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True. And that's what most pro RV investors think (myself included). So the "100 trillion" amount is much lower. They're just not tipping their hand.
Offhand, I would think that Iraq still holds more notes.
I'll try to locate the articles from dinarvets.com, but I believe that the last official count was 4 billion notes stated by the CBI(and trying to reduce it down to 1 billion). Now, just exactly what those 4 billion notes represent is anyones guess. Are they all large or small notes or both? If you take 4 billion notes x 25,000 = 100 trillion dinar.
Iraq's 'American Dream' Gated Community Now Almost Empty
Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- "Kurdistan's Capital Erbil has been the boom town of Iraq, with developers pouring billions of dollars into the city's real-estate sector in recent years. Now the threat of Islamic State has put these ambitious expansion plans on hold. Bloomberg's Willem Marx reports." (Source: Bloomberg)
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/american-village-in-kurdistan-iraq-gated-community-on-hold-kdfQDi1jRX6Kw9uXWKgriA.html
Kurdish Oil Shipment Seized
Originally posted by k98nights on dinarvets.com
According to this article $100 million equals 1.2 billion Dinars or $.083
By Patrick M Schmidt.
The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has successfully obtained the documentation needed to seize oil from the United Kalavrvta and place it under the protection of the United States Marshals.
The value of the ship’s payload is approximately $100 million dollars (1.2 billion Iraqi dinars). The oil onboard had been “illegal” piped out of Kurdistan to a Turkish port facility.
The United States government will maintain possession of the oil until a solution has been reached between the Iraqi central government and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
According to CBS, on Monday attorneys for the Iraqi government warned SPT, a Houston-based maritime company, not to unload the Kurdish crude oil, reportedly saying the oil is stolen property.
It is believed that an successful attempt by the KRG to sell its own oil would be a major step forward in its push for independence.
http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2014/07/29/kurdish-oil-shipment-seized/
http://dinarvets.com/forums/index.php?/topic/183401-kurdish-oil-shipment-seized-one-dollar-to-12-dinar/
Fox News Poll: Most expect combat troops to return to Iraq as Obama’s foreign policy rating hits new low
President Obama’s decision to send 300 special-forces advisers to Iraq leads most voters to believe a large number of combat troops will eventually go back there.
That’s according to a new Fox News poll released Tuesday.
The poll also finds that although most voters think the terrorist insurgents will win if the U.S. doesn’t help Iraq, a majority says it is more important to keep our troops out of Iraq than it is to stop the fighting.
And as the situation in Iraq deteriorates, American voters give President Obama a record-low approval rating on foreign policy.
Just 32 percent of voters approve of the job Obama is doing on foreign policy today. That’s down from 34 percent approval in early June and from a previous low of 33 percent in March. Six in 10 disapprove (a new high).
Looking back, just 29 percent say Obama had “enough foreign policy experience to be an effective president and commander-in-chief” when he ran for president in 2008, while most -- 64 percent -- think he wasn’t qualified.
The poll shows 71 percent of voters think the Iraqi government can’t defeat the insurgents without help from the United States. That includes majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents.
Still, by a 25 percentage-point margin, voters feel it is more important for U.S. forces to stay out of Iraq (58 percent) than it is to keep terrorists from taking over the country (33 percent). Views among veterans and those currently serving in the military are almost identical to overall sentiment (57-35 percent).
And a 55-percent majority says Obama did the “right thing” by withdrawing all U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011. Forty-one percent call that a “mistake.”
Veterans say the withdrawal was a mistake by 49-45 percent.
Meanwhile, in a reversal of opinion, more voters now say the Obama administration is not as serious about fighting terrorism as the Bush administration was.
In 2010, just over half of voters said Obama was just as serious as Bush about fighting terrorism. Today, 52 percent say Obama is not as serious, up from 37 percent who said the same in January 2010. More than one in five Democrats thinks Obama isn’t taking the war on terrorism as seriously as Bush (22 percent).
What should the United States do to help fight the insurgents in Iraq? Fifty-nine percent approve of Obama’s plan to send 300 advisers to work with the Iraqi military. There’s rare partisan agreement on this plan, as Democrats (61 percent), Republicans (61 percent) and independents (55 percent) are all about equally likely to approve.
Fifty-seven percent of voters approve of U.S. air strikes. No other action receives majority support.
Almost half -- 49 percent -- oppose working with Iran to help Iraq, while 44 percent approve of the U.S. cooperating with Iran to fight the insurgents.
Nearly two-thirds oppose providing Iraq with more weapons and financial aid (65 percent) and putting U.S. troops back on the ground (64 percent).
As brutal terrorist violence sweeps through Iraq, less than half of voters (46 percent) now think the Iraqi people are better off because of the U.S.-led military action taken. That’s quite a drop -- 25 points -- from the 71 percent who felt that way in 2010.
In addition, the number who feel the United States is safer because of the action taken in Iraq now stands at 49 percent, down from 58 percent in both 2013 and 2010.
The shift on both of these measures comes mainly from Republicans and independents, as views among Democrats held a bit steadier. Consider this: Since 2010, the number of Republicans who think Iraqis are better off is down a whopping 41 points, and among independents it’s dropped 36 points. Among Democrats it’s down 10 points.
Obama’s announcement that he’s sending military advisers to Iraq has most voters thinking combat troops aren’t far behind: 70 percent think that’s at least somewhat likely, including 29 percent who think it is “very” likely. No partisan split here, as roughly seven in 10 Democrats, Republicans and independents think it’s likely.
