An Iranian oil official has announced planning to reopen and resume activities of Iran’s petrochemical office in Seoul of South Korea within weeks.

In time with recent agreements between Iran and South Korea to double the amount of oil sales and exports, Iran’s petrochemical bureau has also been scheduled to reopen in the coming weeks.

Currently, Samsung and LG companies comprise traditional customers of Iran’s petrochemical products and liquid gas as the first shipment of gas condensate produced at South Pars phases has been deployed to Hanwha Total Petrochemicals Company headquartered in Seoul.

Meanwhile, Mehdi Sharifi Niknafas, Managing Director of Iran's Petrochemical Commercial Company (IPCC), has referred to elimination of banking and financial sanctions between the two countries noting “South Korea is a buyer of Iran’s polymer products; however, the export of these products to South Korea is done with caution in order to maintain market in China.”

“Resumption of activities by the petrochemical bureau in Seoul will help increase exports of Iranian products to South Korea,” stressed the official.

In line with the increasing export volume of petrochemical and polymer products to South Korea, the most important venues for boosting bilateral cooperation between Tehran and Seoul in the post sanction era include investment attraction, participation in construction of new petrochemical complexes as well as transfer of technology.

By Mahnaz Abdi

Iran welcomes boosting trade ties with the European Union in a way that European investors could take advantage of unique opportunities in Iran and Iran’s economy could accelerate the process of its growth and development, according to Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Governor Valiollah Seif.



Seif made the remarks in “The 2nd Business and Banking Forum Iran Europe” which kicked off in Tehran on Saturday and will run until Monday.

 

In January world powers led by the United States and the European Union lifted sanctions on Iran which had been imposed over its nuclear program. The subsequent leap in Tehran’s stock market in late January and early February gave a hint of the country’s investment potential.



The lifting of sanctions opens a new chapter of economic development and put the country’s potentialities into practice, Seif added.



The ground is laid for more security of foreign investment in the country and also for more economic sustainability, he maintained.



Iranian economy enjoys great advantages such as educated and expert manpower, huge natural resources, cheap price of energy, big market inside the country and also access to the regional markets, the official highlighted.



“I hereby invite all European investors, service institutes and also banks to take the advantage of unique opportunities created in Iran in the post-sanctions time”, the CBI’s governor stated.



He also said that all Iranian banks are now connected to the SWIFT international payment system.



---- 2016 economic growth above 5 percent



Elsewhere in his remarks, Seif said that Iran’s economy is expected to witness an economic growth of more than five percent in 2016.



“Economic growth slowed down in 2015 but domestic and international predictions both indicate that growth in 2016 would be beyond 5 percent,” he added.



*** European banks should avoid conservatism



Addressing the same forum, Mohammad Khazaei, the Iranian deputy economy minister and also the president of the Organization for Investment, Economic, and Technical Assistance of Iran, said: “Let me be honest with you, I see some conservative approaches from European banks to work with Iranian banks. I would like to make it clear here that conservatism is the big enemy of taking advantages in Iran’s market.”



Banks are the routes of collaboration, transferring money, so any problem in this area of course is a big obstacle in the way of cooperation, the official stated.



He went on to say: ”Because Iranian banking system and Iranian businessmen have been away from their traditional counterparts [during the sanctions times]; therefore we need to get together again and know how the banks can get together and there are many issues that we should solve and then we can also move.”



Elsewhere in his remarks, Khazaei said Iranian government has adopted policies to support foreign investment especially in the fields which bring value added, such as transfer of technology and increase of exports.



He mentioned facilitation of investment making through cutting some administrative and trade barriers as one of the mentioned policies.



Iran will take the same approach toward the foreign investors as that towards the Iranian ones; the official stated, adding: “Based on the law, your investment in banking sector in Iran is protected and guaranteed by the laws, so there is no impediment or problem to work in this area.”



The foreign banks and investors will be granted tax exemption of 20 percent in the mainland and 100 percent in the FTZs of Iran, he announced.



