Phoenix Update: October 3rd 2010

[getrdone]

Sorry Kr3W, didn't mean to, I don't want to waste the space or anybody else time.

[ktlamm]

Thanks Phoenix your info has always helped put some light on the matter have a blessed day.

When they give the RV price, and then the redenomination along with the 30-90 days(?however long) to exchange our dinar, what are the possibilities of the RV flucuating it's price? I looked through this thread again, and didn't set that question asked.

Thanks,

Mel

Mel you can almost bank on flucuating rates. All currencies on the market do that. Its a beeter chance it will go higher later than sooner.

[getrdone]

First of all, Thank you phoenix for your input. It is greatly appreciated by many of us on this site. I have a question as to the quote of supporting your local bank. Is this saying for us to consider other options than Dinar Trade, (who is thought to give a fair, competitive rate) or Is that just a support the good old USA type of comment, which I have NO problem with at all. Getrdone, RV!

[Melanie]

Thanks Phoenix your info has always helped put some light on the matter have a blessed day.

Mel you can almost bank on flucuating rates. All currencies on the market do that. Its a beeter chance it will go higher later than sooner.

So when it RVs, are most here going to go straight to exchange their dinar? OR will you wait to see if it goes higher and take a chance of it going lower in the time given to exchange?

Thanks,

Mel

I know many of you have already said that you will exhange some at first, then more after it RVs higher.....but aren't you taking that chance that it won't RV higher before the deadline? What will you do Phoenix?

Edited October 4, 2010 by Melanie

[jack]

Thanks Phoenix. I needed something uplifting to read right about now. Thanks for the thorough explanation and the time you took to answer people's questions. You answered all the questions I would have asked myself but everyone else asked the same thing. We must all be on the same wavelength here at DV. Thanks again.

[Marpat]

Excellent...Barboza I believe you said it all...I'll just simply add.... Praise the Lord !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I certainly agree....and add HALLELULJAH!!!!

[SparkyNTexas]

What if this only happens in Iraq and not in our banking system. since it isn't publicly traded.Then what?

[RicknSaudi]

.....getting started educationing me.....I'll keep my fingers crossed for the VR.....

That is just too cute. GO RV...

[katy21]

This is a hyped up rehashed version of your post last February...except you have added a bit more hype:

"Novel solution," "Sound and effective," "Never been used by any nation before," Never before seen..."

http://

I found it odd that you made the post right after CBI announced last Feb. "Iraq Planning Currency Redenomination"

http://www.rferl.org/content/Iraq_Planning_Currency_Redenomination/1950504.html

In the last paragraph of your post you state "So what backs the IQD? The wealth of Iraq itself plain and simple.

So there is nothing “to pay for” the IQD itself is the wealth.

Hope that helps."

Phoenix

I guess I am confused...If Iraq can't afford to pay for the rebuilding of their own infrastructure as evidenced

by the fact that they have to borrow from the IMF/US http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11457074

The IMF also gave the go-ahead for a $741m (£469m) loan to Iraq.

The money is part of a previously agreed $3.7bn loan programme designed to help the country rebuild its ravaged infrastructure.

What wealth are you referring to and who the heck is paying for this?...Not back in Feb nor today 8 months later is there any actual

plan that will create appreciation in your Dinar Investment.

Iraq has POTENTIAL wealth but for the immediate-intermediate future they barely rate 3rd world....http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11095920

They are POOOOOOOOR...They aren't going to make you a millionaire....On a good day they can get running water and half a day's worth of electricity.

Of course they will likely redenominate their currency...there is no "novel solution" This happens all the time...However, I think an academic

synopsis is more appropriate: Dropping Zeros and Gaining Credibility? Currency Redenomination in Developing Nations

http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/0/4/0/1/0/p40104_index.html

This paper investigates the conditions under which developing and transition nations engage in currency redenomination. Given that many governments of developing countries experience high levels of inflation and deterioration in their currency’s value against other currencies, why do some elect to redenominate, while others do not? And why do some governments wait many years after a bout of hyperinflation, or after their currency is priced at 1000 or 5000 units to the dollar, to redenominate, while others do so relatively quickly? I suggest that the explanations rest in a combination of economic and political factors, including inflation, governments’ concerns about credibility, and the effect of currencies on national identity. I employ survival analysis to test these expectations, using a set of data for developing and transition nations, covering the 1960-2003 period. I find, not surprisingly, that inflation is an important predictor of redenomination. Redenomination also is related to political variables, including governments’ time horizons, the governing party’s ideology, the fractionalization of the government and legislature, and the degree of social heterogeneity.

