Minggu, Januari 29, 2006

Iraq is seeking $40bn GCC generosity

'The rest of the world has given Iraq between 80 per cent and 100 per cent debt forgiveness,' Central bank Governor Sinan Al Shabibi said.

'We expect generous treatment from our Arab brothers, that will help recovery and turn a relationship of debt into one of trade and investment.'

Shabibi said Iraq was targeting inflation of 15 per cent-20 per cent this year, down from around 30 per cent last year.

Inflation last year was above the target of 20 per cent as security costs were higher than expected and insecurity in the country hampered the supply of goods, he said.

Iraq's foreign currency reserves were at about $8 billion, up from $7-$7.5 billion in November, he said.(Source) Trade Arabia

Kamis, Januari 26, 2006

Syrian government approves creation of private bank, with Kuwaiti investments

The cabinet, said a statement, has endorsed a proposal by the central bank on the creation of the "Syria and the Gulf Bank" with a capital of USD 60 million.

Kuwait's Global Investment House, and the Fotuoh Investments company, along with Bahrain's Gulf Bank and Lebanon's First National Bank will set up the new firm.

Syria has approved the creation of a number of private banks. President Bashar Al-Assad has lately issued a decree on the creation of Islamic Sharia compliant banks for the first time in the Arab nation's history.(Source) Kuna

Turkish banks will open in Iraq

Ziraat Bank, another Turkish bank, obtained the first permission to operate in Iraq last year, but it was unable to begin operating because it is a public bank and for security reasons. However, Ziraat Bank's initiative paved the way for other Turkish banks.

Turkish companies operating in the region said they are having problems in obtaining letters of guarantee, letters of credit and completing money transfers and they want Turkish banks to come to the region as soon as possible.

Banking activities in northern Iraq are conducted in jewelry and at exchange offices in Erbil, Dohuk, Suleymania, and Kerkuk. (Source) Reporter Gr

Kamis, Januari 19, 2006

Investors eyeing property markets in Iraq and India

Two of my clients have recently invested in property sector of Iraq amid hopes that the situation would get normal within the next six months,” said Muhammad Haris, a local real estate agent, adding: “One of them has bought a hotel and the other has invested in a factory there against a heavy transaction.”

According to him, investors have begun taking interest in real estate sectors of Iraq and India after losing hope in an early recovery of the dismal property situation in Pakistan.

“A large chunk of real estate funds has already got sidetracked to Dubai’s housing sector and the State Bank of Pakistan, in its annual report for 2005, has described this phenomenon as one of the primary reasons for the decline in Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves,” said Naveed-ul-Hasan, another property dealer in the town.

The Financial Express newspaper of India has published a report from Price water house Coopers LLP, which has recently estimated that as much as $8 billion of private equity will flow into Indian real estate funds over the next 18-30 months.

The report says the Indian property market may get a further boost when Sebi allows real estate investment trusts, or REITs. A committee set up by the regulator has recommended that REITs should be allowed to be set up as mutual funds. While that suggestion is still under consideration, it has allowed high net-worth individuals, both local and foreign, to participate in the market through the private equity route.

Azam Nasir, a local real estate analyst, said Pakistan’s real estate sector had gained tremendous value within two years, which actually was due to take place within five years.

“Therefore no further chance of rapid growth in the real estate sector is possible in the near future,” he said, adding: “Pakistan’s real estate is likely to show lackluster movement over the next five years.”

Real estate agents were expecting another boom in the market with the start of holiday season, which is round the corner at present and a large number of expatriates are to visit Pakistan. There was consensus among the market players that the prices would pick up and a good number of investors, anticipating the arrival of the season, had entered into "biyanas" for underdeveloped phases of Defence Housing Authority with the hope that the market would see further jump in terms of prices in case the expatriate buyers enter the market.

“But the start of Indo-Pak cricket series has wiped out all these hopes and most of the expatriates are preferring to stay glued to the TV screen,” said Wasim Ahmed, a real estate agent in Gulberg area.

According to him, a dull trading activity usually prevails at the market when there are international cricket matches and this is what has happened with the post-Eid market scene in the real estate sector.

The growth in Pakistan’s real estate sector has already been hampered due to heavy clampdown by regulators on housing societies for compliance with regulations and procedures. The drive was initiated to eliminate fake/bogus housing schemes and eventually as many as 86 housing societies have been closed since then.

