KTFA:
Clare: Association of Iraqi Banks: Dealing in the Chinese yuan may provide the possibility of reducing import costs
February 25, 2023
Advisor to the Association of Iraqi Private Banks, Safwan Qusay, confirmed that dealing in the Chinese yuan may provide the possibility of reducing import costs.
Qusai said that there is a possibility to reduce import costs in cooperation with Iraqi merchants and dealing in the Chinese yuan.
He pointed out that the US Federal Reserve raised the interest rate more than once during the current and past years, but the price of the Chinese yuan is fixed against the dollar, indicating that the official rate is 7.15 yuan per dollar, while the commercial rate is less than that, and it is preferable to Merchants buy the yuan at the official rate, and remittances allow them to obtain it at a higher price than the commercial rate.
He added: It seems that the Central Bank realized the need of traders for foreign currency, not only the yuan, but also the euro, the dollar and the Japanese yen in a direct way, and in practice the performance of the dinar will improve when informal trade moves to regular trade.
And he went on to say that the next step is to switch to the system of receivable credits, where there is the possibility of releasing funds and transferring them before the arrival of goods to Iraq, which is a new window for not delaying the arrival of funds to suppliers, and thus burdening them with additional burdens.
He noted that the transfer of demand for the dollar from the parallel market to the official market by regulating trade and controlling border crossings will gradually allow controlling the exchange rate of the dollar in the parallel market, expressing his belief that approving the 2023 budget will allow this as well.
And he indicated that the value of the dollar is increasing globally due to the interest rate hike and the US Federal Reserve’s attempt to control inflation, and the problem in Iraq is that we have a fixed exchange rate for it, as well as a fixed price for the yuan, while there are currencies that change instantly with the dollar.
He explained that the Central Bank will consider, after controlling the exchange rate of the dollar in the balance market, by linking the price of the dinar to the dollar immediately and not at fixed prices.
In the form of cash transfer, the advisor of the Association of Private Banks saw that it would reduce the difference between the provinces and the Kurdistan region, because when there is a demand for dollars in Baghdad, monetary masses move from Kurdistan and vice versa, and therefore the limits of disparity are relatively few, but the difficulty of the transfer leads to a gap. LINK
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Henig: Sudanese To The Delegations Participating In The 34th Conference Of The Inter-Parliamentary Union: Our Country Is Moving Strongly Towards An Independent Iraq
25/02/2023
The Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, hosted on Saturday the delegations participating in the 34th Conference of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union.
According to a statement by his media office and received by Earth News, al-Sudani held a dinner in honor of the delegations participating in the conference hosted by the capital, Baghdad.
Al-Sudani expressed his “welcome to the participating delegations,” reiterating “Iraq’s orientation towards concluding constructive long-term development partnerships with brothers, in order to face challenges, in a way that achieves the interests of all brotherly peoples.”
“To the guests of the conference, our country has overcome the ordeal and is moving strongly towards an independent, stable, united and prosperous Iraq,” the prime minister said. LINK