My guess is you are wrong about your synopsis as there was nothing and is nothing to substantiate your "wealth formula"....Iraq/CBI has been discussing redenomination for several years and they are probably still slowly inching their way in that inevitable direction.

This has been posted all over the news for ages....

There will be no wealth created from this investment....you can spin it anyway you want....your history of long winded prognostications shows your content

to be economically weak, historically incorrect, and somewhat nonsensical.

Just my humble opinion...

How long have you been telling this story?

This is a hyped up rehashed version of your post last February...except you have added a bit more hype:

"Novel solution," "Sound and effective," "Never been used by any nation before," Never before seen..."

http://

I found it odd that you made the post right after CBI announced last Feb. "Iraq Planning Currency Redenomination"

http://www.rferl.org/content/Iraq_Planning_Currency_Redenomination/1950504.html

In the last paragraph of your post you state "So what backs the IQD? The wealth of Iraq itself plain and simple.

So there is nothing “to pay for” the IQD itself is the wealth.

Hope that helps."

Phoenix

I guess I am confused...If Iraq can't afford to pay for the rebuilding of their own infrastructure as evidenced

by the fact that they have to borrow from the IMF/US

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11457074

The IMF also gave the go-ahead for a $741m (£469m) loan to Iraq.

The money is part of a previously agreed $3.7bn loan programme designed to help the country rebuild its ravaged infrastructure.

What wealth are you referring to and who the heck is paying for this?...Not back in Feb nor today 8 months later is there any actual

plan that will create appreciation in your Dinar Investment.

Iraq has POTENTIAL wealth but for the immediate-intermediate future they barely rate 3rd world....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11095920

They are POOOOOOOOR...They aren't going to make you a millionaire....On a good day they can get running water and half a day's worth of electricity.

Of course they will likely redenominate their currency...there is no "novel solution" This happens all the time...However, I think an academic

synopsis is more appropriate: Dropping Zeros and Gaining Credibility? Currency Redenomination in Developing Nations

http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/0/4/0/1/0/p40104_index.html

This paper investigates the conditions under which developing and transition nations engage in currency redenomination. Given that many governments of developing countries experience high levels of inflation and deterioration in their currency’s value against other currencies, why do some elect to redenominate, while others do not? And why do some governments wait many years after a bout of hyperinflation, or after their currency is priced at 1000 or 5000 units to the dollar, to redenominate, while others do so relatively quickly? I suggest that the explanations rest in a combination of economic and political factors, including inflation, governments’ concerns about credibility, and the effect of currencies on national identity. I employ survival analysis to test these expectations, using a set of data for developing and transition nations, covering the 1960-2003 period. I find, not surprisingly, that inflation is an important predictor of redenomination. Redenomination also is related to political variables, including governments’ time horizons, the governing party’s ideology, the fractionalization of the government and legislature, and the degree of social heterogeneity.

My guess is you are wrong about your synopsis as there was nothing and is nothing to substantiate your "wealth formula"....Iraq/CBI has been discussing redenomination for several years and they are probably still slowly inching their way in that inevitable direction.

This has been posted all over the news for ages....

There will be no wealth created from this investment....you can spin it anyway you want....your history of long winded prognostications shows your content

to be economically weak, historically incorrect, and somewhat nonsensical.

Just my humble opinion...

How long have you been telling this story?

[RicknSaudi]

Very well said Moses. As someone else with long history in the middle east, this logic only places you in with a group of well-informed and well-read "Guru's". Would love to hear more reasoning from Mr. Moses.

[pleasantvalleySunday]

This is a hyped up rehashed version of your post last February...except you have added a bit more hype:

"Novel solution," "Sound and effective," "Never been used by any nation before," Never before seen..."

http://

I found it odd that you made the post right after CBI announced last Feb. "Iraq Planning Currency Redenomination"

http://www.rferl.org/content/Iraq_Planning_Currency_Redenomination/1950504.html

In the last paragraph of your post you state "So what backs the IQD? The wealth of Iraq itself plain and simple.