The Fox News poll is based on landline and cell phone interviews with 1,018 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide and was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) from June 21-23, 2014. The full poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/06/24/fox-news-poll-most-expect-combat-troops-to-return-to-iraq-as-obamas-foreign/
Iraq Says Oil Exports to Surge as Violence Spares Nation’s Crude
Iraq’s oil minister said the nation’s crude exports will accelerate next month, adding to signs that violence in the country’s north isn’t affecting the oil-rich south.
“Oil exports will witness a big increase, as recent events didn’t reflect negatively on Iraq’s crude output and exports,” Oil Minister Abdul Kareem al-Luaibi said in an interview in Baghdad yesterday. “International oil companies are working normally in Iraq.”
While violence in Iraq spurred companies including BP Plc (BP/) and Exxon Mobil Corp. to evacuate workers from the country, there are few signs so far that oil production is being affected. Iraq’s exports will be close to a record next month, according to loading programs obtained by Bloomberg. Luaibi said in the interview that he’s spoken to BP about increasing output at the Rumaila field, the nation’s largest. Toby Odone, a BP spokesman in London, declined to comment on the field.
Iraq, holder of the world’s fifth-largest crude reserves, produces and exports most of its oil from the Shiite-dominated south, which remains largely unaffected by the clashes. Gunmen yesterday seized the 20,000 barrels a day Ajeel oilfield, which remains inactive, in the northern oil hub of Kirkuk, according to a local police statement.
Brent crude, the global benchmark grade, fell as much as 1.2 percent to $113.23 a barrel in London by 5:38 p.m. in London yesterday. It’s still near a nine-month high. Luaibi said exports averaged more than 2.5 million barrels a day this month. He didn’t say what they will be in July.
No Infringements
Luaibi said government troops continue to control the state-run North Oil Co. and the Baiji refinery, the country’s largest. Baiji has been shut since June 15 after ISIL insurgents tried to seize the 310,000 barrels-a-day plant.
“The Iraqi Oil Ministry will not allow any party to infringe on its establishments or installations,” he said. “The Oil Ministry is working to regain control of any oil installation taken by gunmen.”
The northern Kirkuk oilfield is defended by troops from the self-governing Kurdistan Regional Government which controls 45 billion barrels of crude reserves. Iraq, excluding its Kurdish enclave, holds 150 billion barrels in proven crude reserves. Iraq is the largest oil producer, after Saudi Arabia, in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-25/iraq-says-oil-exports-to-surge-as-isil-violence-away-from-output.html
I sincerely belive that all three can happen in succession.
And in the order you put them in.
"Will Maliki resist and if so ....
a) prevail and get a 3rd term
b) Be taken out with force
c) Be arrested and tried and/or executed. If so, by who? "
I remember hearing years ago during the first Gulf War...that the only thing that the inhabitants of the region (middle east) really respect is a show of force.
More than 90% of foreign companies operating in Iraq will not be affected by military operations
Posted by Iraq News Journal on Jun 18, 2014 | Leave a Comment
BAGHDAD / NINA / The economic analyst, Dergham Mohammed Ali said that more than 90 percent of foreign companies, operating in Iraq, will not be affected by military operations.
He told the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA / that “the current security situation could affect the work of some foreign companies in Iraq, and this effect depends on the type of activity of these companies and places of work.”
He added, “The oil companies operating in southern Iraq will not be affected because the military operations are far from them now, and this position is linked, in one way or another, to the position of the embassies of foreign staff.” explaining that “some embassies may advise their staff to leave Iraq, without specifying their work areas. But the reports of those companies about the security situation determine staying and the number of staff and is most likely going to be ineffective on the work of the oil companies that continue to work normally amid securing the entire place of work, which is far away from any places of violence. ”
He continued, as for the other companies, operating in the provinces of Diyala, Salahuddin, Nineveh and Kirkuk, they may start evacuating foreign staff, but the companies operating in Baghdad or near the capital, as is the case with the Korean company works in Basmayh, it looks firmer on the contracts and the continuation of the work to implement the residential project. And this applies to dozens of companies operating in the reconstruction sector, stressing, that the percentage of foreign companies work in Iraq indicate that more than 90 percent of foreign companies operating in Iraq will not be affected by the current military operations and will not reduce the presence of foreign staff. “/ End
http://theiraqijournal.com/more-than-90-of-foreign-companies-operating-in-iraq-will-not-be-affected-by-military-operations/
Iranian source: Maliki agrees to the immediate application of Article 140 which included all areas of the Kurdish region
Guess we'll have to wait and see if this is true?!?!
Taken from Dinarvets.com:
Sat Jun 21 2014 8:15 p.m. | (Voice of Iraq) - NNA Iranian source revealed that Nechirvan Barzani's visit to Tehran was an urgent request from Tehran has been met within one day. According to the site (Quraish) source said the Iranians havehanded over a letter signed by Nuri Maliki Prime Minister to the Presidency of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq similar to the terms of agreement content and authenticated by Tehran to open a new relationship between Arbil and Baghdad after the developments of Mosul, Tikrit and towns in Diyala, however, the organization Daash terrorist. source added that the message requests from the Kurds allowing the use of the territory of the province Kurdish for any military purposes to achieve superiority and sudden tide logistical support to the restoration of Nineveh province, and the province of Tikrit.
in detail included the message,according to the same source approval Maliki and all parties that fall under the coalition political immediate application of Article 140of the constitution and the annexation of Kirkuk and other disputed territories, without exception, to the Kurdistan Region, as well as the development of the left coast from Mosul in full under the administration of the Kurdish and authorize the forces of the Kurdish Peshmerga and the security services asayesh security file it in the pan Nineveh. , and at the level of the oil Ostagiz the Iraqi government for the region to export oil from Kurdistan for a period of five years and the right to enjoy the amounts export a full five-year term for the benefit of the region and then make the region's share from the general budget of Iraq thirty percent.