Then the government is trying to bring the property brokers under the tax net. Immediately prior to the federal budget for 2005/06, there were strong rumors of tax being imposed on the real estate sector, which, however, did not materialize. But it did affect the real estate sector of the country.

Similarly, allegations of misappropriations in land dealings in Defence Housing Authority and subsequent blacklisting of 14 major property brokers as well as suspension of the management committee also shook investor confidence in general in the recent past.(Source)Daily Times

Saudi,Iraqi Cos To Set Up New Iraq Bank,Insurance Co

Mazin al-Rawe, executive manager of Iraq's Al Khair Financial Investment Co., said the bank's establishment would be announced as soon as the Central Bank of Iraq issued a license.

"The Central Bank of Iraq is about to issue the license and after that we will start serious steps to set up the 'Saudi-Iraqi Bank'," al-Rawe told Dow Jones Newswires.

Saudi Arabia's Mansour Almalek Holding Co. will hold slightly less than half of the shares in the bank, which will be capitalized at $32 million.

Al Khair will acquire $10 million of the shares, with the remaining investment coming from an initial public offering on Iraq's stock exchange, he added.

An executive with the Saudi firm confirmed the planned Iraqi joint venture but declined to comment on the deal, saying an announcement would be made in due course.

"We have full confidence in the future of Iraq and plan more investments there," the executive said.

Riyadh-based Mansour Almalik invests in power and energy projects, real estate and military logistics.

Central Bank officials couldn't be reached for comment Monday.

Al-Rawe said the joint venture bank will appoint one or two Saudi members to its board of directors.

The Saudi firm is also partnering in a new insurance firm.

Mansour Almalik has also taken a 20% stake in the 1 billion Iraqi dinars ($660,000), newly-established Al Khair Insurance Co., according to cofounder Lubna Anwar Abdul Saheb.

"Despite the bad security situation, Arab businessmen are eager to invest in Iraq and send their money here," she said.

An initial public offering will raise 49% of the insurance firm's equity, with founding investors contributing the remainder, said Abdul Saheb, who is one of these founders as well as chief executive of Al Waha Stock Brokerage House.

The Central Bank of Iraq last year issued a new law allowing foreign banks to acquire unlimited shares in private Iraqi banks.

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein's government in April 2003, the central bank has awarded a number of licenses to Arab and international banks to operate in Iraq.

HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC), Standard Chartered PLC (STAN.LN) and the National Bank of Kuwait SAK (NBK.KW) were the first three foreign banks to win licenses in 2003.

Arab Bank PLC (ARBK.AJ), Arab Banking Corp. (ABC.BH), Iran's Bank Melli, the Agricultural Bank of Iran and the Agricultural Bank of Turkey also won licenses.

HSBC and NBK have signed contracts to take stakes in private Iraqi banks.

-(Source) By Dow Jones Newswires' Baghdad Bureau

Iraq urged to woo private investment

US President George W Bush still wants an American role in the country's rebuilding, but a big element will be helping create a legal framework to make investment safe so that Iraq can finance its own reconstruction, not providing the money itself.

"The key message here is that we're helping the government of Iraq to establish a policy framework that will enable private sector investment that will help reduce unemployment and generate jobs for the future," said Dawn Liberi, Iraq mission director for the US Agency for International Development.

Still, they gave no indication that the United States had any intention of adding significantly to the $21bn allocated by Congress in 2003 for reconstruction. They said $18bn of that has been set aside.

In their prepared statements, they detailed several reconstruction projects in recent months that show Iraq's progress. In the last six week alone, there have been 53 projects in eight provinces linked to roads, bridges, water and electricity, totalling $39 million.

An improved electrical network in Irbil has brought power to 30,000 more people, while a new water network in the Wasit province meant 16,000 people have better access.

"This is really part of the transition that's taking place where Iraqis are developing the programmes, designing the priorities for those programs and making decisions at the government level," said Ambassador Dan Speckhard, director of the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Office.

Brigadier General William McCoy, of the US Army Corps of Engineers said that in the electricity sector, 345 projects worth $2bn were either underway or completed. The country has seen an uptick in electricity, from 4-8 hours each day in March 2003 to 10-12 hours each day, despite a huge increase in demand.

