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Iraqi Governing Council Member Says Lebanon Will Release Money Confiscated From a Plane
The Associated Press
Published: Jan 31, 2004
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Lebanon has agreed to return to Iraq $15.6 million that it confiscated from a plane at Beirut's airport in early January, a member of the Iraqi Governing Council said Saturday.
Mouwafak al-Rubaie spoke to reporters about the cash after talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Airport officials seized the money - 19.5 billion Iraqi dinars - after it was found on a private plane that flew in from Baghdad on Jan. 14.
One of the Lebanese businessman on the plane, Mohammed Assem Abu Darwish, who was arrested and then released, was quoted as telling police that the money was to pay mainly for armored cars to protect Iraqi officials.
"We discussed many issues, including the issue of money in dinars held in Beirut," al-Rubaie said of his Hariri meeting. "This issue is in its final phase. God willing, this money will be released and returned to Iraq."
Al-Rubaie said Lebanon had also promised to return the funds that Iraq deposited in Lebanese banks during the regime of ousted President Saddam Hussein. But he did not give a date for when this would happen.
Lebanese authorities have said the money will be returned when Iraq has a sovereign government. Lebanon has not given a figure for the money, but the U.S. Treasury has said it amounts to $495 million.
Also Saturday, Al-Rubaie met Lebanon's top Shiite Muslim cleric, Ayatollah Sheik Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah.
He said Fadlallah wanted to see a quick end to the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, and that he explained to the sheik the process by which the occupying powers are scheduled to hand over authority to an Iraqi government on June 30.
AP-ES-01-31-04 2305EST

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Iraq allows in foreign banks
February 2, 2004 - 8:05AM
Iraq announced it has awarded Britain's HSBC and Standard Chartered and the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) the first licences given to foreign banks for 40 years.
The announcement came in a press release from the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) which also said it had decided to liberalise interests rates from March 1.
HSBC, NBK and Standard Chartered Bank were selected "to proceed to the final stage of the foreign bank licensing process" and should begin operations before the end of the year, it said.
They were selected from 15 applicants representing "strong international banks and prestigious regional banks from the Arab world and Gulf region" that responded to a CBI request for proposals which closed last December.
The CBI said it might select other banks at a later stage.
The CBI also said it will soon meet the three selected banks "to explain the remaining technical elements of the licensing process" and anticipated that "all three will be granted a license by mid-March 2004."
"The banks will be required to begin actual banking operations on-ground in Iraq no later than December 31, 2004. These banks will bring modern banking practices, capital and know-how to the Iraqi economy."
The invitation to foreign banks is the first since the banking sector was nationalised in 1964, four years before the former ruling Baath party swept to power.
Iraqi private banks were allowed to open in the early 1990s to compensate for the devastating impact of UN sanctions imposed after Iraq's 1990 invasion of neighbouring Kuwait.
The CBI also announced "the complete liberalisation of domestic interest rates."
"Effective March 1, interest rates on deposits, loans, credits, securities, and all other domestic financial instruments will be fully determined by market conditions," said a statement from the bank.
The CBI touted the decision as one more step to modernise and overhaul Iraq's rusty state-controlled financial system for a free-market economy.
"Supervision of all commercial banks, state-owned and private, is being strengthened to ensure that banks function according to international standards," it added.
The bank also disclosed plans to "establish deposit insurance to provide additional protection to small and medium sized depositors."
In September, Iraq announced liberal investment laws, allowing 100 per cent foreign ownership of companies.
?2003 AAP
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World Bank authorized as Iraq Trust Fund administrator
The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors have authorized the bank to act as an administrator for the Iraq Trust Fund which will finance a program of emergency projects and technical assistance.
The program is contained in the Interim Strategy for Iraq. It includes not only specific projects and technical assistance, to be financed by the trust fund, but also a program of economic and sector work aimed at laying the groundwork for an expanded development assistance program in the near future.
The Interim Strategy builds on the Bank's previous work in Iraq during 2003 and outlines a Bank-sponsored work program for Iraq for the next six to nine months.
Over the last two decades, the effects of war, misdirected resources, and Iraq's centralized command economy have stifled growth and development. Basic infrastructure and the education and healthcare systems have dramatically declined due to years of neglect.
International sanctions imposed in 1991 further crippled Iraq's economy. Despite the country's rich resources, Iraq's human development indicators are now among the lowest in the region.
Although reliable economic information remains limited, unemployment is high and there is severe poverty and vulnerability stemming from decades of economic decline combined with the impact of the recent war.
Preliminary estimates indicate that Iraq's gross domestic product (GDP) declined by about four percent in 2002 and a further 31 percent in 2003, amounting to an estimated $13-17 billion in 2003, or $480-630 per capita. This year, however, GDP is projected to increase by about 33 percent, bringing it to $17-22 billion or $620-810 per capita.
The work program detailed in the Interim Strategy is based on a Joint Iraq Needs Assessment of reconstruction and development challenges conducted by the United Nations and the Bank last year.
