It is quite interesting to read.

[ALBUNDY]

AFTER THE WAR; No Electricity but Kuwait Reopens Its Banks

By DONATELLA LORCH, Special to The New York Times

Published: March 25, 1991

It still has no water and little electricity or food, but Kuwait revived its banking system today, introducing a new currency.

Banks reopened for the first time since Iraqi occupation forces shut them down in December. Thousands of people lined up to exchange their old Kuwaiti dinars for crisp new ones and to withdraw a limited amount of money.

Without electricity, the banks services were slow, limited to money exchange and withdrawal. There was no telex, no electronic money transfer and no telephones. The computers were unusable, so all transactions had to be entered by hand.

"It's like going back 20 years," said Mohammed al-Yahya, the manager of the Commercial Bank of Kuwait, the nation's second-largest bank. Seized Dinars Canceled

The Central Bank is canceling the value of Kuwaiti dinars that were seized from the Central Bank and put into circulation by the Iraqis. The invalid serial numbers were posted today in front of all banks in the city.

All other old dinars can be exchanged for new ones on a one-to-one rate until May 7, when the old dinars become invalid. The new official exchange rate is 3.47 American dollars for one new Kuwaiti dinar.

Although it is severly handicapped without electricity, the Commercial Bank, like many other major banks, was able to open for business because its records had been saved from the Iraqis. Mr. Yahya hid the bank's balance sheets in his home and sent its computer records to London via Syria with an Indian employee, who packed the tapes into the back of a trailer.

The banks also face serious personnel shortages. Only 11 of the Commercial Bank's 35 branches opened today, with 137 out of 1,300 workers.

Before the Iraqi invasion, only 17 percent of the bank's staff was Kuwaiti. Many of the foreign workers -- Jordanians, Palestinians and Indians -- fled and now cannot re-enter the country.

For those exchanging money today, there was little they could buy in Kuwait. Many of those in line said they planned to use their money for vacations or for shopping trips to Saudi Arabia to buy generators and food.

"I need to get away from this pressure," said Abdul Mohammed Hussein, a computer engineer in his early 40's who said he was withdrawing 1,500 new dinars to take a vacation in the United Arab Emirates. "Everywhere you go you find lines. At the supermarket, you find lines. To get petrol for the car, you find lines."

Abdul Hamed al-Atar, a 50-year-old retired Interior Ministry official, said this was the first time he had set foot in a bank since September, and he seemed relieved. "Kuwaits always keep a lot of cash with them," he said as he was handed crisp new piles of money that he stuffed into a small bag. "It's a comfort to have money in my hands."

LINK : http://www.nytimes.c...ml?pagewanted=1

Eventhough it is old articles, but it is quiet interesting to read how Kuwait did RI/RV their currency ( sudden rise with a high rate )and compare Iraq with kuwait..

So If Kuwait Dinar 1 = US$ 3.47, is it called a revaluation or reinstatement? Is a reinstatement ( RI ) same as revaluation? How does a reinstatement work? Let’s say if Kuwait dinar 1 = US$ 3.47, if someone had 1 million Kuwait dinar at that time back 1991 that mean it is equal to= US$ 3.47 million, is it right?is this what it is called a reinstatement or revaluation? Can folks , a currency and economist expert, here elaborate and explain for us here in details. Can folks here tell me where do they exchange their old dinar for a new dinar, except banks in Kuwait country ( Is it “ In-Country “ RV/RI ONLY )? Where does it say that they can exchange it outside the Kuwait country ( NO “ Out-Country “ RV/RI )? Can Folks here tell us which other countries to exchange, except Banks in Kuwait country? For those exchanging money today, there was little they could buy in Kuwait , what is that supposed to mean by little? was it too cheap or expensive to buy stuff in Kuwait at that time? Come on folks , help us out here, please. Does Iraq has the same situation and condition as Kuwait when Iraq RV?

[RVPleaseToday]

The situation in Kuwait and the one in Iraq are very different. With that said, one of the big concerns is that Iraq could limit the exchange of old for new dinar to in country. Another, connected to that, is that they RV only the new Dinar and leave the old at the old exchange rate. We just don't know.

[jackster]

How could Kuwait, with fewer resources, be able to open their banks and issue a new currency?

Iraq's war has been over for 9 nine years and they have more oil.

And they still can't RV?

[Dalite]

Kuwait issued a new currency at the same rate to cancel the currency stolen by Saddam.

