Opposition groups in Syria’s North are opting to use the Turkish lira over the Syrian pound to take advantage of a more stable currency, while also deliberately seeking to devalue the Syrian pound and undermine Assad’s power.

Doing business with the lira also allows local merchants to carry out cross-border exchanges with Turkish companies. This has sparked an interesting controversy amongst Syrians, especially in Aleppo, where some see the use of the lira as anti-nationalist even though many also oppose the Assad regime. [GRI, 9/15/2015]

Egypt Central Bank seen keeping rates on hold
Egypt’s Central Bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged on Thursday as it balances efforts to control inflation with efforts to stimulate its struggling economy, according to economists surveyed by Reuters. Annual inflation accelerated after the government slashed subsidies last year but has since slowed down. It dropped for the third consecutive month in August to its lowest level in more than two years, with urban consumer inflation dropping to 7.9 percent in August. Three of five economists surveyed by Reuters said they expect the central bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) to keep rates on hold during their meeting on September 17. At its last meeting, on July 30, the central bank kept its deposit rate at 8.75 percent and its lending rate at 9.75 percent. It was the fourth consecutive meeting in which the central bank kept rates on hold. [Reuters, 9/15/2015]

Stalled oil field project adds to Iraq’s woes
A stalled project aimed at sustaining Iraq’s record oil production by injecting seawater into its southern oil fields has become a symbol of missed opportunities for a country reeling from falling crude prices and the war against Islamic State. By using water drawn from the Persian Gulf to extract oil remaining in the fields, Iraq hoped to expand the country’s output beyond its current 4.1 million barrels a day. The project’s completion isn’t expected until 2020 at the earliest—seven years behind schedule. Without it, production in Iraq’s southern oil wells is expected to decrease by some 10 percent a year, said Michael Cohen, head of energy commodities research at Barclay’s. The faltering venture, known as the Common Seawater Supply Facility, has become yet another example of how bureaucratic infighting and ethnic tensions have stymied efforts to modernize Iraq’s oil sector. [WSJ, 9/15/2015]

Tunisia launches project for 200 small, medium-sized firms
The World Bank and International Trade Center are launching a partnership to support 200 small and medium-sized Tunisian companies to aid them in joining web markets. The initiative is funded with aid pledged by the Deauville partnership (G8 2011) and has brought in Tradekey, a Saudi company that specializes in interfacing with virtual markets. The initiative is part of a larger project to help small and medium-sized firms’ across Tunisia, Jordan and Morocco to increase their international visibility and access new markets through computer technologies. [ANSAmed, 9/14/2015]

Also of interest

• Turkey: Unemployment rises slightly in June | Andalou
• Russia announces delay of Turkish Stream pipeline due to political crisis | BGN
• Egypt secures $339m from Arab Monetary Fund | AMEInfo
• Egyptian pound stable at dollar sale, stronger at exchange bureaux | Reuters
• EGX provides EGP 20 billion for listed companies since June 30 uprising | DNE
• Local Development Ministry to allocate land, produce methane gas from organic waste | AMAY
• Mexican tourists’ deaths in Bahariya Oasis furthers tourism worries say ministry officials  | DNE
• Al-Fahad Holding to establish real estate development company in Egypt | DNE
• Cairo governor announces five transportation projects | AMAY
• Kuwait to sell local currency bonds by year-end to met deficit, says minister | Reuters
• Saudi cabinet grants license to Qatari bank for first time | Reuters
• GCC wealth management demand grows as expatriates stay longer | Gulf News
• Iraq inflation index increases at a rate of 2.6 percent | Shafaq News
• Iraq’s reserves enough to maintain currency peg, says central banker | Bloomberg

Turkish lira or Syrian pound? Currency debate in Syria

Opposition groups in Syria’s North are opting to use the Turkish lira over the Syrian pound to take advantage of a more stable currency, while also deliberately seeking to devalue the Syrian pound and undermine Assad’s power. Doing business with the lira also allows local merchants to carry out cross-border exchanges with Turkish companies. This has sparked an interesting controversy amongst Syrians, especially in Aleppo, where some see the use of the lira as anti-nationalist even though many also oppose the Assad regime. [GRI, 9/15/2015]

Egypt Central Bank seen keeping rates on hold

Egypt’s Central Bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged on Thursday as it balances efforts to control inflation with efforts to stimulate its struggling economy, according to economists surveyed by Reuters. Annual inflation accelerated after the government slashed subsidies last year but has since slowed down. It dropped for the third consecutive month in August to its lowest level in more than two years, with urban consumer inflation dropping to 7.9 percent in August. Three of five economists surveyed by Reuters said they expect the central bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) to keep rates on hold during their meeting on September 17. At its last meeting, on July 30, the central bank kept its deposit rate at 8.75 percent and its lending rate at 9.75 percent. It was the fourth consecutive meeting in which the central bank kept rates on hold. [Reuters, 9/15/2015]

Stalled oil field project adds to Iraq’s woes

A stalled project aimed at sustaining Iraq’s record oil production by injecting seawater into its southern oil fields has become a symbol of missed opportunities for a country reeling from falling crude prices and the war against Islamic State. By using water drawn from the Persian Gulf to extract oil remaining in the fields, Iraq hoped to expand the country’s output beyond its current 4.1 million barrels a day. The project’s completion isn’t expected until 2020 at the earliest—seven years behind schedule. Without it, production in Iraq’s southern oil wells is expected to decrease by some 10 percent a year, said Michael Cohen, head of energy commodities research at Barclay’s. The faltering venture, known as the Common Seawater Supply Facility, has become yet another example of how bureaucratic infighting and ethnic tensions have stymied efforts to modernize Iraq’s oil sector. [WSJ, 9/15/2015]

Tunisia launches project for 200 small, medium-sized firms

The World Bank and International Trade Center are launching a partnership to support 200 small and medium-sized Tunisian companies to aid them in joining web markets. The initiative is funded with aid pledged by the Deauville partnership (G8 2011) and has brought in Tradekey, a Saudi company that specializes in interfacing with virtual markets. The initiative is part of a larger project to help small and medium-sized firms’ across Tunisia, Jordan and Morocco to increase their international visibility and access new markets through computer technologies. [ANSAmed, 9/14/2015]

Also of interest

Turkey: Unemployment rises slightly in June | Andalou

Russia announces delay of Turkish Stream pipeline due to political crisis | BGN

Egypt secures $339m from Arab Monetary Fund | AMEInfo

Egyptian pound stable at dollar sale, stronger at exchange bureaux | Reuters

EGX provides EGP 20 billion for listed companies since June 30 uprising | DNE

Local Development Ministry to allocate land, produce methane gas from organic waste | AMAY

Mexican tourists’ deaths in Bahariya Oasis furthers tourism worries say ministry officials  | DNE

Al-Fahad Holding to establish real estate development company in Egypt | DNE

Cairo governor announces five transportation projects | AMAY

Kuwait to sell local currency bonds by year-end to met deficit, says minister | Reuters

Saudi cabinet grants license to Qatari bank for first time | Reuters

GCC wealth management demand grows as expatriates stay longer | Gulf News

Iraq inflation index increases at a rate of 2.6 percent | Shafaq News

Iraq’s reserves enough to maintain currency peg, says central banker | Bloomberg