So there is nothing “to pay for” the IQD itself is the wealth.

Hope that helps."

Phoenix

I guess I am confused...If Iraq can't afford to pay for the rebuilding of their own infrastructure as evidenced

by the fact that they have to borrow from the IMF/US http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11457074

The IMF also gave the go-ahead for a $741m (£469m) loan to Iraq.

The money is part of a previously agreed $3.7bn loan programme designed to help the country rebuild its ravaged infrastructure.

What wealth are you referring to and who the heck is paying for this?...Not back in Feb nor today 8 months later is there any actual

plan that will create appreciation in your Dinar Investment.

Iraq has POTENTIAL wealth but for the immediate-intermediate future they barely rate 3rd world....http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11095920

They are POOOOOOOOR...They aren't going to make you a millionaire....On a good day they can get running water and half a day's worth of electricity.

Of course they will likely redenominate their currency...there is no "novel solution" This happens all the time...However, I think an academic

synopsis is more appropriate: Dropping Zeros and Gaining Credibility? Currency Redenomination in Developing Nations

http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/0/4/0/1/0/p40104_index.html

This paper investigates the conditions under which developing and transition nations engage in currency redenomination. Given that many governments of developing countries experience high levels of inflation and deterioration in their currency’s value against other currencies, why do some elect to redenominate, while others do not? And why do some governments wait many years after a bout of hyperinflation, or after their currency is priced at 1000 or 5000 units to the dollar, to redenominate, while others do so relatively quickly? I suggest that the explanations rest in a combination of economic and political factors, including inflation, governments’ concerns about credibility, and the effect of currencies on national identity. I employ survival analysis to test these expectations, using a set of data for developing and transition nations, covering the 1960-2003 period. I find, not surprisingly, that inflation is an important predictor of redenomination. Redenomination also is related to political variables, including governments’ time horizons, the governing party’s ideology, the fractionalization of the government and legislature, and the degree of social heterogeneity.

My guess is you are wrong about your synopsis as there was nothing and is nothing to substantiate your "wealth formula"....Iraq/CBI has been discussing redenomination for several years and they are probably still slowly inching their way in that inevitable direction.

This has been posted all over the news for ages....

There will be no wealth created from this investment....you can spin it anyway you want....your history of long winded prognostications shows your content

to be economically weak, historically incorrect, and somewhat nonsensical.

Just my humble opinion...

How long have you been telling this story?

This is a hyped up rehashed version of your post last February...except you have added a bit more hype:

"Novel solution," "Sound and effective," "Never been used by any nation before," Never before seen..."

http://

I found it odd that you made the post right after CBI announced last Feb. "Iraq Planning Currency Redenomination"

http://www.rferl.org/content/Iraq_Planning_Currency_Redenomination/1950504.html

In the last paragraph of your post you state "So what backs the IQD? The wealth of Iraq itself plain and simple.

So there is nothing “to pay for” the IQD itself is the wealth.

Hope that helps."

Phoenix

I guess I am confused...If Iraq can't afford to pay for the rebuilding of their own infrastructure as evidenced

by the fact that they have to borrow from the IMF/US

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11457074

The IMF also gave the go-ahead for a $741m (£469m) loan to Iraq.

The money is part of a previously agreed $3.7bn loan programme designed to help the country rebuild its ravaged infrastructure.

What wealth are you referring to and who the heck is paying for this?...Not back in Feb nor today 8 months later is there any actual

plan that will create appreciation in your Dinar Investment.

Iraq has POTENTIAL wealth but for the immediate-intermediate future they barely rate 3rd world....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11095920

They are POOOOOOOOR...They aren't going to make you a millionaire....On a good day they can get running water and half a day's worth of electricity.

Of course they will likely redenominate their currency...there is no "novel solution" This happens all the time...However, I think an academic

synopsis is more appropriate: Dropping Zeros and Gaining Credibility? Currency Redenomination in Developing Nations

http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/0/4/0/1/0/p40104_index.html

This paper investigates the conditions under which developing and transition nations engage in currency redenomination. Given that many governments of developing countries experience high levels of inflation and deterioration in their currency’s value against other currencies, why do some elect to redenominate, while others do not? And why do some governments wait many years after a bout of hyperinflation, or after their currency is priced at 1000 or 5000 units to the dollar, to redenominate, while others do so relatively quickly? I suggest that the explanations rest in a combination of economic and political factors, including inflation, governments’ concerns about credibility, and the effect of currencies on national identity. I employ survival analysis to test these expectations, using a set of data for developing and transition nations, covering the 1960-2003 period. I find, not surprisingly, that inflation is an important predictor of redenomination. Redenomination also is related to political variables, including governments’ time horizons, the governing party’s ideology, the fractionalization of the government and legislature, and the degree of social heterogeneity.