No RI

No RD

No RV

Just good banking practice.

Anyone who tells you different has something to sell you.

[boon]

All internationally traded currencies have two values , one is in country and two is out of country . The money we use on a daily basis goes up and it goes down , this is in part why gasoline prices vary daily , when the dollar goes up the price of gas goes down and when the dollar goes down the price of gas goes up. All the while we are using the same money day in and day out and as long as the budget stretches far enough we do not complain to much. Internationally when the dollar goes up we can buy more import stuff less expensively and when it goes down it takes more dollars to buy the same stuff , so this is also why the prices at Walmarts vary . Keep in mind the prices go up like a rocket and float down like a parachute. One common misnomer is the gurus who think the average Iraqi is going to get overnight rich , the fact is the individual who has no dinar and has no dollars is still broke and the only thing that will change for them is , welfare, and then opportunity . Eventually their standard of living may improve . The fact is all the gurus who talk about a revaluation speak under the assumption that a rv is always a increase , in truth the currency has revalued up and down for years and it is my opinion that they are going to come out in country at a one to one basis so the average Iraqi can fully understand that the new dinar is now worth as much or more as the US dollar. The reason they do not like the dinar is because the money traders take advantage of the exchange rate and the illiterate can only suffer in this environment. As far as the dinar internationally it is speculation on anyone's part as to the value. In Kuwait is was a reinstatement and the currency was deliberately devalued and it was deliberately revalued , realize there infrastructure was in place and all they had to do was resume doing business as usual. The increase in value in country will increase there standard of living as the prices of goods and services go down and their money will buy more. This still relies on the one point I made that you have to have money to start with. D

[Lostrn]

"For those exchanging money today, there was little they could buy in Kuwait , what is that supposed to mean by little? was it too cheap or expensive to buy stuff in Kuwait at that time?"

I think that means there were not any products to buy; no supply routes, no orders, all the shelves, stores empty....

[ALBUNDY]

I am just curious to know about the rate and I would like to ask someone expert here do you know what is the RATE for KUWAIT ( KD ) BEFORE and AFTER Liberation? And, also do you know what is the RATE for IRAQ DINAR ( IQD ) BEFORE and AFTER saddam invaded Kuwait? Anyone expert here or former Kuwait Dinar investors can answer also my question.

[Carrello]

AL, you might try Wikipedia, Kuwaiti currency. www.wikipedia.com

[ALBUNDY]

Thank's for your response Carrello.

[jackster]

Kuwait issued a new currency at the same rate to cancel the currency stolen by Saddam.

No RI

No RD

No RV

Just good banking practice.

Anyone who tells you different has something to sell you.

Sell? As in IQD?

[tetres]

Kuwait issued a new currency at the same rate to cancel the currency stolen by Saddam.

No RI

No RD

No RV

Just good banking practice.

Anyone who tells you different has something to sell you.

Frank and Delta told me it RI'd, then sold me 10 million dinar. :unsure:

Edited September 25, 2012 by tetres

[ALBUNDY]

Jackster : I just wonder the same thing..

Carrelo : Thank's for your information.

Lostrn : yep, you are right.

RVPLeaseToday : it is so sad and disappointed that it only RV the new dinar and our investment just breaks even.

[ALBUNDY]

Dalite : you said that Kuwait issued a new currency at the same rate to cancel the currency stolen by Saddam. And, if it was not RI , RD, RV, then what is the correct term to call that? Also, I have a question for you, when Kuwait issued a new currency, did the denomination ( in a banknotes ) of new currency already remove 3 zero or not to become a single digit number? And, before Saddam invaded Kuwait, was the denomination in a bank note at that time already in a single digit number or more than one single digit number?

[DayGee]

Dalite : you said that Kuwait issued a new currency at the same rate to cancel the currency stolen by Saddam. And, if it was not RI , RD, RV, then what is the correct term to call that?

I would call it "issuing a new currency at the same rate to cancel the currency stolen by Saddam", there doesn't need to be a special term for every situation.

Also, I have a question for you, when Kuwait issued a new currency, did the denomination ( in a banknotes ) of new currency already remove 3 zero or not to become a single digit number? And, before Saddam invaded Kuwait, was the denomination in a bank note at that time already in a single digit number or more than one single digit number?

For Kuwait's currency, the denominations were the same, because the value was the same.

