Truck and Barter

Hello TrashBucket!

Great Job man... a good for iraqi dinar fans... i am constant visiter of previous threads, that were full of information and hope for the future...keep it up guys!

Good Luck to you all!

Good luck to those about to go over and serve, whether military or civi. It is brave people like yourselves that make me confident about the future of Iraq, and of course, the dinar!

Glad to see this thing keep going. Lets hope our troops have sucess in the next few days.

Friends! Can any body tell in the event of NID increase exchange rate set after Jan 2005 Elections, which is the safe and easier way to get them exchange back to local currencies like $, Eur or Yen etc.
And also what are odds?????

Regards,
Sheikh

Sheikh,

Once the NID hits the open market, you can fly into London and exchange them at HSBC and have the funds wired back to your local account. Or you can fly to Kuwait and trade them at any major bacnk in Kuwait... Or you can take a nice trip to the Caymans and trade them in at any World Bank affiliate..

Good Luck,

Ian

When the ID goes back on the market, I was under the impression that we could go into any international bank here in the US and convert it back to Dollars. Why would we have to fly to London or the Caymans? I am new to this board, and I have learned lots of great info from here. I am anxiously awaiting the Dinar comeback as well. I have 4 million waiting!

Pamela,

Going on the market may happen, at least that's what all of us on this blog hope for anyway. Someday walking into an international bank In NYC and converting dinars will be possible however that will be sometime from now. Stability in Iraq will be the key to it all. Iraq;s national reserve is backed by the USD right now along with 8- % of the world. So long as the dollar holds in the world market and the world still conducts microeconomics and marcoeconomics with the Dollar not the Euro we should all have a grand retirement party in FLA someday down the road.
If the Euro turns out to be the all mightly USD of the future (figuritively speaking I hope.) Hurry up and haul ass overseas to some safe peaceful country and depoist those dinars in an international banking account as dinar and covert those dinars to whatever is strong when you feel like it is time to cash in.

John, US Navy.

Thanks! Ian

I see all the comments, what you say makes sense. "Good Luck to All Dinnar Group"

But why can't we just convert NID at any local bank at once instead of flying to London, or Kuwait, ..etc ?!!!!

who/what determines when the NID goes back on the market?

Dwilamar,

The Alumanatii tell us when, lol, jus kidding. Not realy sure on that one, maybe IMF and World Bank do, looking into it.

I have about 7 million in ID's.
Has anyone look or research the Kuwaiti money before the Desert Storm War in the 90's. I was told some of the similar outcomes may have happen that are happening when Kuwait lost it's value during the invasion of Kuwait. I have heard rumors that the Kuwaiti dinnar reached a low of .10 cent which it could be bought. But yet never heard of a profit made on the Kuwait dinnar after it built back up strength through the 90's and was introduced back on the World market.
Please if someone has creditable info please provide it.

meal-ticket......MANY people profitted from the KD.....its 3 dollars= 1 KD today .....sooooo thats the stink about the IQD now....it will bounce up like the KD did

Can anybody tell me if it is possible to get better exchange rates. online you get about 900/1 and current rates are 1460/1
has anyone found a better deal

All of this with the dinar is pure speculation. My wife and I have ratholed a little and are hoping for the best but it may never pan out. The bottom line is that the possibility of a very good profit is too good to pass up. If we loose several hundred bucks.. oh well. She's got that much in shoes ratholed under the bed. I KNOW they won't make a profit! My advice is don't go overboard and don't make your kids go hungry so you can purchase dinar. Family comes first.

BigAl-
How do You KNOW they wont appreciate?
whats your research?

JL

JL - I was talking about my wife's shoes. I believe the dinar will go up but it may take a while.

JL - Ha Ha... I get it... I wasn't clear in my post. It looks as though I said the dinar is ratholed in my wife's shoes. What I meant to say was she spends alot on shoes and that is a poor investment. BigAl >

Guys'can any body tell or predict when ??????????NID????apprciate???when???? just arrange or time please..............

Morning all,

Rate flux was starting to go up and down, very little on FX converter over the past few weeks. Maybe that is a sign of some things to come, good or bad, well I'm just not sure not sure. You all know that beside the Euro and the NID these are the only new money to hit the world in decades. Look at the Euro, 13 countries, some with exchange rates that were way below the dollar, now look at them, all hold strong to the dollar. If Iraq goes Demo, look at the Demo countries around it like Saudi, Kuwait, UAE, and Bahrain. All of them all around Iraq and they all trade a 3 USD to their money and all deal heavy in Oil. That was enough for us to buy our dinar. My Wife is over in Bahrain (Navy) so we are buying it a a 1440 to 1 rate which is about 700 for 0ne million dinar. We figure, what the heck whats 2100 bucks, we have the money and surely have wasted more than that before on nothing worthy. Hell I would have spent that much on my 69 Nova SS this year, now I'll just let the project car sit for another year. One can only hope. Glad to be an American that's forsure.

Shoaib M S

I don't think ever the World's best Financial specialists will step out on a ledge and make that call Shoaib. I myself think when it does go up it will make one initial huge jump up. Think about it this way. Iraq is all over the news right now, and everyone knows toilet paper is stronger to the dollar right now than the dinar is. If the NID were to slowly come up than many more poeple, than just us big dreamers, would get on the wagon and try to cash in. So in order for that not to happen and IRAQ banks go broke, from outside investment in there new currancy, they will have to jump it up pretty good the 1st time to prevent a major OVER interest/investment in the currancy as not to allow the New banking system to go belly up in a short time from people trying to turn a few extra bucks. Rather I think that about .0010 % of the people in the world are even looking at this as an investment, to much risk for most people. We could get paid big if that jump were to take place. Slowly would be bad for the exchange rate. All this is my opinion with news and personnel interest in what Happened in Kuwait. Being that My wife and I are navy I have been all over the MIdeast countries and trust me when I say that those countries are very rich and It alwasy sucked to exchange the USD a 3 USD to one in those countries. Hell did you all know that 1 Pair of levis over there is 120 american dollars, COFFEE at STARBUCKS was Almost 10 USD just last summer when I was there. Say a pray for my wife guys, she is over in that area till Xmas.

John

John

Thanks for your veiws. We Pray for you & your wife's health, security and WEALTH also in future.

I belive any thing can happend after elections in Jan 2005.

I bought 125,000 NID from http://www.safedinar.com/ for 125.00. Overnight shipping brought it to 149.00. And it was COD. No paying up front. And not too bad a price. Does anyone know of a better/less expensive way to buy?

Yes I do. You can open an Iraqi Bank account with an Iraqi Bank and get the exchange rate that that the baks get in Iraq. Keep reading and you will find out how to do this.

Anyone who reds this forum knows who I am. I am the man who is in Iraq right now and sees the things that you do not hear about on CNN or FOX news. I get an opportunity to meet a lot of Iraqis and am currently doing business with some very especial people. Look guys I get about 2-3 emails a day from people wanting to open up an Iraqi bank account with Al-Warka Investment bank located in Baghdad. The reason why people listen toi what I have to say is not becasue I am selling something, but because of the great opportunity that I give people. It would be so nice if you could be here with me to see all the financial progress that we are going through. I would like to congratulate all of the people that I have helped and will help in the future for opening bank accounts with an Iraqi Bank.

Here is what you need to do to open an Iraqi Bank account;

REMEMBER TO DO ALL OF YOUR REASERCH BEFORE MAKING ANY TYPE OF INVESTMENT. IF YOU NEED ANY HELP THEN JUST LET ME KNOW.
the bank website is alwarkabank.com. They are also at the iraq stock exchage borse at isx-iq.net.
You will have to scan all of the information that you need send to the banks email address. The addresses are warkabank@hotmail.com or warkabank@yahoomail.com.

All you need is this when opening up accounts with this Iraqi bank:
1. Your driverse lisence. NEVER SEND YOUR PASSPORT OVER THE WEB, IT IS TO RISKY.

2.Letter #1:
"I ,your name, authorize al-warka bank to open a US dollar savings account and an Iraqi Dinar savings account for me at the said bank."

(your name and date
your signiture

3.Letter # 2:
"I ,your name, authorize al-warka investment bank to withdraw from my US dollar savings account a certain amount. Then exchange that certain amount for Iraqi Dinars at the exchange rate that the Central Bank of Iraq has set for that day."

