.Delta and KTFA Members Thursday AM "News and Views" 7-27-17

7/27/2017


 
KTFA:

DELTA:  FRANKIE......JUST GOT CONF ON LD ISSUED ON MAY AND COST BY CBI.... LINK ONLY ARABIC..(Wink)

Apmcrx: Question... So the LDs are in the banks ready to go or for the citizens? Thank you Delta!

is·sue ˈiSHo͞o/   verb

past tense: issued; past participle: issued

1.supply or distribute (something).

"licenses were issued indiscriminately to any company"
....




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JJonesMX:  Master Card

Features:

1-    Validity: 3 years renewable.

2-    Currency: Iraqi dinars and withdrawal outside Iraq will be in the currency of that country.

3-    Usage: Holder of the card can make online purchases or direct purchases inside and outside Iraq.

4-    Cash Withdrawal: Maximum cash withdrawal from ATM is 3,500,000 Iraqi Dinar per day. Maximum withdrawal per transaction is 750,000 Iraqi Dinars.

5-    Master card holders can get supplementary cards issued.
 
Fees and commissions:-

Master card issuance price 50,000 IQD + 25,000 IQD per year for SMS services (Optional)
Security Deposits amount 100,000 IQD is non refundable during the validity of the card.
 
No additional fees will be levied for online shopping or point of sale purchases.

https://tbiraq.com/en/services/personal-banking/master-card

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Ransom:  Since the ATM's are going to carry and dispense the US Dollar does that mean Iraq will always be a dual currency society? I thought Iraq had to only use their currency? Someone please explain? Perhaps I missed something somewhere. 
 
StephenMac63:  I see two things happening with the dollar in the iraqi atm

First, it will facilitate in removing dollars from the street that the iraqis will not want, prolly due to the possibility of a law that may be initiated that only IQD will be used in country for financial transactions. Parliament just passed 37 laws and Im betting that was one of the laws, IQD use only for transactions in country.

Second, when the tourism industry becomes more attractive it will allows foreigners who use the USD to convert over to IQD. The nice thing abut this is when the tourist is done with the visit they can go to an atm and change back to USD as it will prolly be illegal to take IQD out of country. Because if it wasnt, then you and I would go to Iraq, use an atm there, get some dinar, fly back and exchange it......talk about an everyday RV. 

And for those that think "IQD is available now here in the states".....sure for now, but I highly doubt it after a period of time.  IMO of course

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Walkingstick:  Iraq seeks to tap bond markets for five-year debt

2 HOURS AGO  by: Kate Allen

Iraq has appointed bankers to help it issue a five-year bond, in what would be a follow-up to January’s US-backed $1bn fundraising. The Republic of Iraq – which has a high-risk credit rating of B- from both S&P and Fitch Ratings – has mandated Citi, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan as joint bookrunners on the deal.

It will hold a series of investor meetings in the coming days in a bid to drum up appetite for a dollar-denominated, long-dated, benchmark-scale bond. In late 2015, Iraq called off plans to return to the bond markets for the first time since the end of US occupation, citing the excessively high cost. Its attempt to revive the plan last year was also abandoned, before it succeeded in raising $1bn of five-year bonds in January this year.

That issuance was guaranteed by the US and paid a coupon of 2.149 per cent. The country’s economy was badly hit by falling oil prices and those with knowledge of the region fear the waning power of Isis could precipitate further instability. Iraq’s bid to return to the capital markets is the latest sign of a buoyant environment for sovereign debt issuers, coming two days after Greece raised €3bn in its first deal since 2014, and a month after Argentina issued debt with a 100-year maturity.

https://www.ft.com/content/719de796-b978-321f-8cbb-cf6e2aa1c8df

Boxman:  Thanks WS....seems they are serious about preventing money laundering and being able to access risk management of entities, having already trained 900 employees and saying there  will be ongoing training in the future...smells like an IMF requirement...

Walkingstick:  Iraqi Private Banking Association Concludes Training Course on "Corporate Risk Management"

A training course titled "Corporate Risk Management" organized by the Association of Iraqi Private Banks at its headquarters in the capital Baghdad was concluded on Thursday with the participation of 76 trainees from government, private and foreign banks and financial transfer companies. 

The Executive Director of the Association of Private Banks Ali Tariq, told "Economy News", "The Association of Iraqi private banks concluded today a training course in institutional risk management, which was organized in cooperation with Talal Abu-Ghazaleh and the Arab International Community of Chartered Accountants," adding that " The course 76 people working in banks and financial transfer companies operating in Iraq

He explained that "the course of the training course ensures the management of risks, which are divided into market risks and operational risks and credit risks and applications of the elements and concepts of Basel," pointing out that "the certificate given to participants recognized internationally because it issued by the Arab International Institute of Chartered Accountants."

