Cut in interest rates encourages investment- MP

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: A member of the parliamentary economic committee on Sunday said that the Central Bank of Iraq’s (CBI) decision to lower the interest rate to 11 percent will boost investments in the country. “The cut in interest rates from 14 percent to 11 percent will help revive investments in Iraq,” MP Mohammed Khalil Khalil told IraqiNews.com news agency. “Reviving investments is the optimal solution to save the Iraqi economy,” he added. On February 16, 2008, the CBI decided to slash the interest rate by three percentage points in an attempt to sustain high growth rates in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The CBI cut interest rates from 16 percent down to 15 percent in early November 2008 and then to 14 percent in early January 2009. SS (P) 1