"your name and date"
your signiture

The bank is called Al-Warka Investment Bank and these are their corresponding banks. I used this one:
Jordan national bank P.L.C
Swift Code: JONBJOAX
P.O Box 1578
Amman 11118Jordan .C.R.6
Our A/C No. in US Dollars../ 98-02-303123-967322-02

Thank you for your 2 e-mails dated July 17, 2004 and July 17, 2004 .
Thank you for choosing our bank to be your assistance for your financial needs
in Iraq, and it give us a great pleasure to deal with you in our bank . Sorry
for the delay , we have a day off in Friday
You can open two accounts, one in Iraqi Dinar and the other in US Dollars
.For this we need copy of your passport or any official document, specimen of
your signature duly attested, full address, small picture , once the account is
open you can transfer your funds to our bank through one of our corresponding
banks:

Housing Bank for Trade and Finance
Swift Code: HBHOJOAX
P.O Box 7693
Amman 11118 Jordan
Our A/C No. in US Dollars../ 0019583140201

Fransabank S.A.L
Swift Code: FSABLBBX
P.O Box 11-0393 – Beirut 11072808 – Lebanon .
Our A/C No. in US Dollars../ 00500304–03-93002098

Jordan national bank P.L.C
Swift Code: JONBJOAX
P.O Box 1578
Amman 11118Jordan .C.R.6
Our A/C No. in US Dollars../ 98-02-303123-967322-02

International Bank for Trade and Finance
Swift Code: GBTFSYDA
P.O Box 10502
Syria – Damascus
Our A/C No. in US Dollars../ 601-11300-2-3510-0

For exchanging your funds into Iraqi Dinar we ask you to sent an
authorizing letter to our bank signed by your goodself ,to enable the bank to
exchange Dollars to Iraqi Dinars . The form of this authorizing letter is as
follows:
“I ---------------- authorize Al-Warka Investment Bank to draw from my Dollar
account ( current or saving ) in the above Bank and exchange the Dollar into
Iraqi Dinar according to price fixed by the Central Bank of Iraq at that day ,
and then deposit it in my Iraqi Dinar account at the said bank” .

Also we must inform you that any drawing from such account should be made
by you personally or by written authorization from your goodself , and please be
informed that you can not transfer any Iraqi Dinars out of Iraq because it’s
not allowed by the regulation of Iraqi Central Bank .
Kindly inform me what kind of accounts do you need (is it current or saving ?
).

Please find below our charges:
· Transfer fees 0.125% .
· Open Dollar account ( saving or current ) 2$ .
· Open saving Dinar account 1000 ID .
· Open current Dinar account 1500 ID .
· Account statement 2$ .
· Purchase Iraqi Dinar 1.5 ID for each Dollar .
· Purchasing Iraqi Dinar the Central Bank of Iraq take 1 ID for each Dollar

Kindly be informed that , we will draw these charges from your goodself account
.

The amount of exchanging Iraqi Dinars against the Dollar is variable
depending on the market but you can follow the changes through this web site
:"http://www.iraqdirectory.org"
Once your goodself send the informations I need , the accounts will be open .
Thank you again for contacting us and if you need any further information ,
please do not hesitated to contact me .
Dear sir , we remain .
Best regards .

International Relationship Department
Miss Randda B. Al-Shakir

This is their addresss: The best time to call is at 8 am Iraqi time at 964(country code of Iraq) 1 717-2045.

Thank you for your e-mail dated July 17, 2004.
If you want to open only Dinar account , where I will deposit your funds ( Dollars ) when you transfer it to our bank ? it’s better to open a Dollar account .
You can send ( copy of your passport or any official document, specimen of your signature duly attested, full address, small picture ) by e-mail , but if you like to mail it ,our address is :

Head Office
Baghdad – Iraq
Hay Alwihda – Sec. 902 – 14th St.
Tel: 7174970 , 7172828 , 7178444
Fax : 7179555
P.O. Box : 3559 Elwiya
E-mail: warkabank@hotmail.com
warkabank@yahoo.com

My phone number is : 00964 1 7172045
00964 1 7193555
Mobil: 00964 1 7901 403659

When the account open ,I’ll notify you by e-mail .
Whenever you need bank statement , just notify me and I’ll send it to you by e-mail .
We don’t have an ATM or credit card or money machines in Iraq but we are working in it .
Also we must inform you that any drawing from your account should be made by you personally or by written authorization from your goodself , and please be informed that you can not transfer any Iraqi Dinars out of Iraq because it’s not allowed by the regulation of Iraqi Central Bank .
You can contact me be e-mail or phone .
When you transfer your funds , deposit in our account in one of our corresponding banks that I gave you before and write “ to be paid for ( your full name ) ,A/C no. ( your Dollar account no ) , Warka Investment Bank – main branch”.
You can transfer your funds from your bank in your country to our corresponding bank .
Dear Sir , we are a very known , respected bank in Iraq and out of Iraq too .

Best regards .

International Relationship Department Randda B. Al-Shakir

Keep up the good work in investing. I think that something exting will accur when the Iraq Stock Exchange opens up to forein investors next year.

Any questions just email me at mcleron5@hotail.com

vador,

thanks for the NONINFORMATION....... i guess it was better than non..... haha.. i also pray for you and your wife.... i honor the men and women that are willing to sacrifice for us. am proud to be an american.

thank-u...............

Friends! New on this forum, I went through all the comments in past and current sessions, its really difficult to access what is right! and what is wrong!!! but I am sure that US Army and all other service man doing a big job there in Iraq, hope every one comes back home SAFE!

About the Dinnar can any body give true estimate how much to 1$ USD is expected in 1st hit after Iraq elections or still its speculations!!! will it be gradual increase or it will jumps at once!!!! if I estimate my 5 mil NID can give me fruit with in next 6 months??? will it be a generious estimate???

"About the Dinar can any body give true estimate how much to 1$ USD is expected in 1st hit after Iraq elections or still its speculations!!! will it be gradual increase or it will jumps at once!!!! if I estimate my 5 mil NID can give me fruit with in next 6 months??? will it be a generous estimate??? "

------------

This investment is not a short term- get rich (6 months)
The NID will open By January,_IF_ the debt reduction can be reduced substantially (85%+)
Many, including Myself are predicting an opening
of 1460/1USD(present rate)
and rise growth as security,stability of Iraq's economy improves.
Investing in the Dinar is more of a 'going long'
proposition(5-10yr)

http://www.investorsiraq.com/index.php?

Note that permalinks have been added to the comments, so you may now more easily reference each other...

:)

Let me know if you run into trouble.

kevin@truckandbarter.com

My regrets if your comment was accidentally deleted.

JohnLarue,

Where do you get your information from? You seem so confident in your remark.......please advise.

I just got back from Anaconda - mortars were incoming several times a day. The vehicle I was driving on base was hit by shrapnel from one. Working an 84 hour week and wearing the 50lb. PPE gear finally got to me so I left early, but not before learning about the NID. I've since purchased 2M of the NID's. I know we'll succeed in spite of the chaos. I've done a 10 year study of Iraq before my brief tour over there with KBR. There are several reasons Iraq will become an economic powerhouse. More info can be found at my web site.

Following are several examples why Babylon (present day Iraq) must be a literal, physical and a specific geographical location:

Babylon has not yet completely fulfilled bible prophecy in being utterly destroyed (Jere. 50:26; 51:26, 55, 62; Rev. 18:19, 21) and never again being inhabited forever (Jere. 50:13, 39). The subsequent kingdoms Persia, Greece and Rome conquered Babylon, but never destroyed her. Babylon has been occupied for millennia. After the deportation of the Jews to Babylon, when their seventy years of captivity was completed, only a remnant of Jews returned to rebuild Jerusalem (see: Ezra and Nehemiah). Many continued to live in Babylon. They were even there in the first century (James 1:1; 1 Pet. 5:13).

Babylon is yet to be a future great city and geographical located in what today is Iraq. God commands His people to "come out of her" and "flee from the midst of Babylon, and each of you save his life" before He destroys Babylon (Rev. 18:4; Jer. 51:6). It is clear that in the context of these verses that Babylon is a literal, physical city that God is about to destroy. Babylon is referred to as a literal, physical "great city" more that once in the book of Revelation as well (Rev. 17:18; 18:10, 16, 18, 19, 21).

Babylon will intoxicate the nations with her immorality (Rev. 17:1, 2; 18:3). True, the religious aspect of Babylon, the Harlot, has existed throughout history since originally introduced with the tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1-9) and is depicted as "sitting" (Rev. 12:3; 13:1; 17:3-6) on the seven kingdoms (heads; mountains): Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Median-Persian, Grecian, Roman and finally will "ride" the back of the beast (Antichrist with ten nation confederacy) in the last days (Rev. 17:7-18). Now, this religious/economic system, which began on a "plain in the land of Shinar" (Gen. 11:2) will return to where it first began in the last days (see: Zech. 5:5-11). Ancient Shinar was the same geographical location of Babylon, which today is in Iraq. Babylon (the Harlot) will be a religious/economic world center once again. [Art used by permission by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992. Click here to visit her "Revelation Illustrated" site.]

The four empires described as beasts in Daniel representing Babylon (Iraq), Persia (Iran), Syria ( that is one of the four regions of the Grecian kingdom that Alexander the Great gave to one of his four generals to rule), and Rome, are given "an extension of life" and it "was granted to them for an appointed period of time" (Dan. 7:12). Therefore literal Babylon will again have it's place geographically in future bible prophecy.

Just as Israel was often and mistakenly spiritualized, prior to 1948, because no one could believe the literal fulfillment of God's prophetic word that Israel would again be restored in the last days (Ez. 35 and 36), Babylon too is often and mistakenly allegorized as merely existing only in a spiritual sense.

