Category: News Articles

Iraq Awards $348m in Drilling Deals

Iraq has awarded oil drilling deals with a combined value of $348 million.

Associated Press reports that Weatherford picked up two drilling contracts, one for nearly $95 million and another for $82.4 million.

Another contract worth $96.7 million went to China’s Bohai, while COSL, a division of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), won a contract for $73.8 million.

The deals relate to work at oil fields in Maysan province that are being developed by China’s state-owned CNOOC.

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Kurdish National Convention postponed until November

Erbil (NINA) – Preparatory Committee for the Kurdish National Convention announced that the Convention is been postponed until the end of November.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Sep. 3, the Committee said that the date of Sep. 15, set for the Convention coincide with campaigning for the election of Kurdistan Region’s Parliament.

It added that because of this, the Kurdish National Convention has been postponed until 25/Nov./2013 after the end of the Region’s Parliamentary elections. / End.

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Maliki scorched: Will not get a third term

09-03-13

Erbil / News: Chairman of the Integrity Commission ruled former Judge Rahim Okkaily, on Tuesday, the survival of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in the third term, while al-Maliki described as “scorched paper” and not in Iran’s interest and support America.

Ugaili said the agency “View News”, “The survival of Maliki in the third term is inconsistent with the Constitution and the law,” explaining that “the House of Representatives has the right to restrict the mandates of both the President and the Prime Minister and President of the House of Representatives.”

He added that “al-Maliki stabbed usual law determine the mandate and was sentenced in his favor,” asserting that “the Federal Court does not have the right to disable the legislative role of the Council of Representatives.”

He noted that “al-Maliki is seeking a third term evidence that challenged the law determine States and received a judgment in his favor,” unlikely “for al-Maliki a third term because of a feud with all the political partners, also worked on the liquidation of the many instead of their participation, so it will not have a chance in the state a third. ”

Regarding al-Maliki flew to Tehran and Washington to mobilize support for survival, Ugaili said, “The Maliki burned paper was not in the interest of a future support neither America nor Iran.”

He said, “Iran and America’s key players in the Iraqi arena, no one can deny their influence, did not بمستطاع the Maliki get a second term without their involvement in his favor,” “but the political partieshave an important and decisive role in this time.”

The Federal Court overturned the law of the mandate of the three presidencies voted by the House of Representatives, as the proposed law and not a bill, and includes a proposed law expiry of the mandate of the President of the Republic the end of the electoral cycle for the House of Representatives, which elected the president by the Board, and may not be the position of President of the Republic by the same person for more than two terms.

Referred to the Judge Rahim Okkaily who has served as Chairman of the Integrity Commission in Baghdad, submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in the month of September 2011, as a result then was told about the existence faced pressure from political parties accused of trying to cover up the embezzlement of funds.

The Ugaili, who heads the Authority since January two thousand and eight, earlier accused the “ministers they would prefer to cover up the corruption in their constituencies instead of combat and that money is the main source of funding for the insurgents.”

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Iraqi lawmaker: calling for the non-application of the project to delete the zeros

09-03-13 Electronic integrity:   Deputy Prime Finance Committee on / coalition of Kurdish blocs / Ahmed Faizullah, that the implementation of the project to delete the three zeroes from the national currency, which calls him the central bank does not work for the Iraqi dinar at the present time, just change the form of currency, urged not to implement the project in a timely Current market because it would disrupt the Iraqi citizen.

He said Faizullah: that the support of the national currency requires a local producer of goods and services, adding that Iraq lacks the presence of a product, industrial and national and relies on imports to meet the requirements of the Interior, but has cash reserves of hard currency اسعفت dinar became cover him.

It is noted that the CBI identified earlier in the beginning of this year will implement the project to delete the three zeroes from the national currency, but the Iraqi government demanded wait Bank implemented the project, fearing the emergence of counterfeit currency during the switching process.

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Financial Representative Confirms Money Laundering Led To Depreciation Of The Iraqi Dinar

09-03-13 Baghdad: Iraq News Network-member Finance Committee MP Najib, najiba Iraq need laws and legislation and the cooperation of the competent authorities to reduce the phenomenon of money laundering.

Najib said “combat money laundering not fall into just responsibilities lies with the Central Bank and money laundering only, there are also institutions and community banks, the Ministry of Commerce and border crossings, customs and the ministries of Defense and Interior,” Noting that “weak security in Iraq and the Syrian crisis led to increased cases of money laundering by some owners of vulnerable souls.”

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CBI “Lifts Custody” over Warka Bank

09-03-13 The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has announced that its board has decided to “lift custody [guardianship]” over Warka Bank on August 25, 2013, following a final decision made by the Financial Services Court on 26th May, 2013.

