Iraq is advancing globally and settling in the Arab world with the largest economy in the world in 2023

Shafaq News / Iraq ranked 49th in the world’s largest economies for the year 2023, after it was ranked 52nd last year, within a list of 190 countries, according to a report by the International Monetary Fund.

According to the report, which was based on GDP data, for each country, and seen by Shafaq News agency, Iraq advanced three ranks globally compared to 2022, while it maintained fourth place among Arab countries for the second year in a row, with a GDP of $267.89 billion.

Saudi Arabia came first in the Arab world and 18th in the world with a gross domestic product of $1.06 trillion, followed by the UAE with a total of $498.98 billion, then Egypt with a total of $387 billion, then Iraq came fourth in 49th place globally, followed by Qatar with an output of $219 billion, then Algeria with $2.6 billion. Kuwait with $164 billion, then Morocco with $138 billion, then Oman with $104 billion, then Jordan with $52 billion, while Tunisia came in tenth place with a GDP of $49 billion.

According to the Fund’s report, “the five largest economies in the world in 2023 were the United States, China, Japan, Germany and India.

The United States maintained its position as the leading global economy and the richest country, retaining its first position with a GDP of $26.85 trillion, followed by China in second place with a GDP of $19.37 trillion, then Japan third with a total of $4.41 trillion, and then Germany in fourth place. With a total of 4.31 trillion dollars, then India is in fifth place, with a total of 3.74 trillion.

The United Kingdom came sixth with a total of $3.16 trillion, France seventh with a total of $2.92 trillion, then Italy came eighth with a total of $2.17 trillion, followed by Canada in ninth place with a total of $2.09 trillion, and Brazil in tenth place with a total of $2.08 trillion.

The International Monetary Fund report indicated that Tuvalu was at the bottom of the ranking table with a total of $7 million, followed by Nauru with an output of $15 million, then Kiribati with a total of $25 million.

Shafaq.com

Citizens complain about “impossible conditions” set by banks to obtain dollars

Shafaq News / Obtaining the dollar at the official rate has become a haunting issue for citizens, despite the availability of the required conditions.

Duraid Salman, who underwent a liver transplant for his daughter in India, said, “For the second time, he had a medical trip to complete the recovery of his daughter and his donor wife. He went to a Rafidain bank to obtain dollars at the official price for the purpose of paying the costs of treatment to the hospital instead of buying dollars from the parallel market at high prices.” .

He continued, “During his submission of the required documents for him, including an official visa, a travel ticket, and all the required conditions, he was surprised that he was not included in the dollar, justifying that he does not have a residence permit, and it was not mentioned in the ticket at the time of return.”

He pointed out that “residency cannot be granted for such cases, but the patient is granted a visa for a period of 6 months, and the date of return is not determined by the patient, but rather by the hospital upon completion of treatment.”

He asked about “the reasons for the complexity and routine in obtaining the dollar for the real person who needs the dollar in such humanitarian matters,” noting that “the bank’s auditors suffer from excessive crowding and staying under the hot sun to obtain 3 thousand dollars for the traveler.”

He called on “officials to put an end to the suffering of citizens, especially for those who have a patient because he needs treatment and to provide medicine,” noting that “these complications and routine push us to obtain dollars from the parallel market.”

Shafaq.com

The World Bank is discussing the Iraqi Central Bank with “tarsin” the external transfer

Baghdad today – Today, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Al-Alaq, and a delegation from the World Bank discussed “Tarseen” the external transfer process in accordance with international standards, while prospective amendments to simplify tax and customs procedures were discussed.

The central bank said in a statement received by “Baghdad Today”, that “the governor of Al-Alaq received today, Thursday, a high-level delegation from the World Bank headed by Farid Belhadj, Vice President of the World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa.”

According to the statement, the meeting “discussed the efforts of the Central Bank of Iraq to organize and consolidate external transfers in accordance with compliance requirements and international standards and encourage merchants to enter the electronic platform to buy dollars by providing facilities and simplifying tax and customs procedures that the government is making anticipated amendments to.”

The central bank stated that “the meeting discussed granting small loans through the “Riyada” bank, which will be responsible for providing various loans with the support of the Central Bank of Iraq and private banks and working to establish a company to guarantee loans, as well as paying attention to compliance standards and risks to develop the banking sector.

The meeting also dealt with “the conditions of government banks, which constitute approximately 80% of the size of the Iraqi banking sector, and dealt with plans to improve their work, including amending their internal systems to implement institutional governance issued by the Central Bank, and plans to restructure those banks,” according to the bank’s statement.

The bank indicated that “the World Bank delegation praised the efforts and procedures of the Central Bank of Iraq at all levels, expressing its readiness to provide any advice or technical expertise in these areas, and to continue implementing the programs it is working on with the Central Bank.”

Baghdadtoday.news

The dollar creates a “problem”.. Five complications facing financial investment in Iraq

Baghdad today – A member of the Parliamentary Agriculture Committee, Representative Hussein Mardan, said today, Friday (August 25, 2023), that there are five complications facing financial investment in Iraq.

