed, and attractive to foreign investment, and there is no deficit in electricity and water supplies, which the World Bank has questioned, which made its expectations of growth rates drop to 4%.”
in 2023 and 2.9% in 2024, indicating that while refuting these facts are better facts, the improvement of the performance of the Iraqi economy and the attempt of Iraq to be self-reliant in extracting gas, as the growth rates of the Iraqi economy will rise much above what the World Bank expected and will reach 6% in 2023./ https://ninanews-com.translate.goog/Website/News/Details?key=1044402&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en
The Dollar Is Less Than 1,500 Dinars In The Local Markets
Market Economy News – Baghdad Al-Iqtisad News publishes a list of dollar exchange rates in the Iraqi markets for Monday.
Baghdad Sale: 149,250 dinars per 100 dollars Buying: 148,250 dinars per 100 dollars
South Sale: 149,500 dinars per 100 dollars Buying: 148,500 dinars per 100 dollars
North Sale: 150,000 dinars per 100 dollars Buying: 149,000 dinars per 100 dollars
https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=33302
Iraq Is Outside The World Rankings In The Index Of Economic Freedom
2023-04-03 04:49 Shafaq News/ Iraq was not ranked globally in the Index of Economic Freedom for the year 2023, which was recently released by the American Heritage Foundation, and a financial and economic expert attributes the reason to the instability of the security and political situation in the country.
According to a report by the American Heritage Research and Education Foundation, seen by Shafaq News Agency, that among the 184 countries surveyed in the new version of the report (which takes into account policies and economic conditions in the period between July 1, 2021, until June 30, 2022), a decrease in Economic freedom by 115 countries, of which 8 have not changed, and 8 countries, including Iraq, cannot be classified due to lack of reliable data.
The Index of Economic Freedom measures 12 factors related to four key aspects of the economic environment that are rated from 0 to 100 and averaged to determine a country’s score: first the rule of law (and related subcategories: property rights, government integrity, and judicial effectiveness) and secondly the size of government (government spending, tax burden , financial health), and thirdly, regulatory efficiency (business, employment, and monetary freedom), and fourthly, open markets (trade, investment, and financial freedom).
According to the report, “Iraq came among eight countries that were not classified globally regarding economic freedom for the year 2023 globally due to the lack of reliable data,” noting that “these countries included Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Liechtenstein, Ukraine and Yemen.”
Globally, Singapore came first in economic freedom for the year 2023, with 83.9 points, followed by Switzerland with 83.8 points, then Ireland with 82 points, then Taiwan with 80.7 points, then New Zealand came fifth with 78.9 points.
In the Arab world, the UAE ranked first and 24th in the world with 70.9 points, followed by Qatar second and 36th in the world with 68.6 points, followed by Bahrain third and 68th in the world with 62.5 points, followed by Jordan fourth and 93rd in the world with 58.8 points, followed by Oman fifth and 95th in the world with 58.5 a point”.
For his part, financial expert Hilal Al-Taan considered in an interview with Shafaq News agency that “Iraq was not classified under economic freedom because “Iraqi institutions that provide data to international institutions are unreliable for many reasons, including the instability of the security and political situation in the country.”
He added, “Iraq is still a source of concern in the region, according to the belief of the American side, and other reasons that cast doubt on the data and its validity.” LINK
Parliamentary Plan To Accelerate The Adoption Of The Oil And Gas Law
Posted On2023-04-03 By Sotaliraq Yesterday, Sunday, a specialized parliamentary committee revealed a plan to expedite the approval of the oil and gas law, stressing that the existence of this law is sufficient to resolve financial disputes between the federal government and the Kurdistan region.
The oil and gas law was prevented from being passed due to the presence of major political differences and a small technical side,” Haibat al-Halbousi, head of the Oil, Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said, in a statement to the official news agency.
Al-Halbousi added, “The committee set a course of action to visit the heads of political blocs, to expedite the enactment of the law and present its vision.”
