danielchu

What makes you think its a suit? 😋

Nice to see the HCL being used!

IMF Executive Board Concludes 2017 Article IV Consultation with Iraq August 9, 2017 On August 1, 2017, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the 2017 Article IV consultation with Iraq.1 Iraq is facing a double shock arising from the conflict with ISIS and the plunge in oil prices. In 2016, real GDP increased by 11 percent owing to a 25 percent increase in oil production, which was little affected by the conflict with ISIS. This year, economic activity is expected to remain muted due to a 1.5 percent contraction in oil production owing to the OPEC + agreement to reduce oil production and only a modest recovery of the non-oil sector. The decline in oil prices has driven the decline of Iraq’s international reserves from $54 billion at end-2015 to $45 billion at end-2016. Fiscal pressures are ongoing, with the government deficit increasing from 12 percent of GDP in 2015 to 14 percent in 2016 despite the ongoing fiscal consolidation, due to weaker oil prices and rising humanitarian and security spending. The authorities have appropriately maintained the exchange rate peg. The simplification of documentation requirements implemented by the Central Bank of Iraq led to a decline in the parallel market spread to 6 percent in June 2017. Medium-term growth prospects are positive. Growth will be driven by the projected moderate increase in oil production and the rebound in non-oil growth supported by the expected improvement in security and implementation of structural reform. Risks remain very high, however, arising primarily from volatile security, political tensions, and poor policy implementation. The Fund is supporting Iraq through a three-year Stand-By Arrangement in the amount of SDR 3.831 million ($5.380 billion), equivalent to 230 percent of quota.2 Executive Board Assessment 3 Executive Directors agreed with the thrust of the staff appraisal. They welcomed the policies put in place by the authorities to deal with the shocks of the armed conflict with ISIS and the ensuing humanitarian crisis and the plunge in oil prices. While mediummdash;term growth prospects are positive, the mediummdash;term outlook remains exposed to significant risks, arising primarily from oil price volatility, unstable security, political tensions, and weak administrative capacity. Although performance under the Standmdash;By Arrangement has been weak in some key areas, understandings on sufficient corrective actions have been reached to keep the program on track. Against this background, Directors encouraged resolute implementation of the authorities’ program including continued efforts toward fiscal consolidation, strengthening the financial sector, and implementing structural reforms to promote private sector activity and improve the business environment. Directors noted the fiscal adjustment achieved in 2016, albeit at a slower pace than programmed because of weak control of investment expenditure and spending pressures stemming from the military campaign against ISIS and assistance to internally displaced people and refugees. They welcomed that this adjustment was achieved mostly through retrenchment of inefficient capital expenditure while protecting social spending. Directors welcomed passage of a 2017 supplementary budget and the authorities’ commitment to implement further consolidation measures in 2017mdash;18 to keep the program on track and ensure external and debt sustainability. They stressed that fiscal space needs to be found to enhance human capital and rebuild the physical capital of the country. Tackling the low level of non—oil tax revenue and very high level of public consumption would help create the fiscal room to finance growthmdash;enhancing investment. To strengthen financial sector stability, Directors encouraged the authorities to take measures to bolster supervision, and move forward with plans to restructure the statemdash;owned banks that dominate the banking system. They also encouraged strengthening the legal framework of the Central Bank, eliminating a remaining exchange restriction and a multiple currency practice, and accelerating implementation of AML/CFT and antimdash;corruption measures. Directors considered that the peg to the U.S. dollar, which provides a key anchor to the economy, remains appropriate. Directors stressed the importance of implementing structural reforms to improve the investment climate, diversify the economy, and achieve sustainable growth. They urged the authorities to overhaul public financial management, including by completing a regular inventory and paying down any arrears, and strengthening expenditure commitment and cash management to prevent the accumulation of new arrears. Directors also emphasized the importance of addressing weaknesses in administrative capacity and data provision. In addition, the implementation of the budgetmdash;sharing agreement between the Federal and Kurdistan Regional governments would put both governments in a better position to address shocks. It is expected that the next Article IV Consultation with Iraq will be held in accordance with the Executive Board decision on consultation cycle for members with Fund arrangements. https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2017/08/09/pr17323-iraq-imf-executive-board-concludes-2017-article-iv-consultation

Then we will NEVER have a RV!

HCL at work!

This means sharing of the producing governorates not too each individuels!

