Warka bank

[BRYAN]

I was wondering if anyone has heard from R about their stock picks ? :)

[BRYAN]

Hi everone , I sent a message to Miss R this morning and will post the results when I get them . :wave:

[ISX_TIME]

Hi everone , I sent a message to Miss R this morning and will post the results when I get them . :wave:

I did get a reply from R this morning 5:20EST regarding my IQD balance transfered from my USD account, "SMOOTH as SILK" - 1462.5 to 1US.
Also have the Arabic Deposit slip included in the E-Mail. ! A GREAT LADY !

[dinardude]

I sent her an email asking about stock picks as well 5 days ago and still nothing. Just sent her another email this AM. Wait and see she never lets us down.

[BRYAN]

I just recieved an e-mail from R about my account status .
I recieved a 1462 to 1 exchange rate :huge: - I split my deposits up 75% in current & 25% in the savings account . I have exact dinar amounts for each account and a copy of the deposit slip in arabic which I have sent to have it translated for me .
However she didn't write anything about the ISX stock picks , but I did inquire about the stock question again . :happy64:

[dinardude]

I exchanged my USD for 1 million dinars at 1462.5 to 1. Received a deposit slip in Arabic...kinda cool! I also have been questioning R about the ISX to no avail...not sure what that means....I'm just guessing she is getting bombarded by emails on this topic and just doesn't have any new news for us...Just a guess.

[BRYAN]

I feel the same .. She must be very busy and has alot to do .She always responds to me with in a weeks time max. She has the amounts and the stock # 's in place and waiting to execute the " Buy " order ;) . I said to her that I was eagerly awaiting her e-mail stating : " Stocks Purchased "!!! :happy64:
I feel it wiil be within 4 - 5 month's , just a feeling ?? .

[ISX_TIME]

I just recieved an e-mail from R about my account status .
I recieved a 1462 to 1 exchange rate :huge: - I split my deposits up 75% in current & 25% in the savings account . I have exact dinar amounts for each account and a copy of the deposit slip in arabic which I have sent to have it translated for me .
However she didn't write anything about the ISX stock picks , but I did inquire about the stock question again . :happy64:

Greetings Bryan, Any word about the stock picks from Warka ?

After reviewing the FAQ about Warka Bank. I realized that funds in the IQD account earn 5% Interest (Where the hell you gonna get 5% on a savings account here). Would'nt it be beneficial to have them hold our Dinar and earn an IMMEDIATE 5 % return (transfer the intersest back to the US$ account, then wire back to the states) without ever having to cash them in ?

Anybody see a realistic downside to this ?

[bkewl]

As I see it, if you had 1,000 in an account earning 5% annual interest you'd earn 50. Transfer that back to US account at an average of say 50 in wire transfer fees would equal a 0 gain. Of course, the more you have invested the better this strategy would be...but as we all know there are risks as well.

[ISX_TIME]

As I see it, if you had 1,000 in an account earning 5% annual interest you'd earn 50. Transfer that back to US account at an average of say 50 in wire transfer fees would equal a 0 gain. Of course, the more you have invested the better this strategy would be...but as we all know there are risks as well.

I'm thinking that it would be 5% of the IQD's not US Money. and only transfer back when it opens on the market , I transfered 5,000 US to my IQD account or 7,000,000 IQD (just to hedge my investment) Only a 1mil NID (opening at .10) deposit results in 5,000 US$ Annual interest. thinking this is good way to cash in without cashing in.

[bkewl]

Now that "when it opens on the market" is included I agree... I've had the same thoughts.

[ISX_TIME]

Now that "when it opens on the market" is included I agree... I've had the same thoughts.

This is a strong option that deserves some investigating..

I really want to find out as to how we can get some of the the physical dinars back to any iraqi bank (I've opened a Warka account with $5,000 and transfered $4800 to my IQD account for a total of nearly 7mil , I did this as hedge on my investment, but not before I purchased my 50mil here)

I figured the interest would be fine for me while keeping with the inital investment, also as we can then have interest on this money wired back to our US$ accounts (similar to what Al-Warkaa structured for us) without having to cash in our dinars while making a few dollars on the interest.

[sHoW mE dA dInAr]

Has anyone heard from R lately? I've emailed her twice this week and have goten no response?