*** ‘New, big opportunities in Iran by sanctions removal’



Matthias Machnig, the state secretary at Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, was the other speaker in the forum.



He said: “Now by lifting of sanctions there are new and big opportunities. It is very crucial that in these conferences we talk together to build up trust. I hope this conference will build up new relations and we will be able to define projects where we can work together and can build new basis for our economic and political relations.”



“We want your country being a constructive partner, not only in this region, but also in the international level and hopefully we are able to take this opportunity and find new ground for a common work together”, he added.



European and Iranian companies now want to take advantage of the resulting opportunity as quickly as possible, Machnig said; adding there are a lot of opportunities for long-term partnership which can benefit both sides.



*** Views of some foreign participants



One of the participants in the forum, Sonke Reimers, the managing director of Germany’s dfv media group, told the Tehran Times: “I think it is a very important forum, to bring together the experts from banking industry.”



Referring to the sanctions removal, he said: “I think it’s the time to come back to the table.”



“The world has changed since the sanctions were put in place, so there are a lot of technical and other issues we should understand. We should understand what’s going on in Iran and I think you should understand what’s going on in Europe”, he stated.



“We had a huge financial crisis in Europe and since then regulations came in place which are even worse than sanctions, so the world of banking and finance is very different if you come to Europe now, from before the sanctions”, he added.



“There are many opportunities and now it’s the time to take the opportunities. There are regulations in Iran that the German companies should know”, said Michael R. Fausel from Beiten Burkhardt, a commercial law practice founded in Germany and active worldwide.



“The conference shows that Iran is open for business, is keen to reconnect to the global banking and financial system. I think this conference is very positive for Iran and also more importantly very positive for Europe and the rest of world”, said William Breeze, an energy finance expert in Britain’s Herbert Smith Freehills, one of the world’s leading law firms.



“The reason for taking a conservative approach toward cooperating with Iranian banks is that European banks are concern about what America would think. I Think and hope that European banks can seek quite what a large opportunity Iran offers and realize that it’s an opportunity that we take and European banks should reengage as quickly as possible”, he noted.



“The forum is important for passing information, for being able to bring together the global institutions and Iranian institutions, so we understand how we can work closely together”, said Charles Blackmore , the CEO of Britain’s Audere International Ltd.



He said: “European banks are conservative because the primary sanctions are still in place. They have been fined many times by the Americans and they are nervous, they want to know, make sure that who they are working with. When they know who they are working with, then they can upset the American sanctions and they will be more relax about releasing money. But also you got to remember that Iran is one country of the whole world and there are many opportunities for finance, so we must evaluate the risks.”












 

Iran welcomes boosting trade ties with the European Union in a way that European investors could take advantage of unique opportunities in Iran and Iran’s economy could accelerate the process of its growth and development, according to Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Governor Valiollah Seif.



Seif made the remarks in “The 2nd Business and Banking Forum Iran Europe” which kicked off in Tehran on Saturday and will run until Monday.

 

In January world powers led by the United States and the European Union lifted sanctions on Iran which had been imposed over its nuclear program. The subsequent leap in Tehran’s stock market in late January and early February gave a hint of the country’s investment potential.



The lifting of sanctions opens a new chapter of economic development and put the country’s potentialities into practice, Seif added.



The ground is laid for more security of foreign investment in the country and also for more economic sustainability, he maintained.



Iranian economy enjoys great advantages such as educated and expert manpower, huge natural resources, cheap price of energy, big market inside the country and also access to the regional markets, the official highlighted.



“I hereby invite all European investors, service institutes and also banks to take the advantage of unique opportunities created in Iran in the post-sanctions time”, the CBI’s governor stated.



He also said that all Iranian banks are now connected to the SWIFT international payment system.



---- 2016 economic growth above 5 percent



Elsewhere in his remarks, Seif said that Iran’s economy is expected to witness an economic growth of more than five percent in 2016.