My guess is you are wrong about your synopsis as there was nothing and is nothing to substantiate your "wealth formula"....Iraq/CBI has been discussing redenomination for several years and they are probably still slowly inching their way in that inevitable direction.

This has been posted all over the news for ages....

There will be no wealth created from this investment....you can spin it anyway you want....your history of long winded prognostications shows your content

to be economically weak, historically incorrect, and somewhat nonsensical.

Just my humble opinion...

How long have you been telling this story?

welcome to the forum - for your first post, you certainly have come on pretty strong dear. Might want to pull in just a tad and be a bit less confrontational in your approach... just saying

Blessings,

pvS

[muchodinaro]

In the words of Archie Bunker, " You're a ding-bat "! A " newbie ", and this is your first post. Obviously, you do not own dinar, so why are you here? Get lost blondie!

[pleasantvalleySunday]

as someone so eloquently pointed out, if she's a newbie - how in the world does she know what was posted months ago???

[PuffsPlus]

Saw that coming!

[fatbob]

Katy does have a few good points backed up with links. Plus my question has not been addressed either. Why don't you let Phoenix defend himself.

as someone so eloquently pointed out, if she's a newbie - how in the world does she know what was posted months ago???

Google it. You can find it on the internet in about 2 seconds.

[sidewinder615]

This is a hyped up rehashed version of your post last February...except you have added a bit more hype:

"Novel solution," "Sound and effective," "Never been used by any nation before," Never before seen..."

WOW this may be a newbie, but this newbie has been around for awhile. Of course you have the right to your opinion, but if it's that long..............why post it twice in the same posting?

[Phoenix]

"What wealth are you referring to and who the heck is paying for this?...Not back in Feb nor today 8 months later is there any actual

plan that will create appreciation in your Dinar Investment."

"They are POOOOOOOOR...They aren't going to make you a millionaire....On a good day they can get running water and half a day's worth of electricity."

"There will be no wealth created from this investment....you can spin it anyway you want....your history of long winded prognostications shows your content

to be economically weak, historically incorrect, and somewhat nonsensical."

"Just my humble opinion...

How long have you been telling this story?"

"In the last paragraph of your post you state "So what backs the IQD? The wealth of Iraq itself plain and simple.

So there is nothing “to pay for” the IQD itself is the wealth.

Hope that helps."

Phoenix"

"What wealth are you referring to and who the heck is paying for this?...Not back in Feb nor today 8 months later is there any actual

plan that will create appreciation in your Dinar Investment.

.They are POOOOOOOOR...They aren't going to make you a millionaire....On a good day they can get running water and half a day's worth of electricity.

."My guess is you are wrong about your synopsis as there was nothing and is nothing to substantiate your "wealth formula"....Iraq/CBI has been discussing redenomination for several years and they are probably still slowly inching their way in that inevitable direction.

This has been posted all over the news for ages....

There will be no wealth created from this investment....you can spin it anyway you want....your history of long winded prognostications shows your content

to be economically weak, historically incorrect, and somewhat nonsensical.

Just my humble opinion...

How long have you been telling this story?

LOL!~

Iraq a poor nation?

You do know that tomorrow they will be announcing to the world the true potential of their oil reserves right?

And that these hidden reserves are expected to launch them to the number one holder of Oil reserves in the world right?

And it is apparent that you are not aware of the many academic works put forward that expound upon this very fact.

Allow me to introduce you to a paper done by Doctor Henry Thompson Phd of International economics from Auburn University.

Keep in mind that Dr Thompson wrote this paper a few years ago long before these new oil reserves which are about to be announced tomorrow were even known of.

Oh and to answer your question "How long have I been saying this?"

