Tishwash: Iraq, World Bank discuss enhancing financial cooperation
Finance Minister Taif Sami stressed the importance of the ongoing partnership with the World Bank, and Iraq’s aspiration to benefit from the technical and financial support provided by the bank in implementing strategic projects to stimulate economic growth and provide job opportunities, especially in areas including infrastructure and human development.
This came during her reception of the World Bank Representative to Iraq, Jean-Christophe Carret, and his accompanying delegation.
The meeting discussed ways to enhance economic and financial cooperation between Iraq and the World Bank. It reviewed a number of key topics related to enhancing financial stability in Iraq, in addition to discussing development projects that the two parties seek to implement with the aim of achieving sustainable development.
For his part, the World Bank representative expressed the bank’s commitment to continue supporting Iraq in achieving its development goals, noting that the World Bank pays great attention to enhancing Iraq’s ability to face economic and development challenges, with a focus on sustainable development and achieving comprehensiveness in the benefits achieved. link
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Tishwash: I don’t think there is any new information in this article but they have posted it again
Iraq is preparing to launch the digital dinar… a step towards a cashless economy!
The Central Bank of Iraq is preparing to launch a national digital currency as part of a gradual shift toward a digital financial system aimed at reducing the use of paper money and enhancing transparency and financial inclusion.
The initiative relies on modern payment technologies and seeks to reduce transaction costs and combat money laundering.
Despite the ambition, experts question the project’s success due to challenges related to weak trust in the banking system and the lack of adequate digital infrastructure. The Central Bank, meanwhile, reiterates its rejection of cryptocurrencies, deeming them illegal, and warns against the activity of fictitious trading companies in the local market. The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Al-Alaq, revealed that the country’s financial and banking system is undergoing fundamental transformations, most notably the gradual decline in the use of paper currency in favor of digital payments.
During his speech at the Ninth Finance and Banking Conference and Exhibition, Al-Alaq confirmed that the Central Bank is working to create its own digital currency, which will be gradually introduced as an alternative to paper currency, following the experiences of several global central banks.
The Central Bank of Iraq announced on December 16 that it would not grant any licenses to stock, metals, and cryptocurrency trading companies, warning against the activity of fictitious companies claiming to have official licenses.
Despite the growing global spread of cryptocurrencies, Iraq doesn’t appear close to entering this high-risk digital world. According to experts, these digital assets do not represent a real addition to the Iraqi economy, which is primarily based on oil exports and dollar transactions in global markets.
Financial affairs expert Mustafa Hantoush told Al-Mada that “Iraq does not have a legislative or economic environment capable of accommodating these currencies. Rather, they could become a tool for speculation and money laundering in the absence of oversight and regulation.”
He pointed out that “dealing in them is limited and informal, via external platforms and offices in neighboring countries, exposing investors to the risk of loss and fraud.”
Furthermore, according to Hantoush, cryptocurrencies are not based on real reserves or bank guarantees, making them highly volatile and unreliable in fragile markets such as Iraq’s. According to economic researcher Ziyad al-Hashemi, the initiative to launch the “digital dinar” is an attempt to eliminate the chronic problems plaguing the monetary system, but its success remains in doubt.
In an interview with Al-Mada, Al-Hashemi explained, “There is a fundamental difference between digital currency and cryptocurrencies. Digital currencies, such as the digital dollar or the digital dirham, are issued and regulated by central banks and are managed within an official regulatory framework. Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, operate within a decentralized system that is not subject to any regulatory authority and are highly volatile in value due to their dependence on supply and demand.”
Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency, emerging in 2009 as a response to the global financial crisis. It was designed to operate outside the regulatory framework of central banks, making it an attractive tool for some, particularly in digital circles and criminal networks, due to the privacy and speed of money transfers it provides, free from government restrictions. Transactions in Bitcoin are a legal violation, subjecting perpetrators to the provisions of Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Law No. 39 of 2015.
The bank issued an official statement during the recent dollar crisis, emphasizing that trading in cryptocurrencies is prohibited and not recognized in the country. Regarding the anticipated digital dinar, he points out that “the Central Bank of Iraq will be responsible for issuing and circulating it, allowing it to control and monitor financial transactions and contributing to the reduction of financial crimes and money laundering. Unlike cryptocurrencies, this currency will be fully backed by the Central Bank, giving it a degree of stability and making it similar to paper currency in terms of sovereign value, with the difference that its circulation will be electronically only through bank accounts and digital wallets.”
Al-Hashemi believes that “the main goal of this step is to reduce reliance on paper dinars hoarded outside the banking system and advance financial inclusion, as well as to attempt to limit the widespread use of the dollar in local transactions by enhancing confidence in using the digital dinar as an official alternative in daily transactions.”
He adds that “the success of this project depends on providing an appropriate environment and strict implementation. If this is achieved, the digital dinar could effectively contribute to withdrawing stagnant cash, revitalizing banking activity, and stimulating credit, which could positively impact overall economic performance.”
However, Al-Hashemi does not hide his pessimism, emphasizing that The Central Bank of Iraq currently lacks the basic components needed to ensure the success of this initiative, due to the significant flaws in its monetary policies, the lack of public confidence in the banking system, and the recurring political interference in its decisions. He believes that all of these obstacles could make the digital dinar a fragile project, suffering from the same problems as the paper dinar.
He concludes by saying, “Ambition alone is not enough. Without genuine reform of monetary policies, strengthening public confidence in banks, and distancing politics from the economy, the chances of success of the digital dinar remain extremely limited.”
