Occasioinally we hear people mention “American Contractor” when refering to dinar news. American Contractor could be considered a Dinar Speculator, so here’s the latest from a fellow Dinar Speculator. Click the link below to read it, and feel free to comment with your thoughts!
Important Iraq Dates
August 21st to September 19th 2009 – Ramadan
September 8, 2009 – New incoming Parliament Holds First Session
October 16-17, 2009, Getenergy for Iraq 2009, to be held in Istanbul, Turkey
October 24, 2009 – National Census
October 2009 – International Compact with Iraq– Date to be Announced – Baghdad
December 7-9, 2009 Iraq Petroleum Conference London U.K.
December 31, 2009 – Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) expires
December 31, 2009 – Article Seven U.N. Charter expires
December 2009 – Article 140 Vote
January 16, 2010 – Iraq Referendum Vote (SOFA Security Agreement)
January 16, 2010 – National Parliamentary Elections
You remember last April when an Iraq delegation went to Syria and signed economic agreements in reference to double taxation and the parameters on free zones between the two countries. They also signed three executive programs on cooperation in the fields of health, culture and environment, and lastly two memo’s of understanding on housing, construction, and scientif ic projects.
All this information is as reported in the State run media SANA based out of Damascus this is important as there is another element worth noting that is coming out of Baghdad media.
The Prime Minister of Iraq Nuri al-Malki had been invited to Syria by Prime Minister Muhammed Naji Itri, last spring and now on the 18 August PM Maliki will visit Syria. This is not the first time PM Maliki has visited Syria. This meeting is coming on the tail end of another meeting between the Iraq Finance Minister and Syrian officials. What has transpired between this meeting of the Iraq Finance Minister and the Syrian officials is establishing direct links and agreements with Syria and Iraqi commercial banks and very soon you will see the creation of a Syrian-Iraqi bank inside Iraq. Iraq needs more banks and bank branches inside Iraq since the Iraqi banking industry as a whole is small and fragile and doesn’t have the capacity to conduct loans for reconstruction because of lack of capital to invest or maybe I should say unwilling to risk the capital. The high interest rate from the CBI stops most Iraq bank owners from investing other than parking their money inside the Central Bank.
There is approximately 500 bank branches inside Iraq for a population of 28 million which is low by any western standards and I am just waiting on that one Iraqi based company to raise the needed capital from the U.K. investors very soon.
The International Compact Iraq will be held in Baghdad in October and I expect this time around will net some great loans and agreements to assist Iraq in the rebuilding process due to the signif icant improvement in security. Members of the International Compact Iraq most likely will provide funding to assist Iraq in it’s reconstruction effort. We can only hope anyway.
This is how the sequence will go over the next 90 days. Ramadan, New members of Parliament in September, International Compact Iraq. And in between maybe we can get some legislation pass such as where the Iraq Parliament left off before the summer break.
The Iraqi Parliament left for the summer break with a lot of legislation unresolved such as the Iraq and Gas Law, which when the Iraq Parliament, the new members will place the Oil and Gas Law high on the list to get resolved and we all hope passed. Just to give you an idea on other pending legislation, well how about the Political Parties Law, the Investment Law, Complementary budget, the infrastructure draft law and others.
When the Iraqi Parliament returns 8 September, the Iraq Parliament Speaker Iyad al-Samarra’i will definitely have his work cut out for him especially with the national elections just a few months away.
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8 responses to "Latest from American Contractor"
American Contractor Rocks!!!!!!!
Nice work!!
Hope this means we as investers will have a good christmas!!!
This list of meetings shows the country is moving in the right direction. Despite the recent bombings in Baghdad, if the schedule of meetings is followed, the economy will become stable enough to RV the dinar. I remain optimistic.
alot of things happening, just looking for loans to start, to give loans you would think that they would have to raise the value of the dinar, because I sure would not borrow something that was not worth much am I right in saying and thinking this way, or is their a hidden value somwhere I dont know about????
I wrote to the US President the need to speed up the revaluation plan to help rebuild Iraq economy without unjustifiable procrastination for many good reasons, as follows:
Dear President of the United States of America,
Everyday, more and more new foreign investors are going to Iraq to do business with great confidence and Iraq is coming close to be a 100% democratic nation. Is it fair a new Iraq should have her currency revalued to ensure the values of many other things should be on par with ours? As every other democratic nation enjoys the same equal rights and the protection of human rights, is it time to give the same to the new Iraq without further delay? Why do I need to tell you not to leave out even one poor family at one corner of Iraq uninformed and unprepared about the revaluation plan of Iraqi Dinars (if it happens) at anytime? I had lived with poorer people for 4 years during my younger days in order that I’ve learned to empathize with people who truly suffer poverty and my tears for them are deep in my heart. I do not send this message to talk rubbish because I am one of the people in this world who support President Barack Obama as well despite I am from Singapore. Let me explain to you much more with facts contributed by someone, as below:
Iraq: Re-Value the Iraqi Dinar? Yes!