McCoy said a key project was creating a national automated control system that can shift power to where it's most needed and help prevent nationwide blackouts.

"The Iraqi people are the real heroes and they continue to demonstrate the optimism, capacity and willingness to make the hard right choice in a very challenging stage in their national development," McCoy said. (Source) Gulf Daily News

Iraq Oil projects target 3 million bpd output

The official was speaking at a news conference called to highlight the successes of US-led efforts to get Iraq back on its feet after a decade of international sanctions and the 2003 war to topple Saddam Hussein wrecked much of its infrastructure, including the vital oil sector.

The official, who declined to be identified, said there were 135 projects to boost Iraq's oil production, of which 22 had been completed and 102 were still be completed. Eleven would be awarded in the next two weeks.

The official said the target was to achieve 3m barrels per day (bpd), which would exceed pre-war levels.

"Production now is about 2.3m bpd; 1.7m bpd is being exported," the official said.

The projects were aimed at improving storage capacity and repairing infrastructure ruined by years of neglect, he said.

"One of the things not done in the past, for example, was the poor maintenance of oil wells. The first 60 wells we will renovate. The revenue generated (from excess bpd) will pay for the renovation of another 160 wells," he said.

The chief of the US Army Corps of Engineers in Iraq, Brigadier General William H McCoy told the news briefing that among one of the biggest reconstruction achievements were efforts to restore Iraq's electrical power supply to nearly pre-war levels.

Meanwhile, eight UN managers have been suspended with pay as part of an investigation into the world body's procurement services following scandals in the oil-for-food programme in Iraq, UN officials said yesterday.

The investigation by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services is the result of a probe into contracts in the UN peacekeeping department, which is fielding some 85,000 troops, police and civilians around the world.

Four of the suspended managers are in UN Procurement Services and four were recalled from peacekeeping missions, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. (Source) Gulf Daily News

Rabu, Januari 11, 2006

Iraq Oil projects target 3 million bpd output

The official was speaking at a news conference called to highlight the successes of US-led efforts to get Iraq back on its feet after a decade of international sanctions and the 2003 war to topple Saddam Hussein wrecked much of its infrastructure, including the vital oil sector.

The official, who declined to be identified, said there were 135 projects to boost Iraq's oil production, of which 22 had been completed and 102 were still be completed. Eleven would be awarded in the next two weeks.

The official said the target was to achieve 3m barrels per day (bpd), which would exceed pre-war levels.

"Production now is about 2.3m bpd; 1.7m bpd is being exported," the official said.

The projects were aimed at improving storage capacity and repairing infrastructure ruined by years of neglect, he said.

"One of the things not done in the past, for example, was the poor maintenance of oil wells. The first 60 wells we will renovate. The revenue generated (from excess bpd) will pay for the renovation of another 160 wells," he said.

The chief of the US Army Corps of Engineers in Iraq, Brigadier General William H McCoy told the news briefing that among one of the biggest reconstruction achievements were efforts to restore Iraq's electrical power supply to nearly pre-war levels.

Meanwhile, eight UN managers have been suspended with pay as part of an investigation into the world body's procurement services following scandals in the oil-for-food programme in Iraq, UN officials said yesterday.

The investigation by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services is the result of a probe into contracts in the UN peacekeeping department, which is fielding some 85,000 troops, police and civilians around the world.

Four of the suspended managers are in UN Procurement Services and four were recalled from peacekeeping missions, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. (Source) Gulf Daily News

Kamis, Januari 05, 2006

Iraq planing for $2 billion bond

'The bond will extinguish the claims of most large private sector creditors on Iraq. It will fulfil a major goal of the interim government,' Allawi said.

Banks and foreign suppliers, including multi-nationals such as Hyundai, have around $20 billion in debt on Iraq, mostly dating from the 1980s, when Iraq was fighting Iran and its economy was on a war footing.

Under a deal reached with large private sector creditors in Singapore last month, creditors agreed to swap 20 per cent of their principal and interest for a bond and cancel the rest, Allawi said.

The 20-year bond, which is being arranged by Citigroup and JP Morgan, will carry a coupon of 5.8 per cent and is likely to be listed in Europe for trading, he said.

Around 80 per cent of creditors with smaller claims on Iraq, typically under $35 million, have agreed to take a 12.5 per cent cash payment of principal.(Source) TradeArabia

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