As long as I have needed to and I will continue to tell the truth on this situation until the revaluation...if you like it or not!~

Phoenix

The Crude Wealth of Iraq

Dr. Henry Thompson

Iraq is a wealthy country and every Iraqi a present value millionaire. Wealth in the world has shifted toward the owners of crude oil. Over the next two decades, total world energy consumption will almost double with serious alternatives to oil remain decades away. US oil consumption is expanding as production declines and imports climb. Oil prices and the energy share of national income will increase over the coming decades.

Monopoly resource profits will be going to the owners of oil and other energy resources. Oil extraction and refining are very competitive with profits slightly higher than the average industry but with high risk. The owners of the oil will enjoy the rising prices. Oil is owned primarily by governments around the world.

The price of a barrel of crude oil at the wellhead jumps around between $40 and $150 while extraction cost in the Middle East is under $10. The owners of the oil in the ground enjoy the profit. The Arab Gulf has 65% of the world’s proven oil reserves and Iraq has 12%. Oil in the ground is like money in the bank and that makes the government and perhaps Iraqis themselves wealthy. Iraq can produce 6 million barrels of oil a day, 2 billion barrels per year. At $50 per barrel, that oil would sell for $100 billion. The population of Iraq is 24 million and that oil income translates to $4000 per person.

If Iraq sells a quarter of its potential reserves at an average price of $50 for the next 20 years, that would generate 90 billion x $50 = $4.5 trillion. If the population of Iraq grows to 30 million that would be $150,000 per capita for 20 years, or $7,500 annual income per capita. Price will be rising but the Iraqi government will waste a good deal of the profit.

If instead of wasting the income it is invested, Iraq will become wealthy. Estimated productive capital assets in the US are $60,000 per capita and $5,000 for the entire world. If Iraq invests only 1/4 of its oil revenue for the next 20 years, it will match current US productive assets per capita.

The total value of Iraq potential oil reserves at an average profit of $75 per barrel over next 100 years would be 360 billion x $75 = $27 trillion or $900,000 per capita, making every Iraqi a millionaire. These calculations do not include natural gas revenue, lately about equal to oil revenue for producing fields. Also, most of Iraq has not been explored for gas or oil.

In the Persian Gulf region, proven oil reserves are 195 trillion barrels. Selling this at an average profit of $75 per barrel over the next 100 years would generate $15,000 trillion income. If half of that is invested, it would amount to $7,500 trillion or 1/4 of the present total capital assets in world. And this is only proven reserves. Due to political uncertainty most of the Gulf region has not been explored for gas and oil.

http://www.auburn.edu/~thomph1/iraq.htm

Edited October 4, 2010 by Phoenix

[JugDawg1]

Sickem Phoenix, you rabid dog you.

[katersue]

I must say, Phoenix, that you are a real class act along with Scooter. Thanks for all of your information, it has helped a great many of us on this crazy ride.

[stargazer55]

Phoenix, I appreciate all the work put into your posts and the effort to quickly answer all the questions that have been submitted. Thank you, sir!

[dreedree125]

Once again you have done a Fantastic Job.......LOL

[coolbeans]

27 September 2010

Revival of the New Iraq is the best kept secret in world finance

Hussein Al-Uzri, Chairman and President of Trade Bank of Iraq assesses the potential of the Iraqi economy and the development of trade.

The entire world loves a stereotype, even when it is based on an assumption that is no longer true. When you watch television news or open the pages of a newspaper, the stereotype they like to show of Iraq is of a country still at war.

The reality is very different and much more hopeful. For a whole lot of reasons – not least its priceless oil riches - Iraq is becoming the world’s fastest emerging economy. Banks and businesses that have already made this discovery are well on the way to highly profitable deals and investments and trades.

Others are still allowing their perceptions to lag behind reality. They risk missing business opportunities by holding on to assumptions that were true once but are true no longer.

Anyone with a sense of history should in fact be surprised if Iraq continued to be disabled by war. All they have to do to get a reality check is to remember what happened to Japan, South Korea, Germany and indeed Vietnam.

All of those countries were devastated by terrible wars. Yet all recovered, grew and became the magnets they are today for investment and trade. None of them is any longer defined by the violence that once scarred their land. Iraq is now well advanced on the same voyage of recovery.

In fact, Iraq is much more favourably placed than any of them at a similar post-war stage. Yet, so far, Iraq’s revival is arguably the best kept secret in world finance.

