Iraq Economic News and Points to Ponder Wednesday Evening 1-24-24
Tlm724 Administrator Bondlady’s Corner
Iraq Launches Electronic Cards For Small Merchants To Confront The Dollar Crisis
January 24, 2024 Last updated: January 24, 2024 Al-Independent/- Yesterday, Tuesday, the Iraqi government issued a new mechanism for issuing electronic cards to small merchants, based on the directives of Prime Minister Muhammad al-Sudani.
This mechanism aims to reduce the demand for cash dollars by real traders, and enhance the role of banks in financial transactions.
The new issuance mechanism includes the following:
Payment companies submit a request to the Central Bank to obtain approval to create this product and launch the (merchant) card.
Determining the uses of cards for small merchants in line with the external transfer controls issued by the Central Bank for the year 2023.
The ceiling for these cards shall not exceed (100) thousand dollars per month, with the possibility of raising the ceiling in the future in light of the results of the actual implementation.
The cards are used for the purposes of purchasing goods and services from known suppliers under pre-defined whitelists.
The company bears its duty to apply due diligence and in accordance with basic requirements, the most important of which are the main international ban lists of the United Nations, the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the European Union.
Small merchants’ money is deposited in various Iraqi bank branches in dinars.
Experts believe that this new mechanism will contribute to achieving the desired goals, through:
Facilitating the external transfer process for small merchants, which will reduce the demand for cash dollars.
Strengthening the role of banks in financial transactions, thus reducing black market exchange operations.
Monitoring external transfer operations, which will help in the fight against terrorism and corruption.
This step comes within the framework of the efforts made by the Iraqi government to address the dollar crisis in the country. https://mustaqila.com/العراق-يطلق-بطاقات-إلكترونية-لصغار-ال/
Issuing Electronic Cards To Small Merchants With A Ceiling Of $100,000 Per Month
January 23 13:15 Information/Baghdad.. Today, Tuesday, a government source revealed the issuance of electronic cards to small merchants, while specifying their conditions.
The source said in a statement to the official agency, followed by “Al-Ma’louma”:
“Based on the directives of the Prime Minister and in light of the discussions that took place between the government, the Central Bank of Iraq and electronic payment companies for more than two months,
a mechanism for issuing electronic cards to small merchants was approved, with a ceiling of 100 thousand dollars.”“.” He added, Monthly to implement payment operations for import purposes in order to reduce the demand for cash dollars by real merchants
“The new mechanism includes:
1- Payment companies submit a request to the Central Bank to obtain approval to create this product and launch the (merchant) card.
2- Determine the uses of the cards to be for small merchants in line with the external transfer controls issued by the Central Bank for the year 2023, provided that
The ceiling of these cards shall not exceed (100) thousand dollars per month, with the possibility of raising the ceiling in the future in light of the results of the actual application.
3- The cards are used for the purposes of purchasing goods and services from known suppliers according to pre-determined white lists.
4- The company bears its duty to apply diligence Due and in accordance with basic requirements, the most important of which are the main international embargo lists of the United Nations, the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the European Union.
5- Small merchants’ funds are deposited in the branches of various Iraqi banks in Iraqi dinars.
An Academic Explains The Reasons For The “Failure” Of Establishing Solid Banking Relationships In Iraq
Economy |Yesterday, | Baghdad Today – Baghdad Today, Tuesday (January 23, 2024), the academic in economics, Mehdi Saleh, explained the reasons for the “failure” in establishing solid banking relations with the global and regional sector, while pointing to the necessity of developing banks and institutions at the regional level.
The main player Saleh said in an interview with “Baghdad Today” that “the central bank is the state bank and lending and issuing have important powers at its disposal that made it the main player in establishing monetary policy in Iraq,” pointing out that “the banking system, with all its civil and governmental titles, is the middle link between the central bank.” And the public,” referring to merchants, companies, and other segments.
He added, “The middle circle, referring to the specialized banks, is not sufficiently prepared to establish relationships with the global banking system because it has remained for many decades in local roles, that is,
it has no experience, in addition to the very developed situation of international banks, especially in the file of industrial and agricultural banks and the rest of the specialized banks.”
He added, “But this does not mean stopping, but rather striving to develop them, especially since Iraq was the first to establish banks in the region.”
Parasitic performance
He pointed out “the necessity of staying away from the parasitic performance practiced by some banks by seeking speculation and quick profit, hunting for opportunities,
and seeking to transfer the experience of Gulf and Southeast Asian banks in creating visions that contribute to the recovery of markets and building investments, to be the beginning of the move towards enabling performance in banking work at the level.” Regional and international.”
Earlier, Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani reviewed to the President of the World Bank Group, Ajay Banga, Iraq’s steps towards financial and banking reform.
On the sidelines of his participation in the Davos Economic Forum, Al-Sudani met with the President of the World Bank Group, Ajay Banga, and discussed with him the cooperation relations between Iraq and the World Bank, in various economic fields, which contribute to supporting the government’s efforts and strategic plans, towards more investment and development opportunities in Iraq.
According to an official government statement received by Baghdad Today.
The statement explained, “The meeting also witnessed a review of the measures and steps taken by the government and the Central Bank of Iraq, in terms of financial and banking reform, and
the projects financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) were also discussed, most notably the project to rehabilitate and develop Baghdad International Airport.”. The Prime Minister stressed, according to the statement,
“the importance of World Bank reports reflecting, realistically, the new government’s policies that were implemented in the economic and banking sectors and supporting the private sector, which aim to diversify the economy, increase its growth, and achieve financial stability, in light of the challenges facing the region and the world.” https://baghdadtoday.news/240569-أكاديمي-يوضح-أسباب-فشل-تأسيس-علاقات-مصرفية-رصينة-في-العراق.html
Specialists: Islamic Sukuk Are An Alternative To Financial Instruments
Economical 01/23/2024 Baghdad: Hussein Thaghab Interest is growing in adopting Islamic sukuks as part of Iraq’s strategic policy, as they are an important alternative to other financial instruments that depend on interest, and which can finance the deficit suffered by the federal general budget.