WOW

hi all,

I am a a us army soldier stationed over in iraq.... we got here about 3 months ago and have 10 or so to go.... i just wanted to thank you all for the info on the dinar... some of us older folks are just now doing research on it.. and this answered alot of my questions

be safe

SFC Chris Colligan

1/503d IN REGT

Combat Outpost

Iraq

Wow Ralph, that was interesting to read.... Thanks for the research.. Makes a lot of sense!!! To All Soliers Here, Thanks for the job you are doing. I pray for all of you everyday.. Please come home safe :-)

Chris, Thanks for your service and enjoy your tour! Airborne! All the way!

does anyone know why the CBI hasn't updated it's rates since LAST Saturday the 11th???

does anyone know why the CBI hasn't updated it's rates since LAST Saturday the 11th???

When wa the last time you visited site?
Rates are updated.

Bank was closed sat thru wed for Eide holiday

thanks for responding john,
I am looking at the rates and it still shows the 11th....i refreshed it and it still shows the 11th. so there is something wrong with my computer??? what day does it show when you look at it??

As of now the CBI is showing Thursday 2004/11/18 (1460.000/1459.270).

http:/www.flash.net/~saints/babylon.htm

Is Ebay a good place to buy the Dinar?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6537207/

Creditors to forgive most of Iraq’s debt
Germany and U.S. reach agreement, finance minister says.................

Wow........................ this is HUGE towards stabalizing the NID

Just a matter of time.

http://www.jubileeiraq.org/blog/

not finalized just yet

deal expected on Sunday

A source at the Paris Club of creditors told Reuters that the deal was likely to be finalized Sunday, adding: "There is an agreement between the main creditors on (cancelling) 80% of the debt." A US official said: "The discussion in the Paris Club is now more on the technical side... and we expect things will be wrapped up soon."

Hi,
You might find further information on Al-Jazeera web site. Here is the refering link to the point of writing-off debts

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/26C0E691-EFFB-4F01-A3AA-76CFBA65D185.htm

Wow, lots of information. One would think there is only information on the dinar here, come to find out you can get a history lesson as well. Very enlightening Ralph~
Now, about my thoughts on the dinar; I feel secure in the fact that this country will come up. When we were here in '91 everyone blew off the Kuwait Dinar potential, and now they are regretting that choice to not to invest. Consider how much money you have loss over the course of just a few months in either bad purchases be it food or a bad movie or spent for something you will never have anythign to show for it.

Me, I have nothing to loose and will gain if for no other reason than that I can say I was here, I came, I saw, I contributed, and perhaps I prevailed...Be Blessed And Prosperous in all you do Give Thanks.

Hello Everyone

Fun isn't it. Waiting....Contemplating....This is the hardest part of any investment. Time. Waiting for the pay off.....4 years of College....finally a piece of paper. 20 years in the military....a retirement check. 25 years....looking for my soul mate...then waiting for the engagement to get married. All good things in life are worth waiting for. I think we will all look back and say the same about this. Ciao

Hello there...

Just a bit of info to contemplate. Iraq will rise from it's ashes again. The thing is...what will happen in 5 years. If you have been reading Arab papers Iraq has applied to the GCC (Gulf Cooperative Council). The membership has yet to be approved..as a matter of fact Iraq was granted observer rights. The GCC has made 2 major announcements in the lst several months. (Keep in mind that the majority of the GCC members are large oil producing countries.) The first major announcement was at a meeting in Kuwait. All GCC members agreed to align the economies and banking rules to all meet the same set of pre-approved standards. The second major announcement was that by 2010 all GCC members were going to change/accept a new standard currency among them. This is following the model of the EU and the Euro. How does this stand with the Dinar? To be honest...I feel that there are too many pressures that will not allow the Dinar to do anything but rise in value. Political pressure for Washington and London. Private investors pushing the price up by purchasing the dinar for speculative purposes. Several GCC countries have given aid to help as well. The dinar will rise in value. It has to so that the big time players can cash out. The only thing that I feel certain about is the holding time of 5 years. I think that the GCC will have it's act together and on the right path to succeed. Hold your dinars for a max of 5 years is what I believe will happen. I think they will change again in 2010 and we will have another chance to play this game all over again. Ciao

John

Hey everyone, I read this today on yahoo news, 80% of iraq debt was signed off today.. The article also included this:

first tranche of 30 percent to be written off immediately. Another 30 percent will be canceled when Iraq agrees on a reform program with the International Monetary Fund (news - web sites) expected in 2005. The third and final tranche, representing 20 percent of Iraq's debt to the Paris Club, will be canceled in 2008, once Iraq has completed its 3-year IMF (news - web sites) program, Jouyet said
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20041121/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_debt
does anyone understand what this means?

John you said :"The dinar will rise in value. It has to so that the big time players can cash out"

where do you think the money will come from?
CBI has only about 4 billion USD in reserves

check this out!!!!!!

http://www.portaliraq.com/shownews.php?id=600

More Treasury Bills On The Way

The senior central bank official said the government would issue more Treasury bills to the secondary market to help create viable domestic capital markets and begin the process of trimming massive prewar debt.

The central bank auctioned Treasury bills from the beginning of July for the first time in years, so far selling 900 billion Iraqi dinars ($628 million) worth of three-month bills with coupons ranging between 2.5 percent and 6.8 percent to local banks, the official said.

The official wouldn't give details of the next planned Treasury bill auctions.

Iraq's central bank is also aiming to build up its foreign-currency reserves to improve the value of the local currency, the dinar, against the dollar, he said. He didn't provide a target exchange rate.

After bank notes with Saddam Hussein's picture were replaced in January by U.K.-printed ones embedded with security features that make them difficult to forge, the dinar has strengthened to 1,460 against the U.S. dollar from around 3,500 against the dollar during the U.S.-led invasion last year.

I am about to purchase 100K in dinar (4 25000K bills), once the it starts to gain value against the dollar, how do I exchange it. Can I go to any bank?

Im about to jump into the Dinar pool with some of you fools! Thought about the shoebox method, but have decided to open an Iraqi account. Heard too many good things from those you have done so. Plus i want in on their stock market: ISX.

This is a chance of a lifetime to buy and suppor the new country before they open their money to the foreign markets. Please someone remind me to sell when it doubles in value. Or wait, at triple Ill sell! :) thanks for the great posts.

When is the dinar getting value....what will be the currency policy of iraqi government after the january elections... does the written-off iraqi debt will affect the future dinar value!....i request to guys to respond who are in iraq.. what are the ground realitites and what are the near-future perspectives?

Best wishes to all!

Casanova- call Miss Cleo perhaps she can help you
with your crystal ball questions....

JohnLarue - i called Miss Cleo.. but she didn't respond, i am not sure about whether she exists.. but i am sure about you...and urge you to say something useful.. if you can't.. just stay your fingers crossed...!!!

We all must stay POSITIVE!!!!

Is this good news or bad news ?!!!

(Iraq parties want polls to be put off)

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B869217C-3556-4BDB-B3EF-7BD8CF7AA88C.htm

Thanks everyone, the posts are great reading. But has anyone noticed that the NID broke its 6 month support level of 1452? Would any of you bulls out there care to share your professional opinion on this small but significant move?

Currently the NID is at a fixed rate of exchange
by the Central Bank of Iraq(Cbiraq.org)
The only rate info that is accurate is from this site.
It cannot move until it opens on the Forex market.
It is not on the market at present- so there is no movement.

How does one get access to Stocks in the ISX? Thanks.

Has anyone attempted a test withdrawal of funds from their Al-Warka (or other) account? If so, was the process successfull or troublesome? Also, will the bank issue any type of VISA or Mastercard Cheque/Debit card? Thanks.

Setting up account with Al-Warka

re: post Dan November 15, 2004 11:49 AM

Has anyone stateside set up an account with Al-Warka? If so, what kind of timeline is reasonable and how is the language barrier?

Also, how did the wire xfer to one of the corresponding banks work for you?

Well Darring let me tell you. I honestly thought that dan was full of it. So I emailed the gy and he gave me an email that showed me excatly what to do to open an iraqi bank account with al-warka investment bank. I was surprized after 3 days of reaserch that it is all true. I called the bank at this number 964(country code of iraq) 1 717-2045 and asked Randda B. Al-Shakir. I got one of their representtitives and had to continously tell them that I needed to speak to someone that speaks english. After about 1 minute the representitive got the picture and patch me to her. She told me everything I needed to open an Iraqi Bank account so I emailed Dan and asked me to send me the same email again and so he did. I Scanned my driverse lisence and the two letters that I needed to give them and send it out to warkabank@hotmai.com. I had to send ti twice because they get so much email evey day that they proably run out of space. I got my US dollar savings account number and my Iraqi Dinar savings account number about 4 days later. They apologized for the delay because of the fact that they are getting so many more foreign costomers. I then send a wire transfer of 1000.00 US dollars from my bank in New York to Jordan National Bank PLC and that took about 7 days to get there. Then another 2 days for it to get to al-warka investment bank in Baghdad. The next day Randda B. emailed me about receiving the money. I then called her so she would send me tanfer papers from what bank it came from and also to excahnge 600 US dollars and exchange it for Iraqi dinars. She did and I got 879,000.00 Iraqqi dinars put in my account. You see I put a traking number on that wire tanfer and called my bank in New York and Jordan National Bank to see if everything was legit and yes it was. I now not only have an Iraqi Bank account, but they are also lisence to buy and sell stocks on the Iraq Stock exchange for me when it opens up to foreign investors. And you know I am going to get in on that. Well anyways here is dans email if you want to make fun, prove hime wrong, or praise him for doing a great job. mcleron5@hotmail.com

Also here is the email that he send me:

REMEMBER TO DO ALL OF YOUR REASERCH BEFORE MAKING ANY TYPE OF INVESTMENT. IF YOU NEED ANY HELP THEN JUST LET ME KNOW.
the bank website is alwarkabank.com. They are also at the iraq stock exchage borse at isx-iq.net.
You will have to scan all of the information that you need send to the banks email address. The addresses are warkabank@hotmail.com or warkabank@yahoomail.com.