Edited September 25, 2012 by DayGee

[DayGee]

I am just curious to know about the rate and I would like to ask someone expert here do you know what is the RATE for KUWAIT ( KD ) BEFORE and AFTER Liberation? And, also do you know what is the RATE for IRAQ DINAR ( IQD ) BEFORE and AFTER saddam invaded Kuwait? Anyone expert here or former Kuwait Dinar investors can answer also my question.

The official rate for the Kuwaiti dinar, before and after liberation, was exactly the same. During the occupation by Saddam I'm sure there were some Kuwaitis who were willing to exchange their KWD for USD at a reduced rate, out of desperation, but my research indicates that anyone that says they got rich off the KWD is almost certainly lying.

In order to make a million USD off the KWD you'd have had to:

1. Either been in Kuwait during the war or known someone who was.

2. Had at least $30,000 USD or so on you, most likely IN CASH (the banks weren't operating, you couldn't exactly write the Kuwaiti a check, could you?)

3. Found a Kuwaiti millionaire that actually HAD a million in cash on them (I know some millionaires in the US, and not a single one of them keeps a million in cash locked in a safe in their house).

4. That Kuwaiti, besides being rich, would have had to be incredibly desperate to sell out for even 10 cents on the dinar. The millionaires I know have their money spread all over God's green earth: stocks, bonds, foreign investments, foreign bank accounts, foreign currency, silver, gold, jewels, etc. If the USD tanked due to invasion by The Canadian Horde, they wouldn't be out on the street with a suitcase full of hundred dollar bills trying to trade them for Euros or some other currency, they'd get the hell out of there and rely on one of their numerous other stockpiles of wealth.

Did some desperate Kuwaitis sell a few thousand USD worth of KWD for a few hundred USD? Probably. Wouldn't surprise me. Were there numerous Kuwaiti millionaires so desperate that they'd be willing to do the same thing with millions of dollars worth of KWD? No way.

Keep in mind that the biggest bill in Kuwait was (and still is, I believe) a 20 dinar bill. A million IQD is only 40 bills. It'll fit in an envelope. A million KWD is fifty THOUSAND bills. We're talking about 100 pounds or so worth of currency. It won't fit in a briefcase. It won't even fit in 5 briefcases. It's a car trunk full of cash.

I believe I saw someone on this forum recently claim that he WAS over there, and someone offered to sell him a million KWD for 550 USD. If the story is true, he's lucky he didn't agree to it, because it was probably a plan to rob him. No Kuwaiti millionaire would do something that silly. If a Kuwaiti millionaire needed 550 bucks that badly (and didn't already have a significant pile of USD or DM or GBP) he'd sell a rolex, or his cheapest car, or a wifes necklace, and only lose a few thousand bucks on the exchange, he sure as heck wouldn't give away over 3 million dollars for practically nothing.

[jackster]

The official rate for the Kuwaiti dinar, before and after liberation, was exactly the same. During the occupation by Saddam I'm sure there were some Kuwaitis who were willing to exchange their KWD for USD at a reduced rate, out of desperation, but my research indicates that anyone that says they got rich off the KWD is almost certainly lying.

In order to make a million USD off the KWD you'd have had to:

1. Either been in Kuwait during the war or known someone who was.

2. Had at least $30,000 USD or so on you, most likely IN CASH (the banks weren't operating, you couldn't exactly write the Kuwaiti a check, could you?)

3. Found a Kuwaiti millionaire that actually HAD a million in cash on them (I know some millionaires in the US, and not a single one of them keeps a million in cash locked in a safe in their house).

4. That Kuwaiti, besides being rich, would have had to be incredibly desperate to sell out for even 10 cents on the dinar. The millionaires I know have their money spread all over God's green earth: stocks, bonds, foreign investments, foreign bank accounts, foreign currency, silver, gold, jewels, etc. If the USD tanked due to invasion by The Canadian Horde, they wouldn't be out on the street with a suitcase full of hundred dollar bills trying to trade them for Euros or some other currency, they'd get the hell out of there and rely on one of their numerous other stockpiles of wealth.

Did some desperate Kuwaitis sell a few thousand USD worth of KWD for a few hundred USD? Probably. Wouldn't surprise me. Were there numerous Kuwaiti millionaires so desperate that they'd be willing to do the same thing with millions of dollars worth of KWD? No way.

