Iraq launches Future Generations Fund as part of USD 3 bn stimulus basket

Iraq launched a new sovereign wealth fund, the Future Generations Fund, with an initial operational balance set at IQD 1.5 tn (USD 993.9 mn), Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi said in a statement. The new fund was floated for several months and was initially set to launch at IQD 1 tn. Al Zaidi earmarked an additional IQD 500 bn to the fund at launch

This is part of a broader IQD 4.5 tn (USD 2.98 bn) basket of fiscal stimulus measures, which include IQD 1 tn redirected from existing Central Bank of Iraq initiatives into real estate and housing, and at least another IQD 1 tn in fresh liquidity for the Trade Bank of Iraq and the Industrial Bank, earmarked for industrial projects and productive activity. The Finance Ministry will release IQD 500 bn to settle contractors’ dues so that work on stalled projects can continue, and a further IQD 500 bn to pay what the state owes farmers.

Gas to spare

Saudi Arabia is on course to produce more gas than it needs at home, and where the surplus goes is still an open decision. Up to 50 bn cbm a year of the Kingdom’s 180 bn cbm of annual output could be spare once domestic demand is met, Wood Mackenzie estimates — enough to make Saudi Arabia a gas exporter for the first time. Plans for an LNG terminal fed by phase two of the USD 100 bn Jafurah field were presented last year and set aside while Riyadh prioritizes domestic supply, the Financial Times reports.

What takes the rest: Switching power plants from oil to gas frees up crude for export, and the push into AI and data centers absorbs more, but neither covers all of it. “If they get close to their production target, they're going to need some other sources of demand,” Wood Mackenzie corporate research director Neivan Boroujerdi said.

What that means for the listing: Aramco’s international LNG assets won’t be included in the new gas company Aramco is preparing to carve out of its upstream and downstream business, according to two people with knowledge of the plans. Without firm plans to build LNG plants, they say there is little rationale for an IPO. Domestic gas sells at government-set fixed prices, producing stable returns better suited to the lease-and-leaseback structure Aramco has used before, people close to the company said.

Pump it out

Syria’s state oil company plans to more than double crude output to about 250k bbl / d by the end of 2027, from some 110k bbl / d now, Syrian Petroleum Company CEO Yousef Qiblawy told Bloomberg at the Energy Intelligence Forum in London. The money goes into existing fields, with further growth targeted by 2030 if exploration delivers. Refining is being rebuilt alongside it: Maintenance wrapping up at Baniyas this month takes the plant to 130k bbl / d from 80k, and work starting at Homs in January or February lifts it to around 70k bbl / d from 45k. Damascus is courting ConocoPhillips, Chevron and TotalEnergies for the upstream. Until the fields deliver, it is buying in, with Saudi Aramco, Trafigura and Vitol covering most of the roughly 200k tons of diesel Syria needs monthly.

Basket pressure

Food is driving inflation in both Kuwait and Tunisia, running ahead of the headline rate in both countries, at nearly three times the pace in Kuwait and half again as fast in Tunisia. Kuwait’s CPI rose 2.19% y-o-y in July, with food and beverages up 6.08% and transport 5.54%, the Central Statistical Bureau said. Excluding food and drink, the rate drops to 1.28%.

Tunisia’s September reading came in at 5.6%, with food and beverages at 8.4%, up from 7.5% in August, according to INS data. Tunisian core inflation, which strips out food and energy, held steady at 4.9%, which puts the month’s acceleration on the grocery basket.

Keeping it local

Saudi wants citizens to fill 70% of energy, industry and mining jobs. No facility across the three sectors will operate unless at least 70% of its staff are Saudi, Energy and Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said at the Made in the Gulf Conference and Forum in Bahrain. The ministry plans to map each sector’s skill needs with universities and training institutes to match graduates to jobs, and to merge the three sectors into one system by the end of November.

REMEMBER- The 70% floor extends a steady Saudization push: In August, the The Kingdom raised localization in private-sector project-management roles to 70%, and it has been lifting nationalization targets across dozens of other professions, some administrative roles now mandated at 100%.

Twenty years and waiting

The Palestinian Legislative Council election set for 28 November will likely be postponed, with a decision expected within days, sources told The National. It would be the first legislative vote since 2006. The EU has threatened to cut funding to the Palestinian Authority unless it meets reform demands, and is still pressing for the vote to go ahead. Election commission head Jamil Al Khalidi says preparations continue in Gaza and the West Bank, with the commission sourcing alternatives to ballot boxes and voting ink. Israel is blocking voting in East Jerusalem and the entry of election materials into Gaza. A presidential election is expected next year. President Mahmoud Abbas, 90, is 17 years past the end of his term and governs by decree.