Mardan said in an interview with “Baghdad Today”, that “investment in its general sense needs a stable environment, and with a reading of the situation in Iraq after 2003, which was characterized by repeated security unrest, gives us an indication of the magnitude of the challenges, especially since any investment needs years in order to provide its environment.”

He added, “Corruption is one of the most prominent complications facing financial investment in Iraq, as well as legislation, laws, and flexibility in dealing with banks, not to mention the presence of countries that use currency as a “geopolitical” weapon in crises, which makes the matter open to challenges.”

Mardan pointed out, “Iraq’s location and natural resources are important incentives that can be invested in creating a positive climate in attracting financial transactions, but on the other hand, the matter faces complications, the most prominent of which is the need for a banking environment with strategic depth.”

Iraq is the second largest oil producer in OPEC, with an average of 4.5 million barrels per day, of which it exports about 3.4 million barrels, as the Iraqi government relies on revenues from the sale of crude to cover about 95 percent of its expenditures, and oil reserves in Iraq are considered the fifth largest oil reserves. Confirmed in the world, amounting to 145 billion barrels.

In the same regard, the economist, Adel Al-Dalfi, says that incoming (foreign) investment in Iraq will have a major role in reviving the economy, especially since the Iraqi economy is a rentier economy that depends on oil, and therefore it is necessary to face the challenges associated with that in the context of the decline and rise in prices. Oil, and the economy is constantly dependent on these indicators.

The economist refers to the plan of the Prime Minister, Mohamed Shia Al-Sudani, to diversify the economy and develop non-oil sectors, with the aim of opening a broad climate for Arab and foreign investors and overcoming the difficulties in front of them, through several measures, including the amendment of Resolution No. 245 of 2019, which determined The capabilities of the National Investment Commission, and the amendment came to grant the Commission wide powers of administrative and legal movement, by offering to reduce bureaucracy in the procedures taken.

Among the measures that Al-Dalfi refers to, in the context of encouraging foreign investment, is the encouragement of the Central Bank to grant loans to investors if the completion rate of existing projects reaches 25 percent.

And the Iraqi economist adds: “These measures contribute to employing the labor force and building Iraq, which has not missed real projects for development and construction since 2003,” explaining that the recent package of amendments would change many things in Iraq. It also points to attracting Baghdad to a number of businessmen and companies, providing them with various capabilities and facilitating investment avenues within that vision.

A number of businessmen visited Iraq recently, including Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris, who announced on his Twitter page about a “giant project in Baghdad”, as part of a group of projects that the government aims to attract foreign investment to.

Baghdadtoday.news

Lavrov: BRICS agreed to establish alternative financial systems to Western ones
Arab and international

Economy News – Baghdad: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov revealed agreements reached with BRICS countries to strengthen the group’s financial ties and move away from the dollar.

Lavrov said, “There is an agreement to work hard to form alternative financial systems, and this will be a contribution to facilitating the work of the New Development Bank of (BRICS).”

Lavrov indicated that energy issues will become more urgent after Saudi Arabia, Iran and the UAE join BRICS, and pointed out that all participants support not changing the name of BRICS after entering new countries.

Lavrov likened the “BRICS” to the football team after the joining of the six new countries, bringing the number of its members to 11, as the number of members of the football team.
This week, the city of Johannesburg in South Africa hosted the “BRICS” summit, where representatives of member states discussed strengthening economic and trade ties, and it was announced that new countries would join the group.

Economy-news.net

80 billion dinars in “fines” imposed by the Iraqi Central Bank on banks and exchange companies

The Central Bank of Iraq announced that the fines imposed on banks and non-banking institutions (exchange companies) amounted to about 80 billion Iraqi dinars during the past seven months.

And a table for the bank showed that the fines imposed on banks and financial companies during the past seven months, starting from January 2023, and until the end of last July amounted to 79 billion and 777 million and 817 thousand and 397 dinars, indicating that “the fines also included 318 administrative penalties for these banks and institutions.” Non-banking distributed between warning, warning and respite.

And the table indicated that “the month of April witnessed the highest fines on banks and non-financial institutions, as these fines reached 17 billion and 440 million and 383 thousand and 447 dinars, with administrative penalties amounting to 17 penalties, while the month of June witnessed the lowest fines, amounting to 8 billion and 353 million and 387 thousand and 476.” dinars with administrative penalties amounting to 50 penalties.
The table did not show the names of the banks on which fines and administrative penalties were imposed.

The Association of Investors in the Iraq Stock Exchange had criticized early last June, the Central Bank of Iraq to increase fines on banks, noting that it will affect the profitability of investors in the shares of these banks.

SOTALIRAQ.COM

Al-Sudani: Iraq has promising opportunities, and the government supports the investor and the private sector

Information / Baghdad… The Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani, launched Thursday, the executive work on a huge tourist complex project in the center of the capital, Baghdad, which includes a large hotel, a residential complex, and various tourist facilities.

The media office of the Prime Minister stated in a statement received by Al-Maalooma, that “the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the project that is being implemented by the Qatari Investment Holding Company, which is the first Qatari investment business and projects in Iraq, as part of the government’s directions to enhance opportunities, work towards economic integration, and improve An attractive investment environment for the contributions of Arab and foreign companies to infrastructure projects in Iraq.