All you need is this when opening up accounts with this Iraqi bank:

1. Your drivesrse licence. Never send your passport over the net it is to risky.

2.Letter #1:
"I ,your name, authorize al-warka bank to open a US dollar savings account and an Iraqi Dinar savings account for me at the said bank."

(your name and date
your signiture

3.Letter # 2:
"I ,your name, authorize al-warka investment bank to withdraw from my US dollar savings account a certain amount. Then exchange that certain amount for Iraqi Dinars at the exchange rate that the Central Bank of Iraq has set for that day."

"your name and date"
your signiture

The bank is called Al-Warka Investment Bank and these are their corresponding banks. I used this one:
Jordan national bank P.L.C
Swift Code: JONBJOAX
P.O Box 1578
Amman 11118Jordan .C.R.6
Our A/C No. in US Dollars../ 98-02-303123-967322-02

Thank you for your 2 e-mails dated July 17, 2004 and July 17, 2004 .
Thank you for choosing our bank to be your assistance for your financial needs
in Iraq, and it give us a great pleasure to deal with you in our bank . Sorry
for the delay , we have a day off in Friday
You can open two accounts, one in Iraqi Dinar and the other in US Dollars
.For this we need copy of your passport or any official document, specimen of
your signature duly attested, full address, small picture , once the account is
open you can transfer your funds to our bank through one of our corresponding
banks:

Housing Bank for Trade and Finance
Swift Code: HBHOJOAX
P.O Box 7693
Amman 11118 Jordan
Our A/C No. in US Dollars../ 0019583140201

Fransabank S.A.L
Swift Code: FSABLBBX
P.O Box 11-0393 – Beirut 11072808 – Lebanon .
Our A/C No. in US Dollars../ 00500304–03-93002098

Jordan national bank P.L.C
Swift Code: JONBJOAX
P.O Box 1578
Amman 11118Jordan .C.R.6
Our A/C No. in US Dollars../ 98-02-303123-967322-02

International Bank for Trade and Finance
Swift Code: GBTFSYDA
P.O Box 10502
Syria – Damascus
Our A/C No. in US Dollars../ 601-11300-2-3510-0

For exchanging your funds into Iraqi Dinar we ask you to sent an
authorizing letter to our bank signed by your goodself ,to enable the bank to
exchange Dollars to Iraqi Dinars . The form of this authorizing letter is as
follows:
“I ---------------- authorize Al-Warka Investment Bank to draw from my Dollar
account ( current or saving ) in the above Bank and exchange the Dollar into
Iraqi Dinar according to price fixed by the Central Bank of Iraq at that day ,
and then deposit it in my Iraqi Dinar account at the said bank” .

Also we must inform you that any drawing from such account should be made
by you personally or by written authorization from your goodself , and please be
informed that you can not transfer any Iraqi Dinars out of Iraq because it’s
not allowed by the regulation of Iraqi Central Bank .
Kindly inform me what kind of accounts do you need (is it current or saving ?
).

Please find below our charges:
· Transfer fees 0.125% .
· Open Dollar account ( saving or current ) 2$ .
· Open saving Dinar account 1000 ID .
· Open current Dinar account 1500 ID .
· Account statement 2$ .
· Purchase Iraqi Dinar 1.5 ID for each Dollar .
· Purchasing Iraqi Dinar the Central Bank of Iraq take 1 ID for each Dollar

Kindly be informed that , we will draw these charges from your goodself account
.

The amount of exchanging Iraqi Dinars against the Dollar is variable
depending on the market but you can follow the changes through this web site
:"http://www.iraqdirectory.org"
Once your goodself send the informations I need , the accounts will be open .
Thank you again for contacting us and if you need any further information ,
please do not hesitated to contact me .
Dear sir , we remain .
Best regards .

International Relationship Department
Miss Randda B. Al-Shakir

This is their addresss: The best time to call is at 8 am Iraqi time at 964(country code of Iraq) 1 717-2045.

Thank you for your e-mail dated July 17, 2004.
If you want to open only Dinar account , where I will deposit your funds ( Dollars ) when you transfer it to our bank ? it’s better to open a Dollar account .
You can send ( copy of your passport or any official document, specimen of your signature duly attested, full address, small picture ) by e-mail , but if you like to mail it ,our address is :

Head Office
Baghdad – Iraq
Hay Alwihda – Sec. 902 – 14th St.
Tel: 7174970 , 7172828 , 7178444
Fax : 7179555
P.O. Box : 3559 Elwiya
E-mail: warkabank@hotmail.com
warkabank@yahoo.com

My phone number is : 00964 1 7172045
00964 1 7193555
Mobil: 00964 1 7901 403659

When the account open ,I’ll notify you by e-mail .
Whenever you need bank statement , just notify me and I’ll send it to you by e-mail .
We don’t have an ATM or credit card or money machines in Iraq but we are working in it .
Also we must inform you that any drawing from your account should be made by you personally or by written authorization from your goodself , and please be informed that you can not transfer any Iraqi Dinars out of Iraq because it’s not allowed by the regulation of Iraqi Central Bank .
You can contact me be e-mail or phone .
When you transfer your funds , deposit in our account in one of our corresponding banks that I gave you before and write “ to be paid for ( your full name ) ,A/C no. ( your Dollar account no ) , Warka Investment Bank – main branch”.
You can transfer your funds from your bank in your country to our corresponding bank .
Dear Sir , we are a very known , respected bank in Iraq and out of Iraq too .

Best regards .

International Relationship Department Randda B. Al-Shakir

Good luck to us all.

Steve,

thx for the feedback. The bank is setting up my account now...

btw, how many of you have read thru the CPA laws that the new Iraqi govt has accepted? In essence, every logical law for a true, democratic free market is in place. All other things being equal, a business in Iraq will have a double digit advantage over one in the EU or even the US, due to simplified taxes, low overhead and the lack of vested interests. This is indeed a blessed time for the citizens of Iraq and a market opportunity for all of us.

If only they could get that key element
that ties all this together....

_Security_ ,_Security_,Security_!

Security>stability>economic growth>reconstruction
training of the IDF ,and and the elections being a success
and all the ethnic-political factions
getting along.....

without the security, nothing else really matters
or is gonna mesh

Does anyone knows if the Election is still on schedule for Jan 05.

does anyone know why we would have to email warkabank@HOTMAI.com vs the address on the site: warkabank@alwarkabank.com?

I am just an everyday blue collar guy, that heard about his investment and could not resist the investment. I have read through all the entry's but I am still unsure of the best way to go about exchanging my newly acquired investment. If this works I am willing to travel, that's a no brainer. But I have contacted several banks in Seattle and in LA and none can help me. Can any of you tell me the best to do this? I have 1 million Dinar and I worry that Banks will not be able to support such an exchange. Can you ease my mind or tell me a good contact. I am not sold on the opening of a bank account in Iraq. Is this just ignorance, or is there somewhere in the States to do this?

regarding Warka bank
Randda Shakir(rep) is handling all requests
thru the hotmail address

Iraq's Infrastructure is not up to
the par the way we use instant electronic
bank transactions for obvious reasons

alwarkabank.com
does not have a secure connection
for the above reasons

I am just an everyday blue collar guy, that heard about his investment and could not resist the investment. I have read through all the entry's but I am still unsure of the best way to go about exchanging my newly acquired investment. If this works I am willing to travel, that's a no brainer. But I have contacted several banks in Seattle and in LA and none can help me. Can any of you tell me the best to do this? I have 1 million Dinar and I worry that Banks will not be able to support such an exchange. Can you ease my mind or tell me a good contact. I am not sold on the opening of a bank account in Iraq. Is this just ignorance, or is there somewhere in the States to do this?

Tom-
You can't convert the NID at US banks until it opens on The Forex and banks accept NID
at present the only way to sell/convert NID is in Iraq or on Ebay.it is an Illiquid currency
But you really do not want to sell now do you?
not at the present rate of $1USD/1460 NID

John,
Thanks for the response. No I do not want to cash out now. But from what I have researched, I am worried that the Dinar will jump in value before it is on the open market, if that happens what is our best option?

