InfoAnda - Afghans fret flight of hard cash a sign of things to come |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

9 killed in latest attack at China school | 13 May 2010
Netanyahu: Israel is Palestinians' peace partner | 26 March 2009
`Cadillac Records' plays song you've heard before | 1 December 2008

U.N. reports record $4.8 billion aid shortfall | International | | 21 July 2009

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Afghans fret flight of hard cash a sign of things to come |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Summits Business Video The Freeland File Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Reuters Investigates Decoder Politics Politics Home Election 2012 Issues 2012 Candidates 2012 Tales from the Trail Political Punchlines Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Tech Tonic Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Bernd Debusmann Nader Mousavizadeh Lucy P. Marcus David Cay Johnston Bethany McLean Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Mohamed El-Erian Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Steven Brill Geraldine Fabrikant Jack & Suzy Welch Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Breakingviews Video Money Money Home Tax Break Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik James Saft Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Money Clip Investing 201 Life Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Reuters TV Reuters News Article Comments (0) Full Focus Photos of the week Our top photos from the past week. Full Article Images of January Best photos of the year 2011 Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Whitney Houston found dead in Calif. hotel, age 48 | 2:51am EST UPDATE 4-Award-winning singer Whitney Houston dies at age 48 11 Feb 2012 It's bailout or chaos, PM Papademos tells Greece | 2:30am EST Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin under investigation: source 11 Feb 2012 5 Journalists Arrested at Rupert Murdoch's Sun Newspaper (Updated) 11 Feb 2012 Discussed 492 FBI warns of threat from anti-government extremists 162 House Speaker Boehner vows to stop Obama contraceptive rule 127 Santorum wins Missouri Republican primary, TV networks projects Watched Huge baby shocks parents Tue, Feb 7 2012 Whitney Houston dies Sat, Feb 11 2012 Bad weather shifts ill-fated Concordia on the rocks Sat, Feb 11 2012 Afghans fret flight of hard cash a sign of things to come Tweet Share this Email Print Related News U.S. seeks to play down Panetta's Afghan comments Thu, Feb 2 2012 U.S. tries to ease confusion over Afghan plans Thu, Feb 2 2012 Taliban vows to retake Afghanistan: report Wed, Feb 1 2012 Pakistan minister: leaked document can be "disregarded" Wed, Feb 1 2012 France threatens Afghan pullout after troops killed Fri, Jan 20 2012 Analysis & Opinion Afghanistan: Asia’s Congo Weird art-valuation justifications of the day, Sarah Thornton edition Related Topics World » United Nations » By Rob Taylor KABUL | Sun Feb 12, 2012 1:53am EST KABUL (Reuters) - In the crush of people in Kabul's Shahzada money market, conspiracy theories are a currency as hard as the bundles of cash in the hands of bearded traders trying to divine their future. And the theory going around - amid the din of shouted exchange rates - is that Afghanistan's rich are preparing again to shift their money and lives from the country over fears of chaos or civil conflict after foreign troops leave. "The money will all go out of Afghanistan. It is always like that. As soon as the foreign soldiers leave all the problems come back," says money changer Hajji Asadullah, gripping bundles of U.S. dollar bills, Gulf currencies and tattered local Afghani notes, all wrapped tightly in rubber bands. Three years from the end of NATO combat missions and a total transfer to local security, Afghan officials are thinking hard about how to stop the flight of hard currency like dollars, euros or scrip from Gulf countries like the UAE that usually happens when nervousness overtakes their countrymen. "It is the main topic of conversation now," says Naseem Akbar, who heads Afghanistan's Investment Support Agency and whose job is to lure investment, rather than stop it going out. "The worry is about the country going into crisis, and parallel to that is that from now until 2014 we must work out how to avoid such a calamity." PROPERTY A WEATHERVANE A U.S. government audit report last year found it was almost impossible to track where much of the billions of dollars spent on security and development projects in the last decade had gone given the country's dysfunctional financial tracking system and poor bank oversight. Wealthy Afghans have for years locked their money into safe havens and property elsewhere, with Dubai and its man-made Palm Jumeirah island being favored locations, with an estimated $8 billion stashed away in the Arab emirate. But Haji Sher Shah Ahmadzai, the millionaire owner of a group of construction companies in Kabul, said property prices at home jumped by 15 percent at the start of last year after foreigners pledged to support Afghanistan well beyond 2014. Confidence however began leaching away with the September assassination of former president Burhanuddin Rabbani, who headed an Afghan peace council trying to launch talks with the Taliban. It took a further blow as the United States, the Taliban and the Afghan government circle each other over possible peace talks in the Gulf state of Qatar, which could eventually see the austere Islamists return to Kabul as a political force. "A flat cost around $220,000 months ago, but now it costs around $140,000 because