The Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Trade and Industry said today, Tuesday, that it had reached a deal with the Central Bank to expedite the registration of Kurdish exchange companies and grant them the same rights as Iraqi companies. The agreement includes three key components, the most important of which is the removal of the 2.5 billion dinar capital requirement for business licenses.
On Monday, February 26, 2024, Bakhtiar Haj Muhammad, Director General of the Kurdistan Regional Government Representation in Baghdad and Director of National Companies, and Kazem Namik, Director General of the Central Bank Branch, attended a meeting with Balbad Muhammad Mawloud, Director of Companies Registration, at the Central Bank of Iraq. During a discussion on the issues facing currency exchange firms at the Central Bank of Iraq in Erbil, the Director of the Non-Banking Financial Institutions Supervision Department reached a few consensus points:
- Exchange businesses in the Kurdistan Region are entitled to finish (merger) proceedings and adhere to all Central Bank regulations until March 31, 2024. On the other hand, they will not be able to apply for category (A) and (B) licenses from the Central Bank after this date.
- The requirement that the company’s capital be 2.5 billion dinars was waived at the request of the Director General of Company Registration. Previously, enterprises had to deposit this sum with the Central Bank of Iraq in order to be granted a license.
- In the upcoming weeks, businesses which satisfy all central bank standards will be given a license.