One Investor’s Take on the Valuation of the Dinar
By Roger Isaksson
Iraq’s current government has been staggering badly under the pressure of growing violence and widespread infrastructure failures. As a result, government consolidation is taking place, including dismissals, arrests, and the emergence of strong personalities. Yet still, most government participants appear to lack the will to stick their neck out and make bold moves that would ultimately help the Iraqi people.
The Iraqi Dinar
Economically, according to my estimates, the Iraqi dinar is hopelessly undervalued, and should have been revalued long ago. The dinar is held down artificially by the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), resulting in very little buying power for the Iraqi working class. Currently, most of the day-to-day products needed by Iraqi’s are produced outside of the country, but when buying it with an undervalued currency, nobody except the intrepid merchant benefits. In order to justify the costs of manufacture and import into the country, most things that we in the West take for granted are priced far beyond the average Iraqi’s ability to pay for it, due in large part to the vast exchange rate differences.
Due to these currency differences, few Iraqi’s can afford the items they want or need. As fewer people can afford them, the market for these items is artificially small, resulting in less competition and higher prices. This, coupled with the day-to-day disruption of goods and services due to the violence plaguing large tracts of the country, have led to high levels of inflation.
By revaluing the Iraq Dinar to it’s true value towards the market, the Iraqi people will regain a measure of their buying power back. Imported goods will now be within reach of nearly everybody, helped to infuse the Iraqi economy with a new vitality.
True Dinar Value
In analyzing the true value of the dinar, many have predicted a value as high as parity with the US dollar ($1 = 1 dinar), while more conservative estimates have been in the range of a $0.01 = 1 dinar. This range, of course, can only be estimated, because the dinars true strength can only be determined, as with all currencies, once it is freely traded on the world market.
The continued lack of purchasing power of the Iraq dinar will be yet another factor in a long line of social problems, and some have the idea that those problems have to be addressed first before the economy can be fixed. The Iraqi man on the street is having a hard time feeding his family, and in such dire circumstances he may even be tempted to work against his fellow Iraqi’s through insurgency, crime and even terrorism. This writer urges the current Iraqi Administration; fix the dinar.
The “Big Guys” are standing at the gate waiting to get in, but have to wait until they get assurances that the investment will not be socialized as in Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela, or lost completely due to a full-blown civil war. The new Iraq Investment Laws are tentative right now, but hopefully the Iraqi Government will make it a top priority when they return to session this fall. However, as with everything in Iraq these days, this supposition is a moving target at best.
Posted by Lawk Salih
Posted on Friday, September 01 @ 06:14:37 EDT by admin
Just look at China’s currency rate since the day it was revalued after communism was fading away. Why is her currency rate still remaining very low despite it is still rising slowly? Their cheap labour to worldwide’s markets is killing numerous businesses in the west by creating more redundancies, every year. One of the giants called Maersk in the shipping business is heading towards hell. Why? Could China’s cheap offers spoil the markets of the west? Of course! If the currency rate of Iraqi Dinars is not revalued asap, Iraq will be the next “China” to kill the world economy of the west within a few years’ time due to cheap labour as well. Is not “Once beaten twice shy” sufficient to feel the pain of repeated economic downturn particularly in the west? Truly, “An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pund of cure” should be a good advice to “Procrastinators”. Please be forewarned that Iraqis are shrewd, if not a cunning fox like the many Chinese in China.
Please revalue Iraqi Dinars asap, Mr President!
the true feeling of iraq contractors front to last indicates the rv or ri is most definately past due and should have happened a long time ago sitting idle can definately never help the crountry the world is eager to invest in the prosperity of iraq and as well invest in a larg manner sooner is better later is sluggish to say the least good luck to the dinar value
After WWII the Japanese and German currency exchange rates were intentionally held low to help the economy recover. If suddenly the dollar cannot buy as much in Iraq, this will slow the infusion of capital from the US and other countries. I believe it’s in their best interest to keep it undervalued. Dinar fans v. Non-dinar fans get as emotional as Ford v. Chevy, or Mac v. PC. I won’t get into that
but I strongly encourage everyone I see to invest only what you can afford to lose. Nothing is guaranteed in this world. I’d hate for someone to lose their home because it never revalued. Many people believe they will become millionaires overnight. Then, I say, don’t risk the farm to get $20 million when you can play it safe and still get $5 million! Greed can blind people to sound judgment. If it comes true, I’m happy for the investors.
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