[patrick39]

Yes I heard from her on monday She sent me my account numbers. :happy64:

[sHoW mE dA dInAr]

I received my acount numbers as well. I was trying to verify that she received my bank transfer and that she converted it to ID. I want to be able to start buying stock ASAP.

[Iraqi Al Yahud]

The shoebox is the prefered method of safekeeping dinars. Giving out private information to a government which is shakey at best is ill advised. Imagine if Al Sadrs people get ahold of that bank information? Or Zarkawi? If this government collapses where will your information fall to?

[Iraqi Al Yahud]

The Iraqi banks are fine, IF, the Islamic fundamentalists stay out. I dont question the integrity of the honest Iraqi bank employee. But I do question the motive of Islamic fundamentalists who may take control of Iraq. All of you people by investing in the current regime by setting up bank accounts are thumbing up your noses at the Islamic fundamentalists. I would not risk my name being found on Iraqi bank statements if the fundamentalists take over. The government of Saddam Hussein however has kept records of those depositors prior to the American invasion. So those depositors on record wont have a problem.

[Iraqi Al Yahud]

No crime was commited :drunk:

[Monty]

I also wanted to get on board the ISX buggy; but I have no stock experience whatsoever. Could some of the Stock Gurus on the forum offer some tips?? I have seen some posts mention a soda co. (Pepsi) and a certain Paint Co. (can't place the name) in Iraq that seemed like good picks at the time. How would I let Raanda know what stocks to purchase (when the time comes)? Are the prices in Dinar...like (1) share of Pepsi Baghdad sells for 14.5 Dinars, so I could ask Raanda to put me in for 100 shares for 1,450 Dinars or roughly $1 USD?? Please post any helpful insight. Thank you
Hi EMD, Welcome to elite group of investors for ID. First of all, one cautionary note. You might lose every penny of your investment. This is very highly risky investment. Several reasons why you might lose. Having said that, many investors who opened Warka account are interested in doing stocks in ISX.

Details of stock exchange:
http://www.isx-iq.net/page/about.htm

Listed Stocks and their numbers:
http://www.isx-iq.net/page/issues.htm

List of Brokers: See for Warka bank
http://www.isx-iq.net/page/brokers.htm

Few (minimal) details on companies
http://www.isx-iq.net/page/month-rep.htm


All the prices are in Iraqi Dinar

Once you establish your account and convert your Dollars to Dinars, send her an email with details of your picks. When ISX is open to foreign investors, she will execute your stocks through Warka broker.

Which ones to pick? It’s completely your choice. Look for volume, number of trades and trading consistency. Select one or two in all sectors. See some of the posts from Tony.
http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=167
http://www.isx-iq.net/page/daily-bulletin.htm

Monty

[BRYAN]

Thanks for the quick reply!! Approximately how many here have accounts with Warka? I thought it was a "crafty" idea when I first seen it posted here, regardless of the ISX, just to have an outlet for exchange in case it opens decent and there are no banks, etc., stateside to cash-in.


That's my feelings also ... to have dinars in hand and dinars in a bank in Iraq for the safe keeping incase of some type of currency exchange / special stamp allowing conversion only in Iraq or any thing along those line .also If you even think about trading o the ISX you must have a bank account in Iraq and or a broker account to trade when the time is right .
I felt the bank account was the way to go .. great exchange rate in an interest bearing account .. I might add is better than a savings account in a US bank currently .
I wonder if there will be a delay in US banks to convert the currency .. I heard that these banks will after it is traded internationaly : Wellls Fargo bank will exchange for a $ 8 fee .. and I think that Citi bank will alsosaid they would ?
HSBC will exchange only for their clients .
I believe American Express will also exchange when it is trade worldwide .

[Monty]

Thanks for the quick reply!! Approximately how many here have accounts with Warka? I thought it was a "crafty" idea when I first seen it posted here, regardless of the ISX, just to have an outlet for exchange in case it opens decent and there are no banks, etc., stateside to cash-in.
EMD, I asked that question before. Nobody knows for sure. Approximately they are between 150 and 200. Not a large number. Most of investors are comfortable seeing cash in hands than sitting in Bank even if they have to pay some premium. I have them too. The way I see is if something happen to Dinars in Bank, it certainly happens to Dinars in hand. This will be worst scenario possible.