Oil & Gas Law Key to Resolving Issues 16th July 2013 in Iraq Oil & Gas News Hawrami stressed the need to enact the oil and gas law, and said, “The law, which we are seeking to pass according to the constitution, will be the key for all the contentious issues between the two sides in the oil sector.” During a joint news conference with Kurdistan Region of Iraq President Massoud Barzani on Sunday, July 7, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said, “There are no disputes between the federal government and the provincial government, it is merely a divergence in views regarding the Constitution.” Hawrami continued, “Most of the differences are political and they arise from the non-application of the Constitution in relation to the distribution of proceeds.” Article 112 of the Iraqi Constitution stipulates: “The federal government with the producing governorates and regional governments shall undertake the management of oil and gas extracted from current fields provided that it distributes oil and gas revenues in a fair manner in proportion to the population distribution in all parts of the country with a set allotment for a set time for the damaged regions.” The article stresses, “The federal government, with the producing governorates and regional governments, shall undertake the management of oil and gas extracted from current fields provided that it distributes oil and gas revenues in a fair manner in proportion to the population distribution in all parts of the country with a set allotment for a set time for the damaged regions.” Hawrami downplayed the importance of the pressure exerted by Baghdad on oil companies operating in the region to discourage them from implementing the contracts. “This does not affect the work of these companies and they are ready to continue despite the delay in payment of their dues,” he added. “Crude oil reserves in the Kurdistan region, excluding the disputed areas, are at 45 billion barrels, and possibly even more. Yet the preliminary gas estimates are at 100 or 200 trillion cubic meters,” he said. Concerning his ministry’s plans to increase production in the coming period, he said, “The target production for 2015 is 1 million barrels per day, reaching 2 million barrels per day in 2019. As for the refining of crude oil and the production of hydrocarbons, they are estimated to increase to 150,000 barrels per day, and could reach up to 250,000.” http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2013/07/16/oil-gas-law-key-to-resolving-issues/2/

Oil & Gas Law Key to Resolving Issues 16th July 2013 in Iraq Oil & Gas News Translated from Al-Hayat by Abdel Wahed Tohmeh, for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraqi Kurdistan Region Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami (pictured) said that the shares of oil companies operating in the region have exceeded $3.5 billion. He stressed the importance of the oil and gas law’s enactment, and estimated that oil reserves in the three Kurdish governorates are at more than 45 billion barrels. In an interview with Al-Hayat, Hawrami said that the negotiations with Baghdad will be in accordance with the law, which determines the Kurdistan region’s financial share of federal revenues. “The provincial government informed Baghdad at the beginning of this year that the investing companies requested more than $3.5 billion [in shares], and they are constitutionally entitled to this,” he said. He denied Baghdad’s accusations that the region is exporting crude oil without coordinating with Baghdad, adding, “This is taking place under an agreement with Baghdad to export our production, on the condition that 50% of proceeds is deducted to pay companies’ dues, while the other 50% is kept by the state treasury. However, all the proceeds were seized.” He denied rumors of smuggling, saying, “There is no oil smuggling, we do not accept such cheap accusations. What was claimed is a legal entitlement and it came because we forbid them from grabbing it.” He criticized the current management of the country’s imports, which “still follows the methods of the former regime and include laws that are imposed on us by force from the federal government.” Hawrami demanded that the central government provide the region with the 55 million barrels of fuel “that we did not receive from 2004 to 2012, and that are needed for domestic consumption.”

I also believe the HCL is complete and has been so for years !

No icremental creep of the currency RV or nothing!!

Reconstruction money coming in need to exchange it!

So jobs is needed!

The Gross Domestic Product per capita in Iraq was last recorded at 15663.99 US dollars in 2017, when adjusted by purchasing power parity (PPP). The GDP per Capita, in Iraq, when adjusted by Purchasing Power Parity is equivalent to 88 percent of the world's average. GDP per capita PPP in Iraq averaged 11018.16 USD from 1990 until 2017, reaching an all time high of 16242.10 USD in 2016 and a record low of 4033 USD in 1991.

Your PPP is lower to ours because of this>>> BREAKING DOWN Reserve Currency Holding a reserve currency minimizes exchange rate risk, as the purchasing nation will not have to exchange its currency for the current reserve currency in order to make the purchase. Since 1944, the U.S. dollar has been the primary reserve currency used by other countries. As a result, foreign nations closely monitored the monetary policy of the United States in order to ensure that the value of their reserves is not adversely affected by inflation. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/reservecurrency.asp

PPP: The Alternative to Market Exchange Rates. Using PPPs is the alternative to using market exchange rates. The actual purchasing power of any currency is the quantity of that currency needed to buy a specified unit of a good or a basket of common goods and services https://www.investopedia.com/updates/purchasing-power-parity-ppp/ Macroeconomic analysis relies on several different metrics to compare economic productivity and standards of living between countries and across time. One popular metric is purchasing power parity (PPP). Purchasing power parity (PPP) is an economic theory that compares different countries' currencies through a "basket of goods" approach. According to this concept, two currencies are in equilibrium or at par when a basket of goods (taking into account the exchange rate) is priced the same in both countries. Closely related to PPP is the law of one price (LOP), which is an economic theory that predicts that after accounting for differences in interest rates and exchange rates, the cost of something in country X should be the same as that in country Y in real terms.