He added, “The Prime Minister welcomed, in his speech during the ceremony, the brothers from the sisterly State of Qatar, and appreciated the spirit of initiative and persistence in implementing the first cooperation between Iraq and Qatar.”

And he indicated that “the President of the Council thanked the government team; the Mayor of Baghdad, the Chairman of the Investment Commission, the Director of the Prime Minister’s Office, and the advisors, who prepared all the requirements related to the allocation of land and the granting of investment licenses in a record time.”

Al-Sudani said, according to the statement, that “Iraq has many promising opportunities, and the government provides facilities and support to serious companies,” stressing that “the government will support the investor, the company, and the private sector that is serious about implementing investment projects, in Baghdad, the provinces, and the Kurdistan region of Iraq.”

Almaalomah.me

Al-Fateh: America is looking for pretexts to impose hegemony on Iraq

Information / Baghdad… The representative of the Al-Fateh Alliance, Muhammad Karim, confirmed today, Friday, that the US administration is looking for pretexts, especially in the field of the dollar currency, in order to take some decisions that are intended to impose hegemony and control over Iraq.

Karim told Al-Maalouma, “America does not want to remove Iraq from under its control at all and seeks to create some pretexts to try to impose hegemony, as happened in the dollar file and the sums of oil revenues.”

He added, “American practices are intended to clamp down on Iraq, especially in the financial aspect, as it failed in the past period to impose sanctions on some Iraqi banks without giving the government room to impose disciplinary measures towards those banks.”

And he indicated that “the attempt to continue to impose the American opinion exists by taking the dollar as a card against Iraq, with the aim of controlling, dominating and raising the exchange rate, although these funds deposited with it are Iraqi funds for oil imports.”

Almaalomah.me

7 times more.. Iran announces the release of its money withheld in Iraq

Shafaq News / The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced, on Friday, that within about a month, about 7 times the Iranian money held in Iraq was released.

The political assistant to the Iranian Foreign Minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, said in an interview with the Iranian semi-official “Mehr” agency, that: With the exception of South Korea, part of our money is also in Iraq.

He added, “In the understanding that we concluded with the American side about Iran’s money held in South Korea, the issue of Iran’s money in Iraq was also raised, and its release began.”

Bagheri Kani added, “Since the past three weeks, we have been able to release nearly 7 times the total money that we used in Iraq last year, in the process of economic activities, and of course we expect an acceleration of the liberation process.”

On August 11, official Iranian media revealed the details of the agreement reached by Tehran with the United States of America under the auspices of a third country, which provides for the exchange of prisoners between the two countries and the release of Iranian funds frozen in South Korea and Iraq.

The official Iranian News Agency, “IRNA”, quoted an official source familiar with this agreement, as saying, “This agreement requires Iran to release 5 American prisoners in exchange for the release of 5 Iranian prisoners in the United States of America.”

He explained that “in addition to that, 6 billion dollars of Iranian funds frozen in South Korea will be released, along with a large part also of Iranian funds in the Iraqi TBI Bank,” noting that “the first stages of the process of releasing Iranian funds in European banks have begun.” “.

On July 11, Prime Minister Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani announced Baghdad’s contact with the US regarding the payment of Iran’s dues for Iraq’s gas imports, amounting to 9 billion and 250 million euros, adding that Iraq had paid “up to one billion and 842 million euros in the seven-month period of The life of the government according to the agreed mechanism.

Al-Sudani added that a delegation from the Central Bank of Iraq and the Iraqi Trade Bank left Iraq for the Sultanate of Oman with the aim of “agreeing on a formula for transferring these funds to the Sultanate of Oman in agreement with the US Treasury.”

Shafaq.com

Banking reform file.. The Governor of the Central Bank discusses it with the World Bank delegation

The Governor of the Central Bank discusses it with the World Bank delegationHis Excellency the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Mr. Ali Al-Alaq, received today, Thursday, a high-ranking delegation from the World Bank headed by Mr. Farid Belhadj, Vice President of the World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa.

During the meeting, they discussed the efforts of the Central Bank of Iraq to organize and consolidate external transfers in accordance with compliance requirements and international standards, and to encourage merchants to enter the electronic platform to buy dollars by providing facilities and simplifying tax and customs procedures that the government is making anticipated amendments to.

The meeting discussed granting small loans through the “Riyada” bank, which will be responsible for providing various loans with the support of the Central Bank of Iraq and private banks, and working to establish a loan guarantee company, as well as paying attention to compliance and risk standards for the development of the banking sector.

The meeting dealt with the conditions of government banks, which constitute approximately 80% of the size of the Iraqi banking sector, and dealt with plans to improve their work, including amending their internal systems to implement institutional governance issued by the Central Bank, and plans to restructure those banks.

In turn, the World Bank delegation praised the efforts and procedures of the Central Bank of Iraq at all levels, expressing its readiness to provide any advice or technical expertise in these areas, and to continue implementing the programs it is working on with the Central Bank.

The Central Bank of Iraq,
Media Office,
August 24, 2023

cbi.iq/news/view/2405