Tom-
The NID is at a fixed rate of exchange by the
CBI 1460,highly doubtful it will move before it
is on forex.
If you have purchased Dinar already,I am missing
what you are saying in regards to NID appreciating?
"banks will not be able to support"??
need more clarification in what you are asking?

John,
Sorry, I am new at this. Your saying the NID cannot change until it is on the open market, right? And about the the banks, when the NID goes to market and we are all able to cash out, there will be a flood of people with millions of dollars worth of Dinars standing in line. Will local Banks be able to support such exchanges?

Tom-
You probably should do some research on the Forex Market.
When a currency opens for Interbank on the Forex, there is both Buying & selling.
There are many factors that determine the
value of a countries currency.What happens
when the NID opens is anyones guess as this is
an unknown.
Iraq has yet to show any signs of security,which is a large factor regarding Foreign Investments
& stability.
There is also the finalization of debt relief to consider , along with the upcoming elections
and all the ethnic-political factions working
together.many factors that will determine the value of the NID
IMO the Nid when it opens will open at or close
to it's present rate: 1460NID/1USD
That being said, then I don't foresee a huge sell-off.
Another thing to consider is that when people sell ,there will be people buying at the same time.
If the NID went to .01 cent(100dinars per 1 USD)
the banks would buy at a rate below that,and resell at a rate above the actual rate.
I think this is a 4-8 year deal IMO,rather than a short term get rich quick.
Bottom Line: the NID is not going to open at some magical rate as many Dinar sellers post on their sites(.33 or $3)Those are just unrealistic
numbers IMO

Hope that helps

Hey everyone,, seems to be much confusion these days about the NID.. Well I worried and worried for several month's just like you guys.. I even considered saleing my dinars at one time... But two months ago, I decided what the hell, I put my dinars in fire proff medal box and put them under my bed and just forgot about them.. And I still buy a few off ebay when i have the money.. I just dont worry anymore.. I know this was the investment of a lifetime when i heard about.. Im just going to sit back and wait to be watching cnn one morning and here that the NID has gone on the market at a record high value.. Then I will tell my wife "honey we dont have to work anymore" Thats just the way Im handeling this thing.. Take care everyone!!!!

I find your knowledge and comments very informative. I, too, belive that the Dinar will open at about 1460 and gradually move up, but I am convinced that there is a great future ahead for Iraq and the Dinar. President Bush is dedicated to insuring the success of Iraq even if it bankrupts the U.S. so the Dinar has to succeed
in order for our mission there to be successful.
I have 23 million and look forward to a magnificant retirement.
BAMA-FAN

I agree with you bobby floyd.... however, i think it will hit the market much higher than your concession

Someone posted this on another website
How would an opening of .31 be realistic
if this was true??

-------------

If for example,an Iraqi makes $342 USD monthly/500'000 NID
w/ the NID exchange rate @1460
and the Dinar was to go to .31

Wouldn't that mean an increase to $155'000 USD
on that monthly wage,or 453X the present wage ?

or a 10'000 NID note going from 6.84 to $3000 USD

does this sound realistic to you?

----------------

The only ones that would benefit from an increase
in Iraq would be the individuals that had NID
stashed away before rate appreciation ,and ones who were holding dinar outside country.

i.e., an iraqi making 500'000 or $342 USD
at present rate of 1460/1USD and the rate were to go to .31/1USD
the Iraqi's salary would be adjusted to compensate- he would then get paid 1103 NID
equal to the $342.

Only previous holders of currency, and us
outside the country would benefit!!

What's positive? 1)terror is ending 2)the people desire democracy 3)the world is paying for Iraq to succeed with the sacrifice of blood (war) and money (debt) 4)the reform is uniquely and highly organized through the aid of USA. 5)surrounding countries are now investing in Iraq and its stock market. 6)the IMF has approved 5.5 million for finacial restructuring last week. 7)Oil flow reached pre war volume last July 04 and is forcast to be 3 million barrels per day by the end of 05. 8)New curriency and banking laws 9)The first time ever in the history of our planet when so many have given so much for the recovery and well being of a people who have been devistated by war. 10)Our prayers continue daily for thoes who saccrifice blood and effort for the good people of Iraq. 11)Much more can be listed here...pitty we can't find it on CNN 12)NID will recover its value and soon because Iraqi's want it more than we do. They want the "Green backs" out.

can any one tell me the best place to buy dinar

If you are looking to buy the official New Iraqi Dinar, I can help you. I am an american and ex Marine. I have any denomination and any amount you would like. Please send your request to Reid1p2003@yahoo.com

Mr. P

To All

The Iraqi dinar is way to much of a good thing to pass up. For example: if it goes up to $.01 a $1,000 USD investment would make you $9,000 USD. Personally a country that has over 10 Trillion Dollors USD worth of oil under it's ground and all means of technology and capability with the help of all the countrys that are suporting the country to pump out over 70 Billion Dollors USD per year. I really do not see an increase to a penny wishfull thinking in the slightest. I almost see it as a sure thing.
Now yesterday I was trying to inform one of my friends, that i have not spoken to in a few months, about this wonderfull prospect and the posibility that a $25.00 investment in a 25,000 IQD note could make him $25,000 USD if it did by some chance go to 1 to 1. He tore into me like a banchi on crack. Preaching to me on how it my become the next Mexican Paso. After he sat back and realize that the paso is 11 Pasos to $1.00 he reavaluated his position and realize that this was a great opertunity. So for the cost of a meal and a coctail i would highly sugest to atleast get one 25,000 IQD note.

Thanks
Ian

Hi to all.I have enjoyed reading all of your posts,went back to the begining. I to believe in the future of Iraq. I have heard that Wells Fargo Bank would be the first US bank to exchange the Dinar? Any one else come across this info? Thanks and good luck to all.

Joe,
I concacted my local Wells Fargo and the person on the phone told me that they would be accepting it in a few weeks. I don't know if that's fact or not, that's just what they told me. Any help???

US banks can not exchange(convert) NID
until the time the dinar goes on the Forex market
and is internationally traded and recognized as
such.
At present the NID is at a fixed exchange rate
by the CBI and the only place you can convert to USD is in Iraq.
So any bank telling you they will be accepting
and converting in a couple weeks is without
fact.

Forget about everything, buy some NID's with funds that you may not need for 3 -4 years, and hibernate. Don't spend too much, US $ 1k to 2k is fine, not more.

Remember, there are 6 trillion NIDs, 4 trillion in circulation, so don't be over optimistic, $0.1 would be an ambitious estimate.

Iraq may demonetize it currency soon, probably after the elections.

fellow dinar speculators, hear is the skinny. When the new iraq money finally does become a traded currency, you will not have to worry about where to trade your notes in. There will be many options for you. The first and most liquid will be the private sector of middle men who will be willing to " redeem your notes" for cash or cashiers check at the drop of a dime. Obviously the minimal discount that they will be offering will be peanuts compared to the millions you have just recieved from your investment. These private sector, independent brokers will be your fast and convinient way to transfer your now valuable notes. However, be aware that the rates will be changing rapidly and on a daily basis when this first happens. so be smart and dont be fooled by the sharks who promise to give you cash when they recieve your Dinar notes. These transactions should only be held with your legal representative present and both of you in the same room. Even if you are only cashing in on One Note.

Anyone on this post in Baghdad?

I am having all sorts of trouble faxing to Miss Randda B. Al-Shakir and my emails with attachments are not being acknowleged.

Would someone on the ground there be able to take my word doc file to open the account and fax it to alwarkabank?

Thanks again all:

Darrin H.

Hey Darrin this dan the guy that put the post up on how to open an iraqi bank account with Al-warka investment bank in Baghdad. So I see that you are having a bit of a problem. Remember that when email some thing to warka investment bank it could take up to 3 days for them to send you your personal accounts. I suggest you send your scanned informaiton in pdf form. And by the way if you can not send your information via fax. The reason why this is because most fax machines are not colored they are in black and white. So you can only scan and send your information that you need to give them over the web. Any other questions call the bank or just email me at mcleron5@hotmail.com

I am glad that you addressed your problem because I have been receiving emails from new people that want to open acounts about this emailing problem.

Well anyways good luck to us!!!!!!!!!

Hey Dan why are you so hell bent on getting everyone to open accounts at Warka ? I suspect there is something in it for you. There are risks either way, in opening an account at United, Credit or Al Warka or in keeping high and low denominations stashed away until they can be deposited into an IQD account. I suggest if you are going to give investment advice you put a disclaimer at the bottom of your posts. You are not telling newbies the whole story as far as I'm concerned.

Foreign countries are notorious for assuming ownership of property and bank accounts when leadership changes. I wouldn't drop a dime into an Iraqi bank. Think they have F.D.I.C over there? NO!

As for the doubters out there who believe this is a joke and we will all watch our dinar transform into pretty toilet paper: How long do you think a country with 90% of the region's fresh water supply and biggest part of the worlds oil supply is going to remain impoverished?