of the uncertain situation," Ahmadzai told Reuters in his plush, heavily-guarded office in the upmarket Wazir area of central Kabul. SIGNS OF UNCERTAINTY Hardly any Afghans expect the Taliban to be strong enough to again rule the country by force, but memories of past brutality are enough to worry people about their influence, even as President Hamid Karzai tries to reassure his country. In 2009, ahead of the last Afghan election, millions of dollars -- much of questionable origin -- made its way out of the country in suitcases and even on pallets loaded into aircraft, according to police at Kabul's main Airport. Former vice president Zia Masood was stopped entering Dubai carrying cash worth $52 million and released without question, according to a cable from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul that appeared later on the whistleblower website Wikileaks. In 2010 the Afghan government took over Kabul Bank -- the country's biggest commercial bank -- after a run on deposits caused by revelations that the bank's owners had lost millions of dollars they loaned to themselves to purchase property investments. The investment support agency's Akhbar said that without steps to build confidence political and security gains in the past decade, uncertainty will dry up new investment. "The short answer is that any sign of uncertainty is a major blow to investment," he said, calling for a redoubled effort by Karzai's government to tackle serious corruption and fix woeful infrastructure. Afghanistan is perennially among the world's most corrupt nations listed by Berlin-based anti-graft body Transparency International. CAR, APPLIANCE SALES DROP But growth has defied that reputation, averaging around 9 percent in recent years as war and aid spending worth more than $50 billion fuelled a spending boom in Kabul's dusty streets, now choked with private cars as well as NATO convoys. At a dealership for luxury Lexus SUVs, salesman Mir Alam said once reliable Afghan ministers had stopped buying in favor of armored vehicles, while private buyers had also dried up. "It's because of the Qatar talks. Car prices are not up, but still we haven't sold any for the past three months," Alam said. "Afghan businessmen have already left Afghanistan, or they have their money in hand in case they need to escape." Mohammad Jawid, who sells appliances to the wealthy at the upmarket Kabul City Centre, said sales topping $5,000 a day before September were down to under to $500 now. And the worries are the same for Abdul Haddi's Sarak Khumar electronic company. "I've lost more than 60 percent of my customers. The rich I know are already out of Afghanistan, or just waiting to see what happens," Haddi said. WORLD BANK WARNING The World Bank has warned that growth that hit an unsustainable 21 percent in 2009-10 could collapse in the next few years as aid projects wind down and funds are re-directed into areas like health and education. The country's medium-term growth and stubbornly high unemployment would depend on the government's ability to manage the transfer of security from international to national forces, and ensure political and fiscal sustainability, the bank said. The Afghani currency has slipped following its rise through 2010-11 on the back of large capital inflows, sliding from 46.2 to the dollar to around 49, making foreign havens and currencies more attractive. Jean-Luc Lemahieu, who heads the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Kabul, said Afghanistan needed a stronger system of capital controls, adding the agency is setting up financial investigations units to deal with not only laundering of money from the opium trade, but also monitor cross-border cash flows. "It is a huge concern," he said. "This country cannot afford this and we need to have better capital controls and have the money within this country invested in productivity, so we can share the employment that is so required." (Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi and Mirwais Harooni) World United Nations Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Advertise With Us Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Sunday, 12 February 2012
Pressure builds for probe into Maldives' crisis |
Top U.S. general discusses NGO case in Cairo |
Bahraini police fire teargas at protesters |
Over 100,000 rally in Lisbon against austerity |
Tunisian secular parties merge to face Islamists |
Protests erupt across Europe against web piracy treaty |
Spanish thriller dredges up dark childhood secret |
Communist East Germany back in haunting new film |
Celebs find Fashion Week runways can be slippery |
Al Qaeda leader backs Syrian revolt against Assad |
It's bailout or chaos, PM Papademos tells Greece |
Afghans fret flight of hard cash a sign of things to come |
Fidel Castro meets intellectuals in 9-hour meeting |
Japanese emperor to undergo bypass heart surgery |
Whitney Houston found dead in Calif. hotel, age 48 |
Rockets hit Homs opposition as Arab ministers meet |
Charges against president politically motivated: Pakistan PM |
Chinese envoy visits Tehran for nuclear talks |
Kabila aide dies, minister hurt in DRC plane crash |
Islamist militants execute three men in south Yemen |
Maldives' new president expands cabinet amid crisis |
Saif Gaddafi to be moved to Tripoli, then tried |
Venezuela opposition picks candidate to face Chavez |
Tibetan nun dies after sets self on fire: activists |
Grammy party turns to tribute for late Whitney Houston |
Streep set for BAFTA glory in home of Iron Lady |
Oscar organizers honor film science, technology |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01