He pointed out, “The oil and gas law serves all Iraqis and not a specific party, because oil and mineral investments belong to all the people.”
Members of the Oil, Gas and Natural Resources Committee in the House of Representatives said, earlier, that there is an agreement between Baghdad and Erbil to legislate the federal oil and gas law, indicating that the House of Representatives will work to legislate it during the upcoming legislative chapters.
a specialized committee in order to end the oil dispute with the Kurdistan region.”
Al-Nouri continued, “The committee met with the delegation of the Kurdistan region, and the committee was headed by the Minister of Oil, and many discussions took place in order to solve this controversial problem that faces us in every budget.”
He stressed, “The only solution we can proceed with is the legislation of the oil and gas law, in order to regulate the relationship well, and for everyone to know what they have and what they have.”
Al-Nouri said, “The Parliamentary Oil Committee seeks to pass this law to end this dispute, which if it remains and in this way will affect the process of approving the budget as well as the share of the Kurdistan region,” stressing the need to “find a mechanism that satisfies everyone.”
In addition, committee member Bassem Al-Gharibawi said, “The government’s approach included approving the oil, gas and natural resources law.”
Al-Gharibawi added, “The government has become obligated to move in this direction, and to initiate this law because it is one of the most important laws that will address the most important contentious issues between the federal government, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and the provinces not associated with a region.” He pointed out that the legislation of the oil and gas law will “contribute significantly to resolving disputes and problems and regulating the oil wealth, which is the only revenue for Iraq.”
Al-Gharibawi talked about “reaching an agreement on the committee’s field visits to political leaders, to inform them and notify them of the need to legislate the oil and gas law,” noting that “technical matters between Baghdad and Erbil are proceeding properly.
And Al-Gharibawi went on to say, “Obstacles related to oil management, the Oil Union Council and other issues that are essentially a point of previous contention and need consensus and political intervention by leaders to resolve issues.” It is noteworthy that the Iraqi constitution provided for the legislation of a law regulating the oil relationship between the federal government and the regions and governorates, but this law has not been approved until the present time due to political differences. LINK
Parliamentary Finance Sets The Date For The First Reading Of The Budget
Economy |Yesterday, 20:5 A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Mueen Al-Kazemi, announced on Sunday evening that the draft financial budget law will be presented for the first reading in the House of Representatives during the next week.
Al-Kazemi said in a televised statement: “It is hoped that next week will be the date for the first reading of the budget in the House of Representatives, and since today it has been considered on the agenda of the House of Representatives, and tomorrow we have a meeting with the Ministry of Finance and the acting staff to discuss the draft law.”
He added, that the size of the budget ” amounted to 199 trillion dinars, but it must be reviewed because of the large financial deficit in it.”
Al-Kazemi explained, “The share of the Kurdistan region amounted to 12.67%, approximately 16 trillion dinars, and they have a debt of 400 billion dinars, in addition to calculating 400 thousand barrels of oil per day with the revenues of the outlets and collection, and all of this will be deducted within the total amount according to the agreement between Baghdad and Erbil, and the Finance Committee will review these numbers.” “.
He expected “the need for the budget to be approved in Parliament from a month to 45 days to pass it fully,” suggesting “the occurrence of objections to the political blocs on the budget, and we will seek understanding and convergence of points of view.”
Al-Kazemi stressed, “The government must look at all governorates and components with a fair view, and this is what we see in the draft budget.”
Today, Sunday, the Parliamentary Finance Committee received the draft financial budget law, 17 days after it reached the House of Representatives.
It is noteworthy that the government, through its official spokesman, Basem Al-Awadi, urged today, Sunday, the House of Representatives, the need to expedite the approval of the budget and not to make an amendment or report in its items.
Al-Awadi said in a statement: “The government is fully convinced of the foundations on which the budget was based, and accordingly it finds it necessary to draw the attention of representatives to the importance of keeping the budget in the form on which it was built, that is, for three years, and the government cannot continue its approach except with what the three years give flexibility in Coverage of strategic projects related to important service infrastructure. LINK