Tehran has vowed to ensure the agreement and its implementation. , and later held the Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani held a meeting with leaders of the Kurdish parties and discussed the offer from al-Maliki and Iran together. A statement from the meeting that all Kurdish parties do not prefer a military solution in Iraq.
http://www.sotaliraq.com/mobile2014.php?id=154521#ixzz35IT3LUm9
Read more: http://dinarvets.com/forums/index.php?/topic/180657-iranian-source-maliki-agrees-to-the-immediate-application-of-article-140-which-included-all-areas-of-the-kurdish-region/#ixzz35KimRnFF
Investing in Iraq: worth the Risk?
I had trouble with the FoxBusiness link so I also added the one from YouTube.
http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/3625310197001/investing-in-iraq-worth-the-risk/#sp=show-clips&v=3625310197001
Also, I forgot to mention the other day...Didn't they seize some tanks from the military?!?!
Can you believe that?
TANKS?!?!
Logically there is only one way that can happen.
Was watching the news closely this weekend. That point seems to be the one thing that none of them are adressing. How does a much smaller force in civilian vehicles with smaller munitions get the drop on the Iraqi military?
Sure thing
Here you go...
http://dinarvets.com/forums/
http://theiraqijournal.com/
I also like to listen to Breitlingdinar. He's not really a "date & rate" kind of guy and tends to dive into the economic side and the reduction of the amount of Dinar notes.
https://www.youtube.com/user/Breitlingdinar
Normally don't read his posts other than what I've been finding on this board. It can be very entertaining. Is he usually this "long-winded" ?
Thanks for keeping everyone up to date. Other than Dinarvets and the Iraqi Journal, I usually don't look in on the other blogs.
Infighting a Boon to Iraq Bonds as Cash Pile Swells: Arab Credit
An unintended consequence of Iraq’s political strife is cheaper borrowing costs for the government.
The yield on Iraq’s January 2028 bond tumbled 101 basis points this year to 6.64 percent today, within three basis points of the lowest since March 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The bond has returned 13 percent in the period, more than twice the average for dollar-denominated sovereign bonds from the Middle East’s OPEC members.
Foreign currency reserves rose 33 percent to $88 billion in the fourth quarter from the end of 2012 after the nation surpassed Iran as OPEC’s second-biggest oil producer. An impasse over revenue-sharing between the government and Iraq’s self-ruling Kurds is among the disputes that have blocked approval of a record budget of $145.9 billion for 2014. Sectarian killings in the country, which held elections last month, are at the highest since 2009.
“From a financial perspective, they are getting stronger as spending is postponed and they accumulate reserves with crude production stable,” said Mohieddine Kronfol, chief investment officer, global sukuk and Middle East and North Africa fixed-income at Franklin Templeton Investments ME.
Crude Wealth
Iraq, with the world’s fifth-largest oil reserves, is rebuilding its energy industry after decades of war and economic sanctions. Helped by investors including Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) and Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), the country pumped 3.25 million barrels a day in April, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Saudi Arabia is the only member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries producing more.
The economy is forecast to grow by 5.8 percent this year, up from 3.7 percent in 2013, according to the International Monetary Fund. Even so, non-energy investment and spending on housing and other social needs has slowed amid political wrangling.
“The more polarized the politics and dangerous the security situation in Iraq, the less they are able to execute on their much-needed and very large capital expenditure plans,” Kronfol said in Dubai on May 20.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law bloc, which won the biggest share of the vote in the April 30 elections, is trying to reach an agreement with parties opposed to his staying in office for a third term. Parties including the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq accuse Maliki of refusing to share power.
Car Bombings
Tensions between the central government and the Kurds of northern Iraq complicate any outcome. The Kurdish region has halted oil exports via a national pipeline since December 2012, and its feud with the government in Baghdad has contributed to parliament’s inability to approve an energy law.
Sectarian conflict, aggravated by the civil war in neighboring Syria, has worsened. Car bombings and other violence have killed 3,015 civilians in the first three months of this year, according to the unofficial Iraq Body Count website.
The yield on Iraq’s only bond has dropped from 9 percent in 2006, when the government issued $2.7 billion of securities to help restructure debt amassed under former president Saddam Hussein, ousted by the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.
The extra yield investors demand to hold Iraq’s dollar bonds rather than Treasuries has declined 112 basis points, or 1.12 percentage points, since this year’s Feb. 6 peak to 432 basis points yesterday, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s EMBI Global indexes. The spread between Treasuries and Middle Eastern bonds narrowed by 48 basis points in the same period. Iraq’s spread dropped on May 12 to the lowest since August 2011.
“Iraq could buy back the entire bond issue at par with the revenue from 10 days of oil exports,” Geoffrey Batt, managing director of the $110 million Euphrates Iraq Fund, said in a May 20 e-mail from New York. “This creates a large margin of safety. A lot can go wrong, and investors can still do very well.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-22/infighting-a-boon-to-iraq-bonds-as-cash-pile-swells-arab-credit.html#2
Big changes planned for Iraqi stock markets
With the world’s eyes focused on the recent Iraqi elections, little attention is being paid to the major changes taking place in Iraq's banking and finance industry.
As part of an effort to liberalize the economy, in the first three months of 2014, the Iraqi Central Bank granted approval to 15 Arab and international banks to open branches in Baghdad, with additional branches expected to open soon. There is also a notable drive to grow and promote the stock markets, with senior Iraqi government officials and representatives from the country's two stock exchanges hosting a two-day forum in Dubai May 14-15 in a bid to court regional investors.
The Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) is currently in the process of upgrading to the latest Nasdaq trading platform after signing an agreement with Nasdaq OMX in June 2013. The new platform, currently used by more than 25 exchanges globally, is capable of supporting multiple asset classes, although the ISX concentrates mainly on cash equities.
“We will complete the implementation at the end of June, and it will go live at the beginning of July,” said Taha Ahmed al-Rubaye, chief executive of the ISX. “We are working hard to modernize the exchange.”
The ISX is also assisting the Erbil Stock Exchange (ESX), the first exchange in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, in setting up its Nasdaq trading system. It is due to be fully implemented in July, and the ESX hopes to see around five to 10 listings by the end of 2014, including a major telecom company. The ESX has $8 million in initial capitalization and 56 shareholders, primarily from the private sector.
“We’re looking to have more than one financial center in Iraq. Maybe in the future we will also look at setting up an exchange in Basra,” said Rubaye. “We want to try and connect other regions with Baghdad.”
Rubaye is also preparing to tackle an issue that has dogged the ISX since its establishment in 2004. “Once we have gone live with our new Nasdaq trading platform in July, we’re going to invite foreign banks to submit their proposals to operate as a custodian.” The lack of a custodian is viewed as the biggest hurdle to expanding the exchange and attracting foreign investors. Aside from political risk, they are also concerned about third-party risk in the absence of custodian services.
“The biggest challenge is the custody issue,” says Sadeer Munir, managing director of the Baghdad-based financial advisory firm Melak Iraq. “I can’t remember the number of times we have had discussions with investors about custody. Big institutions are shying away from the market, as they don’t have a custodian they can work with. Resolving that issue will serve as a big catalyst to growing the market. If you compare the size of the ISX to that of surrounding countries, it’s easy to see that it should be a lot larger.”
With 84 listed companies, the ISX has a market capitalization of $9.5 billion to serve a population of 30 million, an amount substantially smaller than other oil-dependent markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council, which range in size from $208 billion in the United Arab Emirates to $479 billion in Saudi Arabia.
Toward the end of 2013, the ISX asked the Iraqi Securities Commission (ISC), which regulates the stock market, to ease requirements for custodians to hold shares.
In the past, industry insiders have complained that the proposed capital requirement set by the ISC was too onerous. “The original requirement was $50 million, which is a large amount for such a small market,” said a source who requested anonymity.
“My understanding is that some of the big banks are now looking at offering their services in this regard,” said Sanjay Motwani, president of Sansar Capital, which runs one of the largest equity funds in Iraq and has invested some $27 million since 2011. “Some of the major foreign banks have entered Iraq in the last couple of years, and they’ve said that custody is something on their template. So I’m hopeful that a custodian will be appointed and once it has, I wouldn't be surprised if it led to a 300% re-rating in the market, because there will be a huge wall of money hitting Iraq."
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/05/iraq-stock-market-outlook-achievements-challenges.html#ixzz32LLYYcnK
To your point...it just may be fear mongering.
Here is an optimistic outlook.
Yale Grad Trusts in Bank of Baghdad to Help Deliver Returns
For Grant Felgenhauer, a money manager whose hedge fund owns $110 million of Iraqi equities, the 15 explosions that reverberated across the country in a single day earlier this month weren’t a reason to stop buying.
“The Iraq that is unfolding in Baghdad is not the Iraq you read about in the headlines,” Felgenhauer, a portfolio manager at Euphrates Iraq Fund Ltd., said in a Jan. 16 phone interview from the nation’s capital. “The opportunities offered by Iraqi equities overshadow anything else we see in the world today.”
The Yale University graduate, who formerly traded Russian stocks at Bill Browder’s Hermitage Capital Management in Moscow, returned 28 percent last year with bets on Iraqi shares such as Bank of Baghdad, compared with a 9.5 percent decline for Iraq’s ISX General Index. That helped make New York-based Euphrates the fourth-best performing emerging-market fund managing more than $50 million in 2013, outpacing gains at rivals such as BlackRock Inc., according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Iraq is drawing investors from specialized hedge funds to global banks including Citigroup Inc. and Standard Chartered Plc as the oil-rich nation rebuilds 11 years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. The economy will expand 6.3 percent this year, up from 3.7 percent in 2013, the International Monetary Fund said in October. By 2018, GDP may gain 9.6 percent, while the Iraqi government estimates crude production will rise to 9 million barrels a day by 2020, compared with about 3.4 million a day last month.
‘Growth Trajectory’
“No other country has this growth trajectory,” Felgenhauer, 39, said during one of his quarterly visits to Baghdad. “The scale of the increase in oil production expected from Iraq has only happened twice in history: once in Saudi Arabia in the 1960s and in Russia in the 1990s. Both episodes transformed the local banks and equity markets.”
Bank stocks account for about half the Euphrates Iraq Fund, with Bank of Baghdad its biggest financial holding. Felgenhauer says the industry’s growth prospects in Iraq contrast with banks in many other parts of the world because fewer than one in five people in Iraq hold an account and demand for credit is high. Banks have pricing power and are in a position to lend to only the best counterparties because of rising demand, he said.
Net income at the five largest privately owned banks more than tripled from 2010 to 2012 and more than doubled earnings per share, according to Singapore-based Sansar Capital Management LLC, which has $35 million in Iraqi equities and returned about 27 percent last year. It named the lenders as Bank of Baghdad, Kurdistan International Bank, North Bank, Iraqi Middle East Investment Bank and Dar Es Salaam Investment Bank.