During the first annual conference, the Center for Banking Studies at the Central Bank of Iraq considered Islamic bonds part of Iraq’s strategic policy.
He stressed the acceleration of the legislation of the “Islamic Sukuk Law in Iraq.”
The participants also stressed the need to pay attention to developing appropriate legislation in order to make it successful in Iraq, and to make a media and promotional effort to spread the culture of investment in Islamic Sukuks among banks and financial institutions before the law is enacted.
Islamic banking specialist Professor Dr. Sadiq Rashid Al-Shammari pointed out that the advantages of sukuks are several, the most important of which is financing large projects that no single entity has the capacity to finance.
They are an investment channel for absorbing financial surpluses that their owners wish to invest and recover easily.
They also contribute to managing liquidity in cases of deficit and surplus.
If the bank has surplus liquidity, invest.
What he has in buying sukuks, and if he needs liquidity, he sells them with ease in the secondary market or the stock exchange, in addition to the fair distribution of wealth, because it links investment to reality and the real economy and enables all investors to benefit from the project’s profits in a fair way, as wealth is distributed on a large scale without Be a country among the rich, diversify your portfolio investments and spread your risks.
Investment sukuks mean that they are a document issued in the name of their owner or holder in denominations of equal value to prove the right of their owner to the financial rights and obligations they represent, and that
they represent a common share in the ownership of assets designated for investment, whether objects, benefits, services, or a mixture thereof, and moral rights, debts, and money, and they do not represent debt. Issued to the bearer.
He added that the sukuk, especially the sukuk of leased assets, are characterized by being an off-budget financing instrument, as the leased assets are owned by the sukuk holders during the term of the sukuk, and the obligation of the sukuk holder is limited to paying the rent to the sukuk holders, which is a revenue expense.
On the contrary, in the case of borrowing to finance the purchase of some assets, this leads to… To increase the value of liabilities because they are capital expenditures, this type of sukuk also has zakat and tax advantages.
He pointed out that Islamic sukuks can attract customers by providing high-quality services and providing the necessary financing for them to activate their commercial, investment, industrial and agricultural operations.
They also provide sufficient liquidity available to dealing investors, which is the desired goal of creating trust and achieving security, that is, achieving actual cooperation between those with financial surpluses.
And project owners who use these surpluses and not transfer the risk to one party or the other by creating advanced products capable of competing with the products offered by traditional banks, provided that they do not conflict with the rule of Sharia.
The Director General of the Center for Banking Studies at the Central Bank of Iraq, Dr. Bassem Abdul Hadi Hassan, highlighted the importance of submitting the draft Islamic Sukuk Law to the House of Representatives,
so he is keen to discuss the role of Islamic finance and the Sukuk market in particular as a vital financial tool that contributes significantly to development. Economic.
He added that the Central Bank of Iraq has a major role in this process by proposing the Islamic Sukuk Law and providing technical and practical assistance to the relevant authorities in the Islamic banking sector, and therefore it has become useful to learn about international experiences in this field, especially Arab ones. https://alsabaah.iq/90893-.html
The Government Requires Official Institutions To Cooperate With Banks Regarding Electronic Sales
Economy| 12:42 – 01/23/2024 Mawazine News – Baghdad The General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers announced, today, Tuesday, the obligation of official institutions to cooperate with banks regarding electronic points of sale. A statement from the secretariat stated,
“Based on the directive of the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani, regarding electronic points of sale (POS) and in order to achieve a streamlined implementation of the procedures for implementing this system and raise the level of preparedness on all sides, in a way that contributes to serving citizens.”
The General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers specified the conditions for issuing the electronic card, the commitment to implement what was stated in Paragraph (First/2) of Council of Ministers Resolution (23620 of 2023) and in cooperation with licensed banks, in accordance with the scope of their work and the organizational structure of their accounting and financial procedures through the use of payment tools.
Electronic payment from the procurement committees and implementation committees is a secretariat, and an emphasis on cooperation and coordination from all government institutions, with electronic payment service providers and banks contracted with them for the following purposes:
placing billboards and screens displaying materials and short videos for citizens explaining the mechanisms of using electronic payment tools, their benefits and methods, and encouraging them to use them.
Educating them about this matter, until March 1, 2024 as a maximum, and conducting awareness campaigns to spread financial and banking culture and electronic payment in the field, within the buildings of institutions and formations and their locations periodically.”
He added, “The conditions included providing the Central Bank of Iraq with the procedures taken regarding the adoption of electronic payment tools in financial transactions and services, in addition to the proposals and challenges facing the process, so that the aforementioned bank can study them and find the necessary solutions as far as the matter is concerned with the specialization of the Central Bank of Iraq.” He pointed out that
“the Department of Cabinet Affairs and Committees in the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers will take it upon itself to follow up on the implementation of the directives.”
https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=240895
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Top 100 Inspirational Quotes Compiled By Kevin Kruse
Inspirational quotes and motivational quotes have the power to get us through a bad week, and can even give us the courage to pursue our life’s dreams. In my book, 4 Keys to Happiness and Fulfillment at Work, By Kevin Kruse, I share surprising research into the true triggers of workplace motivation.
So in the spirit of self motivation, here are 100 inspirational quotes.
12. We become what we think about. – Earl Nightingale
13. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover. – Mark Twain
14. Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. – Charles Swindoll
15. The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. – Alice Walker
16. The mind is everything. What you think you become. – Buddha
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/05/28/inspirational-quotes/