This is a war torn country. I speculate the dinar will be restored to pre-war value of .32 to the USD in order to stabilize the economy. I might be wrong, but these people have been getting bread and beans in trade for oil (Food for Oil program)for nearly 13 years and now they will be getting $$$. I'm sure thats going to contribute to the stability and appreciation of the Dinar a hell of a lot more than WonderBread and Cornflakes.

I find it strange that everytime someone has a query or problem contacting Miss shakir, dan magically appears to answer. Having thought about opening an iraqi account myself,I would like to know what actual proof you guys have that you have an actual functioning bank account. For example has anybody done this simple test?
Simply ask for some of your money to be exchanged and sent back to you.

On USA Today currency page- the Iraqi Dinar is tracked daily along with all the other world currencies- with a significant flux

1,436.52 dec 1
1,429.62 dec 6
1,459.90 dec 7
1,470.20 dec 8

yet on earlier posts- its said to be at a fixed rate- that the value cannot change- could someone please explain this moving fixed value? should we be waiting/expecting this number to drop before the money is traded officially?
Thank You

Update? Have heard the the NID'S will open for trading end of Feb or first of Mar/05.Rumor of range of .06-.15 USD. This info came from a high ranking offical of a international US bank.Good luck to all!!!!!!!

On USA Today currency page- the Iraqi Dinar is tracked daily along with all the other world currencies- with a significant flux

1,436.52 dec 1
1,429.62 dec 6
1,459.90 dec 7
1,470.20 dec 8

yet on earlier posts- its said to be at a fixed rate- that the value cannot change- could someone please explain this moving fixed value? should we be waiting/expecting this number to drop before the money is traded officially?
Thank You

Posted by: jm at December 9, 2004 10:53 AM | Permalink

Read the disclaimer/terms of use at any of the sites where you obtained these rates they all (oanda,FX,XE) say:

NO INVESTMENT ADVICE. The information contained on the Web Site has no regard to the specific investment objective, financial situation or particular needs of any specific recipient. OANDA does not endorse or recommend any particular securities, currencies, or other financial products. The content published on the Web Site is solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as solicitation or any offer to buy or sell any spot currency transactions, financial instruments or other securities. OANDA does not represent or guarantee that any content on the Web Site is accurate, nor that such content is a complete statement or summary of the marketplace. Nothing contained in the Web Site is intended to constitute investment, legal, tax, accounting or other professional advice and you should not rely on the reports, data or other information provided on or accessible through the use of the Web Site for making financial decisions. You should consult with an appropriate professional for specific advice tailored to your situation and/or to verify the accuracy of the information provided herein prior to making any investment decisions.

The NID rate is being held at a fixed exchange rate by the CBI ;

Fixed Exchange Rate A currency regime in which the monetary authorities strive to maintain a stable value for the local currency relative to a foreign currency (usually the currency of that country's main trading partner)The NID is currently at a fixed exchange rate by the CBI with the USD Often the fixed exchange permits flunctuation within a band.

Thank you John.

I apologize in advance for my ignorance on the subject - I'm new to this want to understand the bigger picture-

What does this current swing, after months of almost no change, represent? Today at 1,478.49, its down 48.87 in trade value since Dec.6 ...With all the rush to obtain this money- wouldn't the value be rising? What do you speculate is causing the value to drop? (Could influential people cause it to drop to accommodate certain investors ready to buy?)

Here's a better question-
Is opening a bank account over there necessary, considering that once it starts to trade on the board- it becomes legal tender- which can then be exchanged thru your broker or international bank - or however all the other foreign currencies are traded on the market now?

again JM there is no trade,there is no change
the nid is _no_t being traded on the open international market forex to affect a rate change

it is at a fixed rate by the central bank of Iraq @ 1460, period.

To: Mr. LaRue
I have been watching your comments now on here for some time. I would like to thank you for your input....it is hard hard to tell whether you are borderline cynic or pessimist. These people here are investing their money...in one fashion or another into the Iraqi economy. No...it will not be an over-night wake up and BAM...we're all drinking martinis at the Rainbow Room in NY. It will be a slowly progressive climb. There are too many groups that have their own agenda with Iraq. The only reason that we see America's is that we are accustomed to our own personal favorites for the press and rely on them almost entirely. Iran has it's own politcal agenda with Iraq...the Kurdish people have their own agenda...the US...EU...all of them. But their is one factor that is inevitable. GREED. If is a factor that has been a constant throughout time. Too many people...though many in their own personal ways...want Iraq to succeed. 99% I am willing to bet are to make as much money off of the oil in Iraq as they can. Iran to pay off the debts for the decade of fighting. Kuwait for reparations of the DS1. The GCC..wants to be and is the controlling head of the OPEC groups will secure that with Iraq safely in its folds. Yes the price of oil is volatile..and we curse everytime the price goes up. But one factor will not change. Demand for oil. That is the bank that you asked about. That is why all these nations are "forgiving" billions in war debt. The demand for oil is great. Will be until the last expensive drop is sucked up and we are forced to find a new formidable energy source that the giants of industry can manipulate and control to their benefit because it works for their business plan and will not change it for the next 10 years. Greed. That is why I know that the Iraqi Dinar will rise in value. Go ahead...analyze it some more....derrive your pessimistic outlook. Sounds a lot like the people who said that K-Mart was done. Locals who sounded a lot like you said that their cohorts and other assorted towns people were crazy and unrealistic in in leaving. The crazy people landed at Plymouth Rock. From what I have learned in my travels and life...people who stand behind the others and yell "You are crazy!" or "You're not being realistic!" are just protecting what has worked for them for so long and resent the notion that something beyond their comprehension and beliefs my benefit another. Thank you though for your input. It does prove helpful and insightful at times. You always remind us that we are taking risk in one way or another to help bring the country of Iraq to become and develop it's true identity. Whether or not we came over here under those intentions or not we do not have to answer for....But I have seen the childrens faces when you bring them more school supplies in a single box than what they were allowed for an entire year under Saddam. The people were oppressed. They have no true identity of themselves. FOr the most part...they still don't. We are raising a fledgling. In every sense possible. That means they will grow. So will that bank reserve that you asked about. Time. Patience. These will make us wealthy. The Iraqi Dinar will rise. It has to. The world cannot afford for it not to. Ciao

Mr. LaRue...

One more question for you. Financial professionals are told what to sell, advise and recommend sue to the fact that the firms that they represent have a vested interest in seeing a particular single fund/stock/currency/commodity do well. It is also in the best interest of these "professionals" to steer you to their particular specialty due to the commissions factor. No one in their right mind that works in a US based financial institution will advise you to purchase the Iraqi dinar. Being that the case why do you tell us to seek professional advice and recommendations. I quote: " You should consult with an appropriate professional for specific advice tailored to your situation and/or to verify the accuracy of the information provided herein prior to making any investment decisions." That was supposed to be sound advice. What should have been said was "Trust No One. Research and Make Your Own Investments. At The End Of The Day...You Are Responsible and Liable. Not Them. Ciao

J

John

Mr. Larue...

What are your views in 5 years if the new state of Iraq joins the GCC? They are currently planning a currency change that will be used by all GCC countries based on the Euro model. It is has been stated by the Iraqi goverment that all government subsidies will stop in the next three years. This has to mean that they will be expecting a higher value of the dinar within that amount of time. Your views on this please. Ciao

J

John-
You misread my post regarding investment advise
I was not giving advice to anyone.

I was simply stating that under the 'terms of disclosure' on various currency converter sites they took no responsiblity for the rates being accurate.

I'm still wondering if opening a bank account over there is necessary? When it does start to trade on the open international market- can't it be deposited and traded the same way other foreign currencies are traded on the market now? (How do you put foreign money you have on hand- into the trade market? - I only hear about buy/sell money that's already considered to be in there)
Thank you

I'm still wondering if opening a bank account over there is necessary? When it does start to trade on the open international market- can't it be deposited and traded the same way other foreign currencies are traded on the market now? (How do you put foreign money you have on hand- into the trade market? - I only hear about buy/sell money that's already considered to be in there)
Thank you

Trading on interbank forex market is done electronicaly w/ATS in futures & options
Not quite the same as hard currency in hand
When you take foreign currency to bank they just convert to USD and send to a bank repository that has demand for NID

Hi all,

I'm just getting ready to leave Baghdad with just over a million dinar, and I've heard some strang rumors:

1. You're not allowed to take dinar out of the country. They check for them at the airport. (I'm not too worried about that one.)

2. Even though its only $700 worth, the dinar have to be declared at customs, despite my understanding that only currency in amounts over $10,000 have to be declared.

3. If you don't declare it when you bring it in country, they are going to slap you with a $300,000 fine when you cash in. That one is pretty bizarre but one of the KBR guys said his wife got that from some agency in florida.

Any insight into these possibilities?