Private Credit
“With private credit still well below 10 percent of GDP, banks here are making money despite the unrest,” Felgenhauer said. “It’s a unique story when global banks generally are in a challenging spot. Managers in these banks know how to make money even in one of the world’s most difficult markets.”
Iraqi stocks trade at around six times earnings, compared with about nine times for emerging-market stocks, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Bank of Baghdad gained 21 percent over the past 12 months and closed at 2.09 Iraqi dinars in Baghdad on Jan. 27, while the ISX General Index last year declined about 9.5 percent to 113.5 points after reaching a high of 124.7 in February.
The Iraq bourse drew investors last February when mobile operator Asiacell Communications PJSC listed after a $1.3 billion share sale, in the Middle East’s biggest initial public offering since 2008. The country’s two other mobile operators, Zain Iraq and Korek Telecom, also plan to list on the bourse.
Loan Growth
Kyle Stelma, who runs Dubai-based Dunia Frontier Consultants, is also bullish, pointing to the 50 percent annual loan growth at the country’s top 14 banks between 2009 and 2012. Deposits grew 30 percent on average each year, he said in a phone interview from the emirate on Jan. 20.
“A basket of top quality banks can provide favorable risk/reward characteristics, despite the acknowledged uncertainties in Iraq,” he wrote earlier this month in a report to investors.
Stelma said his team spent about three months in Iraq conducting interviews with banks and meeting investors for information, while Sansar collected data on bank revenue and loan growth after also conducting surveys with the central bank, lenders and investors. Publicly available information at the central bank and other Iraqi institutions is limited.
Revenue Jump
The most recent information for Bank of Baghdad shows a 36 percent jump in revenue in 2011 from a year earlier, according to financial statements on its website. Revenue at North Bank increased 43 percent over the same period and 45 percent at the Iraqi Middle East Investment Bank.
Financial statements for 2012 weren’t available and financial information for Dar Es Salaam Investment Bank and Kurdistan International Bank weren’t on the company websites. Calls to the banks seeking further information on earnings weren’t immediately returned.
Citigroup and Standard Chartered each have full or representative offices in Baghdad, and also plan a presence in the cities of Erbil and Basra. The government is working with Standard Chartered and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to obtain a sovereign credit rating, Sami al-Araji, chairman of Iraq’s National Investment Commission, said in a Dubai interview on Jan. 28. The country would probably have a similar rating to Gabon and Nigeria, Bank of America said in a Jan. 24 report.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is also helping the Trade Bank of Iraq finance imports of goods and services, while Turkiye Is Bankasi plans four offices in Iraq.
Legal Protection
Not everyone agrees now is the time to invest in Iraq. Rami Sidani, who runs the $343 million Schroders International Selection Fund, the best-performing stock fund in emerging and frontier markets, says the country must give international investors better legal protection before he’ll commit funds.
Some foreign investors have avoided Iraqi stocks because of the lack of custodian services in the country, preferring to avoid the risk of dealing with local brokerages.
“The separation of custody and brokerage is the most important step toward encouraging foreign inflows into this young market,” Sidani said in e-mailed comments to Bloomberg. “We’re hoping that this will happen soon.”
Taha Ahmed Al-Rubaye, chief executive officer of the Iraq Stock Exchange, is seeking to attract more investors like Euphrates, saying foreigners account for just 20 percent of the investors active on the $9.9 billion bourse.
“I’m happy to see non-Iraqi investors like him,” Al-Rubaye said in a Jan. 26 interview in Dubai, referring to Felgenhauer. “They see the picture of Iraq from the outside and together we can come up with solutions for issues.”
Studied Russian
A Spokane, Washington native, Felgenhauer joined Hermitage in Moscow in 2004 after traveling and living in the former Soviet Union since high school and studying Russian at Yale. He moved to London to start a global emerging-market fund for Hermitage in 2007, after Browder was barred from the country by the Russian government and forced to relocate to the U.K.
Geoffrey Batt started Euphrates in 2010 with Firebird Management LLC founder Daniel Cloud, using $5 million of their own cash. Assets had swelled to about $19 million by the time Felgenhauer joined in April 2012 after investing his own cash the previous year. Euphrates returned 4.9 percent in 2011 and declined 2.8 percent in 2012 before last year’s rebound.
Felgenhauer’s visits to Baghdad are spent shuttling between hotels, the offices of portfolio companies, brokers, the Iraq stock exchange and restaurants. He avoids conspicuous security convoys in favor of a local driver unless traveling in Baghdad’s Green Zone, the heavily fortified central diplomatic area of the city, and says he confronts check points almost every mile.
Street Smarts
He’s drawing on street smarts honed during the turbulent post-communism period in Moscow to stay safe in Iraq after car-bombings and other violent acts intensified. Almost 9,500 civilians were killed last year, more than double the number a year earlier, according to the website Iraq Body Count.
While keeping a daily tally of the number of explosions in Iraq, he says these incidents aren’t affecting investments and moving freely around the city is possible with sensible precautions.
“You can function in Baghdad just fine and not come across this stuff,” he said. “If you think about the risk objectively and you’re reasonably careful you can go about your business. We’re being well compensated for the headline risks of terrorism and noisy politics with the valuations we are paying.”