Of course violence has not ceased altogether. But it is becoming more and more localised, as more and more cities and towns and rural areas re-establish normal life and a peaceful day to day existence. Indeed the level of violence in some cities in the Western world is now greater than the level in Iraq as a whole.

Not that the Iraqi authorities are ready to relax. They know there is still a long way to go before total normality is achieved. But the evidence of progress is all around – in the form of new power stations, new bank branches and new businesses, private as well as public.

One of the invaluable foundations of the recovery is the oil sector. This is, naturally, where many of the biggest new projects are to be found. The successful oil licensing agreements are already having a clear multiplier effect on the private sector as well as on government finances. The bidding round for gas field development contracts is due soon and will provide a similar boost.

All this is good news, especially for the world’s oil companies and oil support services. But the beneficial impact will spread much wider than just the energy sector. For, like most other oil and gas economies in the Middle East, Iraq is no longer content simply to export oil and spend the money on the import of goods and services.

The MENA region has changed so that downstreaming, infrastructure and diversification are becoming the rule rather than the exception. More than most of its neighbours, the New Iraq is emerging as an economy sparkling with opportunity.

Iraq’s traditional emphasis on education and on enterprise is serving it well. Big developments are coming on stream in the private sector as well as in the public sector. As an illustration, within two or three years, more power plants will be in the private sector than in the state sector. Inevitably, in an energy-hungry world, oil is the big magnet for international organisations. But Iraq is prudently diversifying into a growing number of other sectors. They include agriculture, minerals, infrastructure, construction and housing, health, telecoms – and even tourism, as more regions become peaceful and welcoming. Increasingly, Iraqi’s economic resurgence is broadly rather than narrowly based and less and less dependent on a single-sector cycle.

A point of difference with some other economies in the region is that Iraq is consciously developing a mixed economy in which the public sector and the private sector can each grow and can strengthen each other. What does all this mean for international banks and businesses? It means that there are big projects to bid for and big projects to be financed. Project finance is becoming of critical importance. International businesses that grasp this fact now can gain an early mover advantage in what is becoming the world’s fastest emerging economy.

Trade Bank of Iraq bridging the gap

But Iraq’s financial framework still has gaps in its structure. Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) is the country’s international bank dedicated to play a role in bridging these gaps and linking Iraqi businesses and international institutions to their mutual advantage.

The TBI itself embodies the transformation in Iraq’s fortunes. It has been operating for seven years.

While this is a short period in the banking industry timeline, TBI’s achievements match those of a longer time scale. As a wholly state-owned bank it came into being with the crucial task of acting as the trade finance bank for the government to meet the immediate need for vital humanitarian commodities as well as essential infrastructure requirements of a country emerging from successive wars.

Today, only seven years later, it has a track record of success as an Iraqi bank that has matured into a successful and resilient international enterprise. Under its Chairman and President, Hussein Al-Uzri, TBI has grown and developed so to offer comprehensive banking services for businesses and individuals. It is the leading Iraqi model of modern banking. It sees its purpose as to be a catalyst to regenerate the national economy, strengthen the banking sector and be a force for modernization. It is developing a comprehensive range of banking services to enable Iraq and its expanding businesses to deal with their global partners efficiently and on equal terms.

Now its role is to facilitate increasingly sophisticated relationships between Iraqi businesses and international partners. For example, a major international beneficiary has been General Electric, and its domestic co-beneficiary has been the energy infrastructure business. JP Morgan partnered the Trade Bank of Iraq in a complex deal on a tight schedule to agree a $3 billion letter of credit for the purchase of power equipment for 7,000MW of multifuel gas turbines from General Electric.

In the past seven years, TBI has established relationships with a formidable network of global banks of high reputation. It works in partnership with 125 prime banks in 65 cities in 39 countries, more than any other bank in the Middle East.

Such relationships have made it possible for TBI to expedite the introduction of new services to the banking industry in Iraq. It has also concluded agreements with many export credit agencies, making TBI a valued partner for cross border trade with Iraq. There has been a flow of investment by TBI into state-of-the-art online, mobile and bank card systems. As a result, Iraq is well positioned to advance from a traditional cash economy to a future-oriented electronic banking system. This will have minimal reliance on conventional cheque books and paper-based banking.

