PM Al-Zaidi orders $2.5B+ economic support package
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi on Sunday ordered five economic measures covering at least 3.5 trillion dinars ($2.67B), including redirected central bank funds, additional bank liquidity, and payments to contractors and farmers.
According to Al-Zaidi’s office, one trillion dinars ($763M) from existing Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) initiatives will be directed to real estate and housing, while the Trade Bank of Iraq and Industrial Bank will receive at least one trillion dinars ($763M) in additional liquidity to finance industrial projects.
The Finance Ministry will provide 500 billion dinars ($382M) to settle contractors’ dues and another 500 billion dinars ($382M) for farmers. A further 500 billion dinars ($382M) will be added to the Future Generations Fund Initiative, raising its balance to 1.5 trillion dinars ($1.15B).
The farmer allocation matches the 500 billion dinars that Finance Minister Faleh Al-Sari said on September 13 would be released during September toward overdue agricultural payments. The statement did not specify whether Sunday’s allocation represents a new tranche or implementation of the earlier commitment.
Al-Zaidi called for rapid implementation of the measures, while the CBI said it was ready to support banking stability and provide monetary and financing conditions supportive of economic activity under its existing policy.
An informed source told Shafaq News in September that most state-owned banks had stopped issuing loans and salary advances because of limited funding and insufficient liquidity. Finance Ministry data released on Sunday showed a 26.329 trillion dinar ($20.16B) deficit through July, with spending of 65.424 trillion dinars ($50.10B) exceeding revenues of 39.096 trillion dinars ($29.94B).