Euphrates’s other competitors are the Iraq Opportunity Fund, managed by Abu Dhabi’s Invest AD, and Bermuda-based FMG Iraq Fund. They’ve returned 7.2 percent and 13 percent respectively over the past year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“Investors should look at the Iraq stock exchange because the headlines are going to scare away the vast majority of people,” Dunia Frontier’s Stelma said. “When the headlines do eventually go away, it’s going to be too late.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Stefania Bianchi in Dubai at sbianchi10@bloomberg.net; Nayla Razzouk in Dubai at nrazzouk2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net; Stephen Voss at sev@bloomberg.net
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-29/yale-grad-trusts-in-bank-of-baghdad-to-help-deliver-iraq-returns.html
Barzani: Kurdistan oil to be exported in global markets in 4 days only
Kurdistan and Turkey have concluded a year ago , agreements in the energy field that include the export of oil from Kurdistan Region directly to Turkey via a new pipeline .
The agreement raised the anger of officials in Baghdad, who assert that the federal government has the only right in the management of energy resources, and it rejects any attempt to export oil in isolation from it .
Over months , Baghdad and Erbil conducted talks as Turkey tried to mediate between the two sides to find a way out of the crisis, which has worsened recently after Baghdad cut off funds of Kurdistan and delayed sending the salaries of employees in the last two months .
Barzani said in an interview with Rudaw TV to be broadcasted later and briefed by " Shafaq News " , that " on 05.02.2014 , Kurdistan oil available in the world oil markets".
Shafaq News contacted the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Energy , Hussain al-Shahristani to know his opinion , where he stressed that they have a special statement on the subject.
The Kurdish crude have been transported to world markets via Kirkuk - Ceyhan pipeline which is controlled by Baghdad to Turkey, but the Kurdish exports through this pipeline stopped in late 2012 because of a dispute over payments.
Kurdistan began exporting crude individually from Taq Taq oil field to the Turkish port of Mersin in early January of last year through trucks were estimated at about 60 thousand barrels per day.
Kurdistan is seeking to export around 300 thousand barrels per day to world markets via the new line extends to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean
© Shafaq News 2014
http://www.zawya.com/story/Barzani_Kurdistan_oil_to_be_exported_in_global_markets_in_4_days_only-ZAWYA20140429043227/
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In regards to the small denoms
I can see the reason for the reprint with the new security features, replacing old worn out bills etc. If their intention is to "lop", why not just begin printing the new currency with the new values that reflect a "lop"? It seems that there are too many countries with far fewer resources and reserves that have a currency worth far more than $.00086. But I haven't done enough research to make comparisons.
Things should start to get intersting from here.
Saw this in Dinarvets.com this morning...
Alsumaria News / Baghdad
Central Bank of Iraq, Monday, for allowing the money transfer companies to participate ERA currency, stressing that this would contribute to the stability of the exchange rate permanently. , the bank said in a statement received "Alsumaria News", a copy of "The bank's management has agreed to the money transfer companies to open accounts directly with the CBI, (the Iraqi dinar and the U.S. dollar) for the implementation of the procurement of foreign currency. " the bank said, "This operation will expand special events auction of foreign currency and contributes to the stability of the exchange rate permanently." and established the Iraqi Central Bank bank independent under the law issued on the sixth of March 2004, as an independent body, which is responsible for maintaining price stability and the implementation of monetary policy, including exchange rate policies are being daily sessions for buying and selling currencies.
Link
http://www.alsumaria.tv/news/98449/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%86%D9%83-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%B2%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D8%B3%D9%85%D8%AD-%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AD%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A/ar
Read more: http://dinarvets.com/forums/index.php?/topic/176484-central-bank-allows-for-money-transfer-companies-to-participate-currency-auction/#ixzz2zZUvJtt8
A Friday morning RV would be awesome!!!!
NAWAH Partners with Iraq on Major Project to Expand Modernization of Historic Port of Basra
This should fall in line with opening of the new Ford branch.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Apr 14, 2014 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- NAWAH Port Management (NPM), a business unit of North America Western Asia Holdings, announced today that it has entered into a formal agreement with Iraq’s Ministry of Transportation and the General Company for Ports of Iraq to quadruple the size of its terminal operations at the Port of Basra (also known as Al Maqal Port), Iraq’s historic port located in Basra’s city center on the Shatt Al Arab waterway.
By expanding its operations to a second terminal, NAWAH is building upon its commitment to modernize the Port of Basra, revitalizing the Shatt Al Arab as a major trade lane for industrial and commercial cargo alike.
“Basra is one of the most dynamic, fastest growing cities in the Arabian Gulf,” said Ali Hazim, a leading business owner and major trader of Basra. “Having state-of-the-art, customer focused shipping and logistics capabilities conveniently located in downtown Basra will be key to supporting our city’s continued growth. NAWAH has delivered upon and continues to fulfill its far-reaching commitment to our city.”
NPM’s first modernized container terminal, opened in October 2013, is already proving to be an important gateway for a full spectrum of cargo – from consumer goods to meet the needs of Iraq’s burgeoning middle class to critical equipment and materiel fueling Iraq’s massive oil and gas development efforts. Imported and exported goods are moving smoothly between the Gulf and NPM’s container terminal into the city of Basra and throughout Basra Province. A significant scale of cargo is also moving to the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, capital city Baghdad and beyond.
Beyond a full array of imported goods, NPM has helped spur the export of one of Iraq’s quintessential products – dates. In the past two months, NPM exported more than 4,100 metric tons in 250 containers from its terminal at the Port of Basra to the United Arab Emirates to reach markets throughout the Middle East.
“We are immensely proud to be working hand in hand with our Iraqi partners to further Basra’s growth and reemergence as a strategic trading center, bridging East and West,” said Paul Brinkley, NAWAH’s president and CEO. “Beyond our goal to create a world-class port operation, we are deeply committed to building local talent and we’ve already demonstrated that through our staff – a team comprised of Iraqi managers, professionals and operators, trained in world-class technology and equipment operation.”