Warka Bank announced on its website that:

“This decision comes in accordance with the decision issued by the court appeal in favor of Warka Bank for Investment and Finance.“

A copy of the announcement can be viewed here.

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Parliament Chairmanship: Next Monday deadline to discuss Parliamentary Elections Law

09-03-13 Baghdad (AIN) -The parliament chairmanship decided the next Monday to be last date to discuss the Parliamentary Elections Law.

Parlaimentary source stated to AIN “The parliament chairmanship decided the next Monday to be last date to discuss the Parlaimentary Elections Law,”

noting that “The parliament Chairmanship called the political blocs to submit their points against the draft during the remaining time.”

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CBI agrees in principle to the opening of a Standard Charter bank branch in Baghdad

09-03-13 Baghdad (news) .. Central Bank of Iraq, agreed in principle to the establishment of Standard Chartered Bank British opened a branch in Baghdad for the exercise of its banking before the final year.

central bank said in a statement received by the Agency (news) copy of it: that the bank issued its approval in principle to the establishment of the Bank Standard Chartered, the British opened a branch in Baghdad for the exercise of the banking business, noting that the central bank reporting delegate bank in Iraq this approval for the exercise of his bank in Baghdad.

The statement added that the Standard Chartered Bank British will begin its work before the end of this year.

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Federal Reserve Holdings and Oil Exports are the biggest factor for IQD exchange rate

Iraqi financial expert stated that the value of Iraq’s Federal Reserve currently amounts to about $80 billion, following the recent increase in the country’s oil exports. Nevertheless, no information was made available by the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) to this effect.

Speaking to media, financial expert Hussein al-Asadi remarked, “According to my information, the value of Iraq’s federal reserve currently amounts to about $80 billion. This includes funds, precious metals and other items.”

Regarding the financial issues concerned with Federal Reserve, CBI or Central Bank or Iraq’s governor Abdul Basit Turki has chosen to stay mum. The bank has issued only a statement for indicating the developments that it has been carried out of late.

The last comment made by the CBI regarding the country’s federal reserve dates back to Jan. 31, 2012, when the bank denied the ‘decline of gold reserves’. CBI further stated, “They have been stable throughout the past months and amount to 29,730 tons.”

Asadi added, “The US dollar is the main currency in the Iraqi reserves. There are also some reserves in other currencies, in addition to gold. Due to the troubled military and political conditions of the country, Iraq’s reserves cannot be invested to a large extent, as is the case in China or the United Arab Emirates, for instance.”

He further stated, “Iraq is distributing its reserves to a number of banks just to protect [these funds, although it does generate some interest on the deposits.”

Economic expert also remarked the crisis between the government and CBI by remarking, “Article 26 of the CBI law explicitly states that it is inadmissible to lend to the government.”

On how the reserves are formed, Asadi said, “Iraq’s annual budget is in Iraqi dinars, which the CBI owns. The state’s revenues are from oil exports, and they are mostly in US dollars. The government buys dinars from the bank, which results in profits for the bank. The total CBI profits from selling dinars to the state constitute the country’s Federal Reserve, whose growth is associated with state spending. State spending increases in proportion with its oil exports.”

Member of parliamentary economic committee, Mr. Abdul Hussein Abtan, the Iraqi MP, stated, “The total value of funds and precious metals that make up Iraq’s Federal Reserve amounts to about $76 billion.” He added, “This reserve was only invested in projects to support the stability of the Iraqi dinar’s exchange rate.”

On the other hand, Ahmed Hassan Faizullah, a member of the parliamentary finance committee, denied the fact that “the government is able to use Iraq’s Federal Reserve, despite its need for funds on more than one occasion.”

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Kurdistan: the unstable security situation of Iraq was a reason for the lack of agreements

Spokesman said the Kurdistan Alliance pro-Tayeb that political and economic agreements and security held by Iraq with the countries of the world will have positive returns on the country, indicating that the unstable situation of Iraq was a reason not to reap the results of previous agreements.

Al-Tayyib in a press statement that “Iraq has been isolated from the surrounding regional and global at the time of the former regime and therefore we after 2003 and the change that took place in the political system we want Iraq to be open to the surroundings international and that there is openness reciprocal of the rest of us . ”

He added that “all agreements held by Iraq with the countries of the world come through the executive branch to the legislature and there is a thorough study of each agreements held by Iraq with the rest of the state the world and it certainly will be channeled to the benefit of Iraq and that were not as well as we as an authority legislative We will reject those agreements will not endorse them . ”

Taib said that “the unstable security situation in Iraq was a reason not to reap the results of previous agreements and this does not mean that they were not useful and agreements, but sooner or later we will get what we want from those agreements to serve the political and economic process in the country

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