Furthermore, Mazhar Mohammed Saleh, economic advisor to the Prime Minister, believes that “central banks around the world, including the Central Bank of Iraq, are still in the gradual preparation phase for the transition to the world of digital payments as a modern alternative to paper currencies.” This shift, he explains, does not change the essence of money and its basic functions.
Rather, it seeks only to improve the efficiency of dealing with it and reduce associated costs, in addition to strengthening financial oversight tools and reducing financial crime and money laundering.
Saleh confirms to Al-Mada that “this digital transformation in the monetary system does not mean that money will lose its function as a store of value, a means of payment and receipt, or a tool for unit of account and measurement of rights. Rather, these functions will be fully preserved, but within a more transparent, governed, and compliant environment, enhancing the monetary authority’s ability to manage monetary stability using the same monetary policy tools.”
Saleh explains that “digital money can expand the scope of banking services to include the poorest and most vulnerable segments of society by facilitating the opening of digital bank accounts. Digital money will be available to all citizens, from the smallest monetary unit to the largest, allowing for instant settlement of transactions without delay or wasted rights or time.”
He points out that “providing digital liquidity widely within the banking system, with minimal liquidity risk, will enable low-income groups to obtain immediate and affordable digital loans at a lower cost, given that the funds will remain within the banking system and will not require large reserves or financial hedges.
This will optimally leverage the digital credit multiplier, enhancing financing and stimulating economic activity without compromising economic stability or causing monetary inflation, as long as monetary policy tools remain effective.”
The economic advisor emphasizes that “implementing this project requires precise and extensive investments in information technology, such as smartphones and social networks, along with the necessity of an advanced digital infrastructure, most notably a reliable internet network, as it is the backbone of the success of digital payments.
He also emphasizes the importance of a solid legal structure that protects the rights of users and customers and ensures the security of networks from breaches, within a comprehensive cybersecurity framework that aligns with the rapid development of digital services worldwide.” linkI
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Tishwash: Ramadan revives the Iraqi dinar and official expectations of a continued decline in the dollar
The exchange rate of the US dollar in the parallel market in Iraq declined significantly during the first and second weeks of Ramadan, recording 1,480 dinars per dollar, or less than that, from 1,520 dinars before the beginning of the month.
The decline is due to several factors, most notably the strict measures taken by the Central Bank of Iraq to control imports and electronic money transfers, in addition to the decline in economic activities of the Iraqi citizen during the month of Ramadan.
“strict measures”
Government advisor Alaa Al-Fahd says the decline in the dollar price in the parallel market is due to the Central Bank’s implementation of strict measures aimed at controlling imports and electronic money transfers.
He added that this measure reflects the success of the Central Bank’s monetary policy, as Iraqi banks have begun to implement correspondence operations with international banks with which they have commercial relations.
He added that diversifying the currency basket contributed significantly to easing pressure on the dollar, and that most imports of consumer and food goods are financed through the official platform of the Central Bank and at the official price, stressing that any trading outside this framework is considered unofficial dealing.
Al-Fahd praised the Central Bank’s announcement of implementing digital transactions and encouraging tourism, stressing that these steps contributed to easing pressure on the parallel market for exchange rates.
Al-Fahd expected the market to remain stable, especially with most of the needs of Ramadan and the Eid season being covered through the official platform and at the official price, noting that expectations indicate a continued decline in the dollar price in the coming period.
The exchange rate of the dollar against the dinar increased significantly in the last week before Ramadan, recording 1,520 dinars per dollar for sale and 1,510 dinars for purchase in the main stock exchanges, but in the first week of Ramadan, the exchange rate recorded a significant decrease, reaching 1,465 dinars per dollar for sale and 1,475 dinars per dollar for purchase in the main stock exchanges in Baghdad, Erbil and Basra.
In the second week of Ramadan, the exchange rate rose slightly, recording 1,485 dinars per dollar for sale and 1,480 dinars per dollar for purchase, with a variation up or down not exceeding two and a half dollars.
The exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar against the dollar is affected by several main factors, including:
-Daily sales volume in currency auction
-Central Bank procedures related to external transfers
-The need of traders to import goods, especially from countries subject to US sanctions, which increases the demand for the dollar in the parallel market.
-Smuggling the Iraqi dinar to other countries to benefit from price differences.
“Ramadan is a game changer”
For his part, economic expert Ahmed Al-Ansari believes that the decline in demand for the dollar during the month of Ramadan is mainly due to the decline in economic activities of the Iraqi citizen, which is evident in the decline in the movement of real estate, cars and basic services.
Al-Ansari explained that the weak purchasing power of citizens also contributed to reducing the volume of imports, which led to a reduction in demand for the dollar in the parallel market.
He added that the Central Bank’s measures aimed at reducing imports through the black market and encouraging traders and importers to import through approved banks and convert the dollar at the official price were an additional reason for this temporary decline.
Al-Ansari expected a strong recovery in the markets after Ramadan and by Eid al-Fitr, which could lead to a slight increase in the dollar price or a return to its previous level, stressing that the dollar price is greatly affected by the strength of supply and demand in the market, as it rises whenever demand for it increases in the parallel market.
He pointed out that the continuation of the facilities provided by the Central Bank, such as providing travelers’ dollars, will encourage citizens to deal at the official price and avoid exchange offices and banks that sell dollars at higher prices.
On February 7, 2023, the Council of Ministers approved the decision of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Iraq to amend the exchange rate of the dollar against the dinar, equivalent to 1,300 dinars per dollar, obligating banks to sell at a rate of 1,310 dinars per dollar and at a rate of 1,320 dinars per dollar for currency transfer operations when using electronic cards while traveling or online, with a ceiling of 3,000 dollars at the official rate granted to each traveler who presents a visa and a travel ticket with his official passport. link