As part of this most recent 10-year agreement between NAWAH and the Iraq government, NPM will rehabilitate Berth #13’s 150-meter waterfront and its 40,000-square meter cargo laydown yard. Once construction culminates on the berth, it will join NPM’s Berth #14 operations as the only fully containerized terminals at the Port of Basra.
“The demands on Iraq’s ports continue to grow significantly every month,” Brinkley said. “NAWAH Port Management is committed to providing a viable alternative for local traders and international companies to move time-sensitive, high-demand cargo into Iraq. Recent announcements by the governments of Iraq and Iran regarding the upcoming restoration of the Shatt al Arab to full deep draft only increase the importance of our operation in Basra’s city center. As the market demands continue to increase, our expansion to Berth #13 will help us support that growth.”
NPM signed its first contract with GCPI in October 2012 to construct and operate a modern container terminal at the Port of Basra’s Berth #14. Handling containerized, break-bulk and project cargo, NPM operations support regularly scheduled feeder service from the United Arab Emirates to downtown Basra.
“NAWAH serves as an exemplary model for Western investment and joint-operating agreements in Iraq,” said Captain Omran Thani, director general of Iraq’s port authority, the General Company for Ports of Iraq. “Combining its Western business know-how with its deep respect for Iraq, its people and its culture, NAWAH truly stands apart.”
“Rebuilding Basra into the vibrant commercial city that it’s historically been is more than a business venture for NAWAH,” Brinkley added. “We are extraordinarily proud to be a part of the fabric of this city and to play a role in this history-making moment.”
About NAWAH
North America Western Asia Holdings is focused on high-return frontier market opportunities. Dedicated to the communities it invests, NAWAH establishes and maintains strategic, long-term local partnerships, while maintaining the most rigorous international standards of transparency and accountability. More information about NAWAH and its port management business can be found at www.nawah.com and www.nawahportmanagement.com .
SOURCE: North America Western Asia Holdings
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nawah-partners-with-iraq-on-major-project-to-expand-modernization-of-historic-port-of-basra-2014-04-14
Central Bank reserves reach 100 billion dollars
Posted by Iraq News Journal on Apr 13, 2014 | Leave a Comment
Revealed the CBI, on Sunday, announced the arrival of its reserves of hard currency to the equivalent of 90 trillion dinars end of the month of February, while expected to continue to increase the proportion “not great” not being able to reach the barrier percent billion, attributed to the expansion in Feeding foreign trade to the private sector.
The administration has said the central bank in the gallery its written reply to questions from the (long-Presse), “The total reserves of the Central Bank of Iraq reached until the end of February 2014 the past, to ninety trillion dinars,” noting that it “reserves increased by good compared to previous months as Iraq makes in a stable position financially. ”
And affirmed the bank’s management, that “the increase in reserve growth would continue, but rates are not great,” excluded “arrived from hard currency reserves hundred billion dollars due to the expansion of foreign trade in feed for the private sector,”
The Department of the Central Bank, that there is “a great demand for the dollar through currency auction, which takes the other hand, the Iraqi dinar is what makes expansion there commercially for some applicants the dollar.”
It is noteworthy that the Iraqi Central Bank, announced in (the 23 of December 2013 the past), the arrival of the foreign currency reserves of more than 88 billion dollars, returned it contributes to the stability of the dinar could be a “source of pride” for the Iraqis.
The Central Bank of Iraq, had announced in May 2013, on the arrival of foreign currency reserves to 74 billion dollars, saying that it represents “the highest rate of” record in the history of Iraq.
The central bank of Iraq, in the (third from April 2014 current), the arrival of the gold reserves of 90 tons to support the value of the Iraqi dinar, noting that it contributes to the enhancement of the national economy.
As I mentioned special bulletins Iraq’s central bank, issued early March 2014, he has sold more than 228 billion dollars since the start of the meetings of the currency auction in 2003 and until that date, and showed that the commissions earned by the bank of those sales ranged between three to 24 dinars per dollar.
http://theiraqijournal.com/central-bank-reserves-reach-100-billion-dollars/
CBI plans to buy more gold
Looks like they're backing up the truck again.
Used the Google translator for this one.
Source: BAGHDAD - Iraq Ahmad
Date: April 12, 2014
He said Iraqi Minister of Finance, acting purity of net debt that the CBI may buy more gold in the coming months based on the needs of the investment.
The "central" said on its website, a week ago, he signed a contract with an international company to manufacture 11 tons of gold bullion to the public and other import Drafters and investors. And bought a "central" 36 tons of high-purity gold, last month, to support the dinar.
This was the first quantitative Add to Iraq's reserves of gold, since it has increased its holdings by 23.9 tons in August 2012, according to data from the International Monetary Fund, the value of the deal and the time of purchase of $ 1.5 billion. According to the World Gold Council that Iraq has already 29.8 tonnes of gold, and thereby increase its holdings total new purchases of the yellow metal to 65.8 tons to come in third place among the forty largest holders of gold in the world in the formal sector after Denmark and before Pakistan directly
Link
http://www.albayan.ae/economy/capital-markets/2014-04-12-1.2099844
Central Bank announces re-printed banknotes Iraqi “pictures and more protection”
Posted by Iraq News Journal on Apr 09, 2014 | Leave a Comment
Central Bank of Iraq, on Tuesday, re-printed banknotes Iraqi pictures of new and superior protection, and in the time that indicated that the currency will continue to be traded now, confirmed that the new currency will help the blind to see the value of these categories.