Call customs....wait till you get back to Camp Victory Kuwait and ask a customs guy to make sure they will be all over the place...anything over $10K has to be declared. The rest is all hype. enjoy your tour and thanks for serving!

re: customs laws taking foreign currency out of Iraq

http://www.customs.gov/linkhandler/...y_reporting.doc

It's the foreign currency equivalent value in USD is the amount, not the amount of NID/IQD you have....($10'000 USD or more )

So 1Mil NID @ $685 ,then there is no requirement to declare, namely the sum/amount of money is too small in value.

check this out:

The untold story of Iraq's economic revival



The DailyStar - 11/12/2004

By Alan Larson

There is a story about Iraq that has not been told. The latest chapter was written Nov. 21 when the Paris Club creditors agreed to write off 80 percent of Iraq's external official debt owed to its members. As President Bush said, this agreement represents a major international contribution to Iraq's continued political and economic reconstruction. But there is more to say about the economic successes in Iraq - a lot more.

In 1979 Iraq had a per capita living standard on a par with Italy. By the fall of Saddam Hussein's government, Iraq had the GDP of an impoverished developing country and had become the most heavily indebted nation in the world. This grim legacy, compounded by a serious security situation, poses big hurdles to economic development.

Despite these problems, the Iraqis are persevering and succeeding. Iraqi policies made it possible for economic output in the first ten months of 2004 to be 51.7 percent higher than in 2003. Per capita income in 2004 is projected to be $780, up from approximately $500 in 2003.

The Iraqi government has set forth a solid medium-term economic plan. The newly independent Central Bank is keeping inflation in check, with the Consumer Price Index rising only 5.7 percent in the first eight months of 2004 compared with 46 percent in 2003. The new dinar has appreciated 27 percent against the dollar in the past year.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi Oil Ministry is doing an excellent job of restoring production, despite continuing attacks on oil infrastructure. In September 2004, Iraq's crude oil production averaged 2.54 million barrels per day, which equals pre-war levels.

The Iraqi government has been working hard to reintegrate the country into the international economy. Iraq obtained observer status in the World Trade Organization in February 2004, and is taking the first steps toward full membership in the organization.

After months of in-depth negotiations, the Iraqi government signed in September 2004 an agreement with the International Monetary Fund worth $436 million. This agreement - the first interaction between Iraq and the Fund in over 20 years - is a signal that Iraq's economic policy is on the right track.

Iraqi reconstruction has broad-based international support that includes the United Nations, the Group of Eight Developed Nations, and major donor countries who pledged over $14 billion in grants and loans to Iraq in Madrid in October 2003, in addition to the over $18 billion pledged by the United States. This extraordinary level of assistance is an acknowledgment of Iraq's economic potential and recognition of its regional importance.

In September, I led a U.S. delegation to participate in Joint Economic Commission meetings with Iraqi counterparts in Baghdad. I came away from the meetings impressed with the Iraqis' expertise and commitment. The economic progress Iraqis have achieved so far, under very difficult circumstances, testifies to their competence and courage. This holds especially true for the men and women who make up the new Iraqi government, who, at great personal risk, are busy building their vision of a democratic and free Iraq.

Iraq still needs assistance, especially from industrialized nations. Such assistance should include support for security operations, the lynchpin to success in the near, mid- and long term, as well as reconstruction and investment. Help from developed countries would be especially welcome now as the Iraqi government paves the way for the country's first democratic elections on Jan. 30, 2005. As Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Saleh said at an October donors' meeting in Tokyo, assistance is not charity, but an investment in a better future for a country in a vital region.

Alan Larson is the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs.

Interesting...

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/12/10/92627.shtml

Yes it is Scott. Somewhere down the road i think the world will end up with only three currencies, the Dollar, Euro and the Chinese Yuan.In the future??

Just a little blurb on how things are going over there (macro view):

#construction projects from 230 to over 1000
http://globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2004/12/mil-041216-dod01.htm
#new airport
http://www.portaliraq.com/shownews.php?id=677
#and, of course, upcoming events
http://www.ameinfo.com/news/Detailed/50699.html

Talked to the Branch Manager at the wells Fargo in my town. He said they had received correspondence regarding the exchanging of the NID earlier this week. He also stated that if you have an account with Wells Fargo the won't charge a conversion fee when you exchange Dinars. And he didn't know when they would begin exchanging it.

Just a note to let everyone know Warka has changed their e-mail address. It is now info@warkainvestmentbank.com this one is for General Info, next is c.accounts@warkainvestmentbank.com that is the new address for opening accounts. Randda said they changed their address because there were so many complaints about having a hotmail and yahoo account for the addresses. This and much more info can be found over at www.investorsiraq.com , and usually Randda can be found in chat at 11:00AM CST Mon, Fri, and Sat. under the screenname WarkaBank. Warka is a real bank I spoke with one contractor in the Green Zone whose firm has purchased several vehicles in country, and used the same process to transfer money to an Iraqi car salesman's Warka account. Oh yeah I have no affiliation with Warka nor do I endorse, just putting out info here!!

Later Ya'll, Josh

I am currently living in kuwait, and have bought 2 million dinar. I am wondering a couple things:

If the dinar went up a bit after the elections and I wanted to cash out just some of it, where would I go here in Kuwait?

also, if it was more than 10 thous USD that I traded in, would these exchange places just hand out that much in cash, would they give a cashiers check? could I get this wired into my bank in the states because you cannot carry more than 10 thou into the states.

Just wondering how this would all work!?

Thanks!

http://news3.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-12/16/content_2340115.htm

One dollar currently buys 1460 Iraqi dinar, but that does not necessarily mean the dinar is cheap.
This article is not going to make me popular in some quarters. It seems that there are some folks selling dinar to the US retail market, though there not as many who are also willing to buy . The sales pitch for dinar often goes like "if each dinar were only worth one cent" ... you would make a killing.
That, alas, is not going to happen. End the war, and Iraq's economy should be bigger than the $20 or $25 billion it is now. So the dinar might (and emphasis should be placed on the might) do something like double in value if (a big if) all goes well in Iraq over some time frame. It also might fall if things go poorly.
But Iraq is going to remain a relatively poor country for some time. The dinar is not going to go up by a factor of ten, let alone the factor of fifteen needed for one dinar to buy one cent. That would be like the euro appreciating so that one euro bought ten dollars, or the yen appreciating so that ten yen bought one dollar. Like Martin Wolf, I think the dollar has further to fall, but even I think that kind of change is just not going to happen.
Make no mistake, the big brokers selling dinar are making a profit no matter what. The central bank was selling dinar this morning for 1460 , so a million dinar cost about $685 in Baghdad. A broker is offering a million dinar for $790 over the internet. Getting the dinar out of Iraq probably takes a bit of effort -- the broker is offering a real service -- but that is still a nice markup ...
Buying dinar is one way of diversifying out of the US dollar, but anyone considering making an interest free loan to the Iraqi government (that's what buying dinars as an investment implies) ought to understand the risks. The dinar is not exactly a candidate to be the world's next reserve currency.
1) If you are buying dinars, you are betting on real appreciation through nominal appreciation of the currency -- that is to say betting that the way the purchasing power of Iraqis will increase is through a rise in the dinar's value. If the currency appreciates in nominal terms from 1460 dinars to the dollar to say 1000 dinars to the dollar, an Iraqi that makes say 10,000 dinar a day would be able to purchase $10 rather than @$7 of the world's goods.
2) You lose if the nominal exchange rate goes down, obviously, for whatever reason -- civil war, lower oil prices, etc. You also lose -- or at least don't win -- if Iraq's dinar stays stable in nominal terms but the currency appreciates in real terms because of inflation in Iraq. In that case, our Iraqi's salary would go up to 15,000 dinar a day rather than 10,000 dinar, but the exchange rate would stay around 1,500 dinar per dollar. The Iraqi could then buy $10 of the world's goods even though the exchange rate stays constant. Iraqi citizens are richer, those holding its currency abroad are not. This is not an entirely unrealistic scenario.
3) Iraq's government has fairly strong incentives to keep the currency stable -- it is one of the few signs of political and economic stability the government can point to. It also has some incentive to resist letting the Iraqi dinar rise in real terms. A stronger currency makes imports cheaper and any Iraqi production (to the extent there is Iraqi production) relatively more expensive. Not exactly the best way to solve Iraq's unemployment problem. The Iraqi government, one presumes, does not want Iraqi wheat production, for example, to be uncompetitive with imported wheat.
4) Oil alone does not make betting on Iraq's currency a slam dunk, to paraphrase George Tenet. With production @ 2.5 mbd (November seems to have been a bit lower) and with oil at $50, Iraq is getting a fairly solid revenue stream -- nearly $2 billion a month -- from its oil right now. Even if the security situation stabilizes and, over time, Iraq can bring more oil production on line, it may do so in a less robust world economy with lower oil prices. So Iraq may make less money from selling a larger amount of oil than it does now ...

Some people think they have made huge gains by betting on the euro over the past few years. It is up 40% or so in dollar terms. That kind of huge gain certainly is possible. But like I said in my post, it is hard for me to see the dinar doing more than doubling (giving iraq a $ GDP of 40-50 billion) even in a good scenario, at least over the next few years. The really huge gains some talk of imply a valuation of Iraq's economy that strikes me an unrealistic. Bottom line: I would think of it as a gamble, but one more more like wagering one to win two than wagering one to win ten.