The global banking crisis tested TBI’s robustness – and it emerged strong and confident. The bank’s latest efficiency ratios and key performance indicators have recorded higher levels. Moreover, the qualitative goals contained in its business plan have been achieved. Overall, for TBI business accelerated encouragingly during the global crisis, as did its customer confidence. Total deposits last year climbed to US$ 11.4 billion, an increase over the year of more than a third. Total assets reached around US$13 billion. Growth took place in almost every area of the operation, and especially in its credit functions.

Business turnover rose by more than 40 % to just short of US$14 billion. Savings deposits registered a growth of more than 92% while loans and advances increased by more than 78%. The percentage of bad debt provisions to gross credit declined by 3.59% from 5.95% in the previous year.

As a new player in the global banking market, Trade Bank of Iraq has established a major presence in a remarkably short time. In 2009 the bank issued 2,005 letters of credit while the issuance of letters of guarantee rose by more than 41%.

TBI has invested significantly in education and training in order to ensure a steady supply of technically competent staff to meet the expansion in business, both for new ATM and credit card services and for technology-intensive activities like data centres and corporate networks. Investment in technology is turning into reality the ambition of providing a “one stop shop” for financial services. Customers can now access their accounts from any branch, anywhere, no matter where they have physically opened their accounts.

The bank prides itself on being an equal opportunities employer and more than half of its staff are women. It focuses strongly too on the customer. Its customer relationship management operation is designed to make the right offer to the right client at the right time via the right channel. Looking ahead, TBI is making preparations for the launch of its Investment Banking Division, so it can play a part in restructuring companies and entire industrial sectors. This division will work in partnership with the proposed Development Fund to identify and invest in viable new projects. Leading international investment banks will be invited to join in.

TBI benefits from being located in one of the world’s great energy centres. Iraq’s recent contracts with major oil companies have the potential to expand oil revenues at a very satisfying pace. But Iraq will have to upgrade its refinery and export infrastructure in order to enable these deals to reach their full potential.

That is why TBI is so central to the country’s economic emergence. It is greatly helped by the Government’s determined pursuit of foreign investment to accelerate Iraq’s economic growth. Sensibly, the Government has shown itself ready to listen to banks and businesses and amend its rules to facilitate growth. Thus it has amended the National Investment Law, encouraged many international trade and investment events and also facilitated private participation in joint ventures with state-owned enterprises. It has also been encouraging greater local participation and cutting bureaucratic restraints.

As a result of activities such as these, economic growth is expected to further strengthen in 2010-2011 as foreign direct investment picks up, especially in a range of oil and infrastructure projects. Rising consumer demand is also likely to boost the wholesale and retail trades. The Government’s capital budget in 2010 is much larger than in 2009.

Consumer price inflation has stayed low since early 2008, as the appreciation of the dinar – overseen by the Central Bank - plus an improvement in the supply of basic items and, until recently, falling global commodity prices lowered import costs and kept down inflationary expectations. The Central Bank is also seeking to manage liquidity effectively through the introduction of an interbank market.

Entrepreneurial institutions such as the Trade Bank of Iraq are bringing new energy to a fast emerging market. On the track record so far of the New Iraq, and the historical record of countries like Germany, South Korea and Japan, Iraq’s best days lie ahead. The opportunities for foreign direct investors and for international banks seeking profitable correspondent relationships are too good to miss.

http://www.tradefinancemagazine.com/Article/2677906/Sectors/23004/Revival-of-the-New-Iraq-is-the-best-kept-secret-in-world-finance.html

[fatbob]

I am very interested to know how you came to the conclusion that speculators would get $25,000 USD for our $25,000 IQD notes while it lops in Iraq (assuming a $1=$1)? Why would the CBI not just lop everyone except for govts which hold IQD? Thanks

Edited October 4, 2010 by fatbob

[Melanie]

I am very happy you are rebutting what she said, :Phoenix, that scared me

thanks,

Mel

[saturday night]

I am very interested to know how you came to the conclusion that speculators would get $25,000 USD for our $25,000 IQD notes while it lops in Iraq (assuming a $1=$1)? Why would the CBI not just lop everyone except for govts which hold IQD? Thanks

When we turn ours in ,they will go to the federal reserve and get mixed up with theirs and they won't be able to find mine.