Keep in mind that the biggest bill in Kuwait was (and still is, I believe) a 20 dinar bill. A million IQD is only 40 bills. It'll fit in an envelope. A million KWD is fifty THOUSAND bills. We're talking about 100 pounds or so worth of currency. It won't fit in a briefcase. It won't even fit in 5 briefcases. It's a car trunk full of cash.

I believe I saw someone on this forum recently claim that he WAS over there, and someone offered to sell him a million KWD for 550 USD. If the story is true, he's lucky he didn't agree to it, because it was probably a plan to rob him. No Kuwaiti millionaire would do something that silly. If a Kuwaiti millionaire needed 550 bucks that badly (and didn't already have a significant pile of USD or DM or GBP) he'd sell a rolex, or his cheapest car, or a wifes necklace, and only lose a few thousand bucks on the exchange, he sure as heck wouldn't give away over 3 million dollars for practically nothing.

You've probably already this post from Rayzur. DV

4 guys are arrested. One claimed he was shot while serving in the military. Another claimed he was a VP at JP Morgan Chase.

People can claim anything they want. Some have claimed they saw pallets of IQD being shipped to the US.

[ALBUNDY]

Daygee : so you mean that the highest denomination was a 20 dinar KWD bill before Saddam invaded Kuwait. And, after saddam invaded Kuwait, the highest denomination has still been a 20 dollar KWD bill until now. From that point of view, Kuwait did not remove any Zeros on a dinar bill at all after saddam invaded Kuwait. So, the dinar KWD bill has remained the same denomination before and after saddam invaded Kuwait. And, you said that the rate was 1 million KWD= US$ 550 before saddam invaded Kuwait, is it what you mean? 1 million KWD=US$ 550, so 1 KWD= 0.00055 US$ ( almost equal to Iraq Dinar IQD 1 = 0.0008547 US$ ), therefore, the rate for KWD 1 ( before Saddam Invaded Kuwait ) almost the same with current Iraq Dinar IQD 1 right now. And, the rate right now for KWD 1= 3.56124 US$ ( according to the XE.com ). That means a lot of kuwaitis and foreign investor made a lot of money ( more than thousand times from original investment )from buying KWD at that time before saddam invaded Kuwait. So, the point is the denomination on a dinar KWD bill has remained the same ( nothing change at all ) and the change is only on the rate. And, there is a big increase in a rate ( more than thousand times ). Just If , If I say this is the way it goes, we all love it and this is what we have been expecting for our IQD. And, this is called a revaluation, don't we all think? Come on bring it on GOI. GO RV.

Jackster : So you mean that noone ( kuwaitis and foreign investors ) makes money on KWD. And you just believe that Kuwait just RD their KWD and it was just break-even. Is that what you mean?

[MovieMaker]

Thanks for sharing

[ALBUNDY]

MovieMaker : you are welcome anytime.

Boon : as you said " All internationally traded currencies have two values , one is in country and two is out of country ". So that means that you believe there is In-Country RV and Out-Country RV, too because the rate for In-Country RV ( of course for Kuwaitis ) is different than the rate for Out-Country RV ( for us currency investor ) , is that what you mean?

[DayGee]

And, you said that the rate was 1 million KWD= US$ 550 before saddam invaded Kuwait, is it what you mean? 1 million KWD=US$ 550, so 1 KWD= 0.00055 US$ ( almost equal to Iraq Dinar IQD 1 = 0.0008547 US$ ), therefore, the rate for KWD 1 ( before Saddam Invaded Kuwait ) almost the same with current Iraq Dinar IQD 1 right now. And, the rate right now for KWD 1= 3.56124 US$ ( according to the XE.com ). That means a lot of kuwaitis and foreign investor made a lot of money ( more than thousand times from original investment )from buying KWD at that time before saddam invaded Kuwait. So, the point is the denomination on a dinar KWD bill has remained the same ( nothing change at all ) and the change is only on the rate. And, there is a big increase in a rate ( more than thousand times ).

No, I didn't say any of that.

[ALBUNDY]

DayGee : I am so sorry and I don't mind to accuse of you. I know you didn't say that. But, you mentioned someone else on this forum. Therefore, I am curious to know about the true rate and Bill ( like, how many Zeros really removed )of KWD before and after Saddam invaded and also whether Kuwait RD/RV/RI. This is what I really want to find out the truth from someone expert or former KWD currency investor. Are you a former KWD Investor?