The immediate goals of the work program are three-folds--build the Iraqi government's ability to manage a reconstruction program, including administering large amounts of external funding in a transparent and accountable manner; initiate emergency programs to address urgent needs such as job creation and restoring basic infrastructure and services; and provide policy advice and analytical work that will pave the transition to a market-based economy and a medium-term development program.
During this interim period, the Bank will implement projects in close coordination with Iraqi officials out of a temporary office set up in Jordan. The Iraq Trust Fund is one of two trust funds that fall under the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq designed by the World Bank and the UN.
The Facility was created in response to international donors' request for a vehicle to channel their resources and coordinate donor financing for Iraq's reconstruction and development activities.
The Bank's lending services remain subject to Board approval on several issues including settlement of Iraq's arrears, the security situation on the ground, and the legal issue of Iraq's government. -- (menareport.com)
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Iraq grants licenses to three foreign banks
Iraq's financial sector was transformed yesterday when the Central Bank extended operating licenses to the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), UK-based Standard Chartered and the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank (HSBC), ending decades of a state-controlled industry.
"They can start operations as of the middle of March," said an aide to central bank governor Sinan Al-Shabibi at a recent press conference. "There will be another three foreign licenses announced shortly."
The opening of the banking sector is part of a comprehensive reform program announced by the US-supported Iraqi interim administration in September. The restructuring allows for six foreign banks to acquire up to 100 percent of local banks in the next five years.
Following this timeframe, there will be no limits on foreign bank entry into the country.
Foreign banks were expelled from Iraq in the 1960s. Following the first Gulf War in 1991, Saddam Hussein authorized for the first time the formation of private banks in Iraq. From 1992 until the end of the decade, 17 such banks were established. Up until the second Gulf War, however, these banks were prohibited by Saddam from conducting international transactions - including payments, remittances, and letters of credit. -- (menareport.com)
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Open for Business: Iraqi companies discuss contract opportunities worth $18.6 billion
Representatives of the US lead Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) held an open meeting with Iraqi business people on January 29, 2004.
Iraqi companies, together with the CPA's Project Management Office and Private Sector Development Team, discussed opportunities to bid for prime and sub-contracts from the Supplemental Budget.
The Baghdad Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Iraqi Industry, Federation of Iraqi Businessmen, Society of Iraqi Businessmen, and the Iraqi American Chamber of Commerce and Industry invited their members to the meeting, together with the Iraqi Business Center.
The CPA outlined its initiatives for training and financing of Iraqi companies to best prepare them to compete for contracts, and offered advice and incentives for Iraqi businesses to respond to tenders. -- (menareport.com)
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Reconstruction work to begin at Umm Qasr, Iraq
Work will start soon on a $10.3 million project to renovate the Umm Qasr Naval Base for the Iraqi Armed Forces. The project is funded through the Project Management Office (PMO) of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA).
The work at Umm Qasr is expected to be complete in approximately mid-May 2004. The prime contractor, US-based Weston Solutions intends to involve Iraqi contractors, suppliers and labor, stated a press release.
The PMO manages the $18.4 billion appropriated by the US Congress to support the reconstruction of Iraqi infrastructure. Umm Qasr project includes building renovation; construction of electrical, water and sanitary sewage systems; security improvements; dock repair and dredging. -- (menareport.com)
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Reconstruction work to begin at An Numiniyah, Iraq
Work will start soon on a $65.4 million project to rebuild the An Numiniyah military base for the Iraqi Armed Forces. The project is funded through the Project Management Office (PMO) of the US-backed Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA).
The CPA intends to involve Iraqi sources of subcontractors, suppliers and labor, stated a press release. The PMO manages the $18.4 billion provided by the US Congress to support the reconstruction of Iraqi infrastructure.
The An Numiniyah project, located southeast of Baghdad, includes the renovation of existing buildings and infrastructure on the base and the construction of new facilities to support operations and training. The prime contractor is US-based Earth Tech.
Work will also be performed on the water supply, wastewater treatment and power services at the base. The work is expected to be complete in approximately mid-April 2004. -- (menareport.com)
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Reconstruction work to begin at Al-Kasik, Iraq
Work will start soon on a $46.7 million project to renovate the Al-Kasik Army Base for the Iraqi Armed Forces. The project is funded through the Project Management Office (PMO) of the US-backed Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA).
The PMO manages the $18.4 billion appropriated by the US Congress to support the reconstruction of Iraqi infrastructure. The Al-Kasik project includes the renovation of existing buildings and infrastructure on the base and the construction of new facilities to support operations and training.
Work will also be performed on the water distribution, sanitary sewage, wastewater treatment, and electrical distribution systems at the base. Al-Kasik is located in the northern part of Iraq west of Mosul.
The work to support one brigade of the Iraqi Army is expected to be complete in approximately mid-March 2004 and the work to support a second brigade is expected to be complete in mid-May 2004. The prime contractor, Shaw Environmental intends to involve Iraqi sources of subcontractors, suppliers and labor, said a press release. -- (menareport.com)