I received today for first time statement in English with all details signed and stamped. It was scanned and sent by email. I had translated in English before by R but in MS Word format. Looks like they started printing statements in English. That’s a good sign.

Monty

[BRYAN]

my US dollar account # is well over The 400 number
And my savings & current account # are in the thousands

[Monty]

With regards to the ISX and stock risks. What are some things that cause a "TOTAL loss" of an investment on a stock. I know maybe the company folding/closing, etc. Say I had a 100 shares I bought at .10, if for somereason it went to .05 for 6 months and then went to .25...would I still have my original investment plus the gain?? OR would I have lost something somewhere?
Once you buy the shares, unless you sell them everything is paper loss or gain. In your example, if it goes down to 0.05, you lost half of your investment on PAPER. If you sell at this point, you will incur actual loss. Same thing is true on opposite side. If it goes to 0.25, your investment gained 150% again on PAPER. You do not lose or gain unless you sell them. One scenario where you might lose all of your investment without selling is if the company goes bankrupt. Buying shares/stocks means buying a piece of the company. This is the reason why you need to have an exit strategy before you buy any shares/stocks. Hope this helps.

Monty

[Monty]

my US dollar account # is well over The 400 number
And my savings & current account # are in the thousands

Glad to hear that. When I asked, following are the responses (2 weeks ago)

http://www.investorsiraq.com/showpost.php?p=15408&postcount=16

http://www.investorsiraq.com/showpost.php?p=15849&postcount=17

most recent
http://www.investorsiraq.com/showpost.php?p=19260&postcount=24

It was less than 200 for Dollar account and less than thousand for Dinar Account. It's possible numbers might have been given randomly.

Monty

[Marilyn]

The shoebox is the prefered method of safekeeping dinars. Giving out private information to a government which is shakey at best is ill advised. Imagine if Al Sadrs people get ahold of that bank information? Or Zarkawi? If this government collapses where will your information fall to?

You have an excellent point about security. Many folks are concerned about transferring such vital data via email, but it really was the only way to do business with Warka easily. If your documents are intercepted, identity theft is certainly possible. This type of breach is far more likely than Fundies getting our home addresses. The CPA recommended Warka and I would expect they put some thought into it before asking Americans to invest...

The biggest concern I have is the bank being blown up. All their records seem to still be on paper. Or, Martial Law being announced and all foreign assets getting seized...

[Jerry]

I wouldnt be concerned with Martial Law really. Think of what that would do to the reconstruction process. Most of the large contract holders (which empoly the Iraqis) are U.S. companies who have a substantial ammount of capital in those banks. I dont know where Warka fares in this but I know they have some "subcontractors" from large U.S. companies banking with them to support payroll.

I know that those accounts are commercial accounts however in the case of Martial Law that would apply to both commercial and private bank accounts.

Freezing assets of U.S. contractors or companies would be perposterous, it would kill the Iraqi economy. This would not happen, any abnormal activity is being reported to the CBI and handled individualy.

Banks being blown up??? Possible but simple searches can resolve that. Each bank has an address most people are using the main brances in Baghdad. All one would have to do is look up the address and crossreferance it with a map related ti the "Green Zone" and determin if the bank is inside or near the green zone. Based on how close it is to the green zone you can determin a hypothectical percentage of risk.

The only thing IMHO to be concerned with is the integrity of the individuals handeling the wire transfers. However the signature below you aribic bank statements attest to the ligitamacy of the account (in Iraq).

Also if the government does go bad and you are worried about the info you sent... (most of these were passperts) Just simply lose your passport and apply for a new one as they voide the old and give new numbers to you new one making it impossible to use the old. For drivers licences, I think the local DMV can issue a new number if you have good reason (which this would qualify).
Hope this puts some of you at ease

[wing]

The shoebox is the prefered method of safekeeping dinars. Giving out private information to a government which is shakey at best is ill advised. Imagine if Al Sadrs people get ahold of that bank information? Or Zarkawi? If this government collapses where will your information fall to?
Totally agree with this assessment. The situation in iraq is very fluid at the moment and the possibility that your info might fall into the terrorists hands is very real.