, the bank said in a statement received by the Agency for News News ( et al) , a copy of it, he was “re-print the new series of banknotes of Iraq and currently circulating pictures of new and superior protection, using a good quality of printing paper, with the inclusion of the two dates Hijri and Gregorian and the signing of the Governor of the Central Bank and the Agency Abdul Basit Turki Saeed, with the addition after security tags , “pointing out that” the banknotes current will continue trading with the new will not be pulling rolling them now or in the future. “
the statement added that “the categories of the 250, 500 and 1000 dinars has been added to signs of a new security upon which bristles color visible and invisible signs circular for the visually impaired (blind), in addition to coating the banknotes paint shield to protect it from dust, as well as a string ensure width of 1.2 mm. “
the Bank noted that “he has been added to the IPL colorful visual and non-visual classes 5000 and 10,000 and 25,000 dinars, and the signs for the visually impaired and coating to protect it from dust and thread bar Protection with a picture of the Palm and Animations and colors changing different for different denominations of the three, “stating that it” has been added to high mark protection universally known Bspark. “
the bank said that “it was to change the image in the Arab world, al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham in the paper category of 10 000 dinars to a picture of a monument Freedom in Baghdad artist Jawad Salim, in addition to the modified image of agriculture and the field in the category of 25 000 dinars, where will be charged farming jar of water and appears behind a tractor plowing a new earth. “
declared the Iraqi Central Bank in November 2013 its intention to issue coins denominations are small and other paper-related large segments of the category of 50 000 dinars written in Arabic and Kurdish.
was established Iraqi Central Bank as a bank independent under the law issued on the sixth of March of the year 2004, as an independent body, which is responsible for maintaining price stability and the implementation of monetary policy, including exchange rate policies and being sessions daily for buying and selling currencies
http://theiraqijournal.com/central-bank-announces-re-printed-banknotes-iraqi-pictures-and-more-protection/
Been meaning to ask everyone's opinion....
How many times does a "source" get to be wrong before they are considered unreliable?
I can see how being a contrarian would be more fun since you get to be right all of the time, except of course for that one day that the Dinar would actually revalue.
I guess I'll place my bet on TD.
Money Still Flowing into Iraq
Posted by Iraq News Journal on Apr 04, 2014 | Leave a Comment
Iraq Business News: With just four weeks left to the parliamentary elections, and all the uncertainty and risk that that brings, it is interesting to note that money is still flowing into the country and oil is still flowing out.
On the production and export side, the latest figures look very positive, and Lukoil has just started production at the giant West Qurna 2 oilfield.
As regards investment, we see Abu Dhabi’s TAQA pumping $300 million into its Atrush oilfield, and Samsung signing an $840 million deal at Zubair.
Meanwhile, analysis from our Expert Blogger Mark DeWeaver questions the official exchange rate for the Iraqi Dinar, arguing that “one exchange rate should be enough“.
http://theiraqijournal.com/money-still-flowing-into-iraq/
Central Bank announces contract for manufacturing of golden ingots.
Gold ingots. So if they start minting gold dinars what does everyone think the coins top value will be? i.e. the American gold eagle currently has a $50 face value at +/-$1300 oz.
Will these be printed as IQD 25,000, 50,000, etc?
Posted by Iraq News Journal on Apr 03, 2014 | Leave a Comment
BAGHDAD –Central bank of Iraq announced the signing of an agreement with a subsidiary of global manufacturing of golden ingots.
According to a statement by the Central Bank today “In light of the decision of the Board of the Central Bank of Iraq to diversify the means of saving for the public has been contracted with one of the major companies coining global manufacturer of alloy of gold / 5 / gm to 1000 / / g to sell to the public and Goldsmiths.
The statement said , “The total amount of gold that will be minting of up to about 11 tons, and in light of the public’s demand it will manufacture additional quantities .” / End
http://theiraqijournal.com/central-bank-announces-to-contract-for-manufacturing-of-golden-ingots/
Looking back at this currency for that past 10 years I think we can say that there has been a "gradual rise" since its inception. Albeit, not as gradually as we would have liked, right?
Maybe the 2 different camps are right since it really isn't an openly traded currency. Think the value may increase incrementally (various resets/revaluations) until it reaches the $0.86- $1.00 mark and then float up from there?
Maybe the infrastructure and supply chain isn't in place yet to support a $0.86 value? In the mean time we may see it float up a bit more until they pull the trigger.
But at that point it...
it really wouldn't matter to me whether it's 1.14,1.16,.86.....
After 10 years I'll be dancing and jumping around.
Just curious...
I've been seeing this particular number on mnay boards and many people saying $1.16 or .86.
By my reasoning would 1.14 Dinar equal $.86 ?
Private banks and Central bank proceed to lift value of the Iraqi Dinar
http://theiraqijournal.com/private-banks-and-central-bank-proceed-to-lift-value-of-the-iraqi-dinar/
I still can't get over the last one who said that he/she had sold "95%" of their holding due to some negative intel.
If they felt that strongly why not sell 100%?
Hmmmmmm......
"Over a week ago I received some troubling rumors"
It seems that these guys deal in nothing but rumors and how many of them have panned out? This one should be no different.
I wonder how India would feel about this after signing the trade agreement.
CBI Governor:Bank Restructuring to be Complete by end of 2014
http://theiraqijournal.com/cbi-governor-bank-restructuring-to-be-complete-by-end-of-2014/
The provincial government to start exporting...
http://theiraqijournal.com/the-provincial-government-to-start-exporting-the-first-shipment-of-oil-through-the-pipeline-to-turkey-kurdistan/
The Central Bank postponed issuing the first local bonds next year
http://theiraqijournal.com/the-central-bank-postponed-issuing-the-first-local-bonds-next-year/