DINAR IRAQ AND DONG VIETNAM UPDATE, 30 AUGUST

by Dinares Sun Aug 30, 2020 1:40 pm

PARLIAMENTARY FINANCE: THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND’S SUPPORT FOR IRAQ IS SUBJECT TO TWO CONDITIONS

Classification: Iraqi

Monday, 24 August 2020 3:51 PM

Baghdad / National News Center – A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Jamal Cougar, announced today, Monday, two conditions for the International Monetary Fund to support Iraq with important loans and projects.
“The meeting that the Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, conducted during his visit to Washington with the Director General of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, is very important to the Iraqi state,” Cougar said in a press interview, followed by the National News Center.

He added, “The meeting held between Al-Kazemi and the International Monetary Fund is very important, in general, because when there is direct interaction from such institutions and the World Bank, it means that the situation is stable, which prompts these institutions to encourage countries that have relations with them to support Iraq with projects or loans. Or investments or charitable projects such as donations.

Cougar explained, “We hope that Al-Kazemi has been able to persuade these institutions to support Iraq and obtain infrastructure projects from them,” noting that “the International Monetary Fund announced a while ago that it was ready to support Iraq with an amount of about $ 2.2 billion.”

Cougar continued, “But so far, the amount of money from the International Monetary Fund to support Iraq has not been determined.”

And a member of the Finance Committee stated that “there are two conditions for the International Monetary Fund to support Iraq, namely:
The first is for that money to go to infrastructure projects, not to salaries and the operational budget, and the second is for the atmosphere to be appropriate for the establishment of those projects, meaning providing an appropriate security and investment environment.

My question today is how can Iraq all of a sudden qualify for IMF loans? What changed? I believe it is the backing by the US and the promises they made for radical change and elimination of the Iran from their county that changed things. I am not talking about the US backing any loans but backing Iraq militarily and politically. Get it? But remember this is only still promises and so we have to wait and watch it play out. Getting rid of the militia is key. Getting rid of the currency auctions is key. Getting out of OPAC sanctions is key to our investment.
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KHAZEMI: THE CHALLENGES ARE GREAT AND WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE THE COUNTRY TO THE RIGHT PATH

Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi affirmed, on Wednesday, that the challenges facing the government are great and that we can take the country to the right path.
Al-Kazemi said during the cabinet session that “REMOVING IRAQ FROM THE POLICY OF AXES IS THE APPROACH THAT THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT IS TAKING, and it is in the interest of our people.” He explained that “balance and moderation and dependence on strengthening cooperation, especially in economic relations to ensure the interest of Iraq is what we seek in our relations with countries.”

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U.S. TREASURY SAYS VIETNAM DELIBERATELY WEAKENED CURRENCY

(Bloomberg) -- An investigation by the U.S. Treasury Department found that Vietnam deliberately undervalued its currency by about 4.7% against the dollar in 2019, according to a letter sent to the U.S. Commerce Department.

The State Bank of Vietnam, the nation’s central bank, facilitated net purchases of about $22 billion worth of foreign exchange last year, which had the effect of undervaluing the dong in a range of 4.2% to 5.2%, according to the letter. The purchases were estimated to have pushed down Vietnam’s real effective exchange rate by 3.5% to 4.8%. The Treasury’s assessment is part of an investigation by the Commerce Department into alleged subsidies on passenger vehicle and light truck tires from Vietnam. A new federal rule published this year in the U.S. allows the Commerce Department to treat currency undervaluation as a factor in determining countervailing duties on a trading partner. Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn’t immediately respond to an email request for comment, while a representative for the central bank wasn’t immediately available to comment.
The Ho Chi Minh Stock Index fluctuated on Wednesday and was up 0.2% as of 1:50 p.m. in Hanoi. The dong was little changed at 23,175 per dollar. The Treasury’s move is a sign that the U.S. COULD CITE VIETNAM FOR A SECOND VIOLATION IN A SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT ON FOREIGN EXCHANGE POLICIES OF MAJOR TRADING PARTNERS.

In the January release of that report, Vietnam was judged to have violated just one of three criteria that the Treasury uses to assess a currency manipulator -- namely, it had a bilateral goods surplus of $47 billion, the sixth-highest among the U.S.’s major trading partners. Economies with at least two violations are added to a monitoring list.