Brad,

I suggest that you return to your research. It is quite apparent that you have put a very, very limited amount of time into your above post. We are all quite aware of the risks involved in this endeavour. Nobody is in this for the weekend. In fact, most of us are expecting a five to ten year period. But you must be advised. Iraq is holding all the chips...it doesn't matter who says or thinks what. Oil is the bottom line. All the other babble is just that...babble. I invite you to spend some time, say a week or so, researching the topic(s). Then come back and post intellegently.

Brad, You better go back to school and do more research on Economics 101

Brad, You better go back to school and do more research on Economics 101

the person that above article by Brad that that just lifted it from
this site- http://www.roubiniglobal.com/setser/
it is by Brad setser a global economist
with credentials;

Education:
D. Phil., M. Phil., Oxford University; DEA, Institute des Etudes Politiques de Paris; B.A., Harvard University.

http://www.cfr.org/bio.php?id=8937

FYI, Brad Setser did not repost his original material; somebody else did a piss-poor job of copying it, without permission.

Hi folks,

I was trying to allude to the fact that this was not an "original post" when I responded and advised "Brad" to return to research and put in some more effort. Seems to be just another naysayer trying to flex his rather limited intellectual muscle. It sure is nice to see posts that represent some effort though. It really makes the ones like ol' Brad's stand out...ha ha ha.

Hi Scott-

You seem to be knowledgeable about the dinar
Can you tell us from your perspective why that
article is wrong ?
Points 1-4 ?
Also why do you think that we will ever be able to cash our dinars in ?
without the Central Bank "playing dirty"
i.e; demonitizing, or reissue for those only in Iraq

Thanx
Red

Comment to Red's post...

Red,

You ask, "Why does Scott (pretty much all of us) think that we'll ever be able to cash in our NID - without the Central Bank of Iraq playing dirty, i.e. demonitizing the dinar, or reissuing it; and only for those in Iraq."

I'm not as savvy as most on the issue, but it would seem to me (...and, someone please correct me if I'm wrong here...) that there would be too much outside pressure/influence for them to do anything like that.

[That could only be possible if persons unfavorable to the U.S. government were to come into power - and I don't think GWB is going to allow that to happen anytime soon.]

There's still world trade status to consider, along with the confidence of outside investors and their pending contracts with the Iraqi government. This being the case, I believe that they're under the proverbial microscope.

All eyes are on them for them to be as honest and above board as possible in their banking transactions. And, to continue to make "doing business in Iraq" look as attractive as possible to outside investment.

Even with all of the killing and destruction currently taking place in Iraq, companies and foreign governments are still flocking to Iraq to get a piece of the pie. If the CIB suddenly "flips the script" and begins operating like a Mafia money laundering front, then that would certainly undermine the high degree of credibility the bank currently enjoys, which would definitely slow the country's recovery - if not stop it all together.

My optimism regarding the future of the NID comes from looking at all of this from a common sense approach. To be perfectly honest, in all my reading on this subject, I have not heard one crebible argument as to why investing in the NID is less than a 50/50 proposition - at a minimum. (...my own estimates are more like 95/5 for it to appreciate.)

Maybe I'm over-simplifying things more than I should; but, if the powers that be could focus on and resolve the current security issue/s in Iraq (in the short-term, rather than the long-term), then I'm sure Kevin B. would add some sort of celebratory animation to this webpage resembling fireworks and champagne corks flying around, etc., due to the fact that the NID ultimately fulfilled all of the promise, we so adamantly knew it held.

Right now, the lack of security in Iraq is the only impediment to the trade of the NID on open world markets.

Remember, The value of the NID was steadily rising ever since it's inception last Oct. 15, 2003 (1800+ NID:$1.00 USD), but ground to a halt and leveled off to where it currently stands (1460 NID/$1.00 USD) right about the time the contractors were burned and hung from the bridge in Fallujah back in July.

Much of those gains were liked to the pending handover of power to the Iraqi's themselves at the end of June. If not for the escolation of violence since then, and with elections scheduled to be held the end of January, I would estimate the NID would be somewhere around 1000 NID/$1 USD (if not better) today; and continuing to rise.

Even with the escolating violence the NID is still holding strong; and that's certainly a good sign. Under normal circumstances you would expect it to regress (even just a bit) toward it's original issue value of 1800+:$1USD, but resounding confidence in the currency is preventing that from taking place.

So, all things considered, I still believe its a matter of "when", and not "if"; regarding the NID increasing in value. ...And, I honestly can't fathom any good reason for NID investors not being able to redeem their NID for USD/s (when the time comes) - and at a tidy profit.

Just my $.02...

This chat-line is becoming much more intellectual in that we are getting some comments from people who seem to understand international economics. I am a novice but I believe that anything that works locally, works internationally. I firmly agree with Bill on 21Dec04 that Security, Security, and Security is the key to our seccess. All other facets of our endeavors there seem to be on track. When the Dinar opens, I expect a small, immediate gain and a continual gain thereafter. I do believe that we are going to have to suspend the provisions of the Geneva Convention until we get the terrorists under control. They are a cancer on the civilized world and are not entitled to protection under rules of war or under the benevolent feeling that we have for criminals in this country. Thanks for allowing me to voice my controversial opinion.
BAMA FAN

Don't forget, Kuwait's currency was worthless after the war and within a year it rose to 68 cents. Think negative if you want, but Democracy will rule and the dinar will become valuable.

Could someone tell me a website to go to in order to get most current exchange rates of the iraq dinar to the US dollar?
Thanks
DK

Could someone tell me a website to go to in order to get most current exchange rates of the iraq dinar to the US dollar?
Thanks
DK

http://www.cbiraq.org/cbs6.htm

Here is a converter, but there is no conversion re: NID at this time. Keep checking though. It will happen.

http://www.xe.com/ucc/full.shtml

I saw a selection for the Iraqi Dinar there. There is also a negative spin on purchasing Dinars for investment there

This is truely just an opinion with no "facts". It addresses skeptics of Iraq Dinar. 5-10 years, ya right. With Iraq due to have an actual government next month they will have to have a currency to exist. It's that simple... They are not going to be able to fund any type of government with pennies.

Again just an opinion. Pessimist are saying the opening rate will be no different than the current rate. Here is a little math. 1 U.S. = 1460 dinar. 1 barrel of oil around $45 U.S. $45 x 1460 = 65,700 dinars per barrel. Roughly 2 million barrels sold per day. 2 million x 65,700 = 131,400,000,000 Dinars per day. I think 1460 dinar per dollar is EXTREMELY underinflated. My guess on opening day is 1 dinar = .31 cents. Also something else to think about. The dinar is at a locked in rate by the cbi. This rate means Nothing... The dinar is rising in value every day. The cbi rate is not current. It was locked in a long time ago. Before the foreign debt relief. Again just an opinion....

If there is any profit made exchanging the dinar in the future (hopefully near future), will there be any applicable taxes to be paid??

Tom -
yes on Taxes -it's called 'capital gains'

i talked to a foreign money investor and he said he has never had to pay taxes on currency exchanges.he just exchanged alot of euros.i don't know if that is true,but before i go to the i.r.s. and offer them money i will surely check with a tax consultant first.

If you are cashing in 10'000 USD or above
there are taxes ,below from an attorney

Given that, the next question is the character of the gain: ordinary or capital. If the currency is honest-to-God acquired for investment, and if none of the exceptions to the section 1221 definition of a capital asset apply (e.g., stock in trade, held for sale to customers, and so forth), then the gain is capital gain. If not, it is ordinary income.

If it is capital gain, then the final question is which of the capital gain rates apply. See section 1(h) (which probably will not be in its present form in five years).
Legal Terms - Capital Gains
Capital Gains information: Profit that is realized upon the sale of an asset is called a capital gain. Capital gains are subject to a capital gains tax in most circumstances.

Legal Term Banking Information

Currency Information: Currency is the money that is used and that is accepted in the market, whether it is cash in the form of paper and coin, or chickens, in that currency is what people trade for other goods as a medium of exchange. The U.S. currency is dollars.

Bottom line....there will be a tax on any appreciation in the value of the dinar you possess.

Questions remains on whether it wil be taxed as "ordinary income" or short/long-term "capital gains". Taxing it as Capital Gains, as most know, is very much preferred in comparison to an ordinary income classification.

CHECK THIS OUT!!!!
YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BELEIVE THIS

NEW IRAQI CURRENCY IN FEBUERY 1 2005

http://cbiraq.org/cbs10.htm

The Central Bank Iraq announces issuing coins for circulation as of 2/1/2005 according to the specifications stated below , whish will have the same legal tender mentioned opposite to it :

The front side of the coin : the map of Iraq with two dates Hegira , 1425 and A.d.,2004

The Back side of the coin : contains a circle that has the denomination of the coin inside ( 25 Dinar),(50 Dinar ) , ( 100 Dinar ) , at the top the phrase ( Central Bank of Iraq ) , at the bottom the