He pointed out that "the training courses organized by the Association of Iraqi private banks during the last period began to show their features through the development that took place in the banking sector of Iraq," noting that "the Central Bank praised the efforts of the Association of private banks, specifically in the field of training and development."

 The Association of Private Banks, announced earlier this year, the training of more than 900 employees working in government and private banks and financial transfer companies in the areas of anti-money laundering and risk management. 

Meanwhile, the director of management and training in the Association of Private Banks, Ahmed al-Hashemi, told "Economy News" that "the session targeted all employees in the risk management department of banks operating in Iraq," describing the session as "successful due to the participation of a large number of bank employees."

He pointed out that "the Central Bank and the Association of Private Banks have a strategic plan to develop the banking sector through the work on human resources," adding that "there continue with the trainees in the coming period to find out their needs in order to continue education."

On the other hand, the director of risk management at the Central Bank, Hussein Lazam, told the "Economy News" that "risk management is present in all organizations, but there is privacy in the banking sector because the environment of the bank is the most serious," adding that " Of all banks to establish a risk management department and not a risk management unit or division. "

He stressed that "risk management needs a great effort by banks because it serves its work and put it on the right track in the face of challenges."

http://economy-news.net/conten.....d=8465  

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Walkingstick:  Iraq eyes first independent bond sale in a decade

Iraq is bidding to make its first independent return to the capital markets in more than a decade, canvassing investors’ interest in a five-year bond after successfully launching a US-backed $1bn fundraising earlier this year. The oil-rich but war-ravaged Middle Eastern country has appointed three banks as bookrunners and will be meeting with prospective investors in the coming days.

In late 2015 Iraq called off plans to return to the bond markets for the first time since the official end of US occupation, citing the excessively high cost investors were demanding in order to buy into the issuance. Its attempt to revive the plan last year was also abandoned, before it succeeded in raising $1bn of five-year bonds in January this year. That sale was guaranteed by the US and paid a coupon of 2.149 per cent.

The new bond is being offered to investors without a US guarantee, leaving them dependent on Iraq’s own credit quality.


The Republic of Iraq has a high-risk credit rating of B minus from both S&P and Fitch Ratings. Fitch in March revised its outlook upwards from negative to stable, citing an improved fiscal position. The budget deficit narrowed to 8.1 per cent of gross domestic product in 2016, from 12.3 per cent the previous year, and the rating agency forecasts it will fall further to 5.1 per cent this year. Baghdad agreed a $5.4bn IMF bailout programme last summer which, Fitch said, “has helped Iraq’s financing options”.

The country has also received funding from the World Bank and bilateral project loans. Iraq has $2.7bn of bonds outstanding that were sold in 2006, but has issued no new long-term debt in the past decade.

Its bid to return to the capital markets is the latest sign of a buoyant environment for sovereign debt issuers, coming two days after Greece raised €3bn in its first deal since 2014, and a month after Argentina issued debt with a 100-year maturity.

Iraq will hold a series of investor meetings in the coming days with a view to drum up appetite for the dollar-denominated, long-dated, benchmark-scale bond, and has mandated Citi, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan as joint bookrunners on the deal.

Investors who buy into the bond will be taking on an uncertain political and economic situation. The country’s economy was badly hit by falling oil prices and regional observers fear the waning power of Isis could precipitate further instability. Jan Dean, head of research at emerging markets specialist Ashmore Group, said the prospect of an Iraq bond was appealing.

“There is a lot of bad noise of course because there are real problems but that has not impacted on Iraq’s ability to pay,” he said. “So you get a nice risk premium compared to other countries in the region.

Iraq is in a bad neighbourhood but it has done a lot of adjustment to lower oil prices and we feel they are able to service their debts.”

Even without an explicit US guarantee, any new Iraqi debt issuance would be regarded by investors as having “the implicit backing” of the US, Mr Dean said, given the geopolitical regional importance of the country “remaining in the US sphere of influence”.

https://www.ft.com/content/7ea2f7de-72b6-11e7-93ff-99f383b09ff9 

Samson:  Gold jumps to record high after US central bank statement

 27th July, 2017

Gold jumped more than 1 percent to its highest level in six weeks on Thursday after the Federal Reserve said it would begin cutting its huge holdings of bonds at a "relatively close" time, prompting the dollar to fall.

The US central bank kept key interest rates unchanged as expected, and in a statement after a two-day meeting it said it was continuing the slow track of tightening monetary policy, which has raised interest rates by one percentage point since 2015.

Spot gold rose 1.1 percent to $ 1262.11 an ounce late in the US session, after hitting a record high of $ 1263.42, the highest since June 15.

Before the US Central Bank announcement, US gold futures fell 0.2 percent to settle at $ 1249.40 an ounce. But rose nearly 1 percent in subsequent trading on the settlement to $ 1,260.6 an ounce.

http://economy-news.net/content.php?id=8449