“Economic growth slowed down in 2015 but domestic and international predictions both indicate that growth in 2016 would be beyond 5 percent,” he added.



*** European banks should avoid conservatism



Addressing the same forum, Mohammad Khazaei, the Iranian deputy economy minister and also the president of the Organization for Investment, Economic, and Technical Assistance of Iran, said: “Let me be honest with you, I see some conservative approaches from European banks to work with Iranian banks. I would like to make it clear here that conservatism is the big enemy of taking advantages in Iran’s market.”



Banks are the routes of collaboration, transferring money, so any problem in this area of course is a big obstacle in the way of cooperation, the official stated.



He went on to say: ”Because Iranian banking system and Iranian businessmen have been away from their traditional counterparts [during the sanctions times]; therefore we need to get together again and know how the banks can get together and there are many issues that we should solve and then we can also move.”



Elsewhere in his remarks, Khazaei said Iranian government has adopted policies to support foreign investment especially in the fields which bring value added, such as transfer of technology and increase of exports.



He mentioned facilitation of investment making through cutting some administrative and trade barriers as one of the mentioned policies.



Iran will take the same approach toward the foreign investors as that towards the Iranian ones; the official stated, adding: “Based on the law, your investment in banking sector in Iran is protected and guaranteed by the laws, so there is no impediment or problem to work in this area.”



The foreign banks and investors will be granted tax exemption of 20 percent in the mainland and 100 percent in the FTZs of Iran, he announced.



*** ‘New, big opportunities in Iran by sanctions removal’



Matthias Machnig, the state secretary at Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, was the other speaker in the forum.



He said: “Now by lifting of sanctions there are new and big opportunities. It is very crucial that in these conferences we talk together to build up trust. I hope this conference will build up new relations and we will be able to define projects where we can work together and can build new basis for our economic and political relations.”



“We want your country being a constructive partner, not only in this region, but also in the international level and hopefully we are able to take this opportunity and find new ground for a common work together”, he added.



European and Iranian companies now want to take advantage of the resulting opportunity as quickly as possible, Machnig said; adding there are a lot of opportunities for long-term partnership which can benefit both sides.



*** Views of some foreign participants



One of the participants in the forum, Sonke Reimers, the managing director of Germany’s dfv media group, told the Tehran Times: “I think it is a very important forum, to bring together the experts from banking industry.”



Referring to the sanctions removal, he said: “I think it’s the time to come back to the table.”



“The world has changed since the sanctions were put in place, so there are a lot of technical and other issues we should understand. We should understand what’s going on in Iran and I think you should understand what’s going on in Europe”, he stated.



“We had a huge financial crisis in Europe and since then regulations came in place which are even worse than sanctions, so the world of banking and finance is very different if you come to Europe now, from before the sanctions”, he added.



“There are many opportunities and now it’s the time to take the opportunities. There are regulations in Iran that the German companies should know”, said Michael R. Fausel from Beiten Burkhardt, a commercial law practice founded in Germany and active worldwide.



“The conference shows that Iran is open for business, is keen to reconnect to the global banking and financial system. I think this conference is very positive for Iran and also more importantly very positive for Europe and the rest of world”, said William Breeze, an energy finance expert in Britain’s Herbert Smith Freehills, one of the world’s leading law firms.



“The reason for taking a conservative approach toward cooperating with Iranian banks is that European banks are concern about what America would think. I Think and hope that European banks can seek quite what a large opportunity Iran offers and realize that it’s an opportunity that we take and European banks should reengage as quickly as possible”, he noted.



“The forum is important for passing information, for being able to bring together the global institutions and Iranian institutions, so we understand how we can work closely together”, said Charles Blackmore , the CEO of Britain’s Audere International Ltd.



He said: “European banks are conservative because the primary sanctions are still in place. They have been fined many times by the Americans and they are nervous, they want to know, make sure that who they are working with. When they know who they are working with, then they can upset the American sanctions and they will be more relax about releasing money. But also you got to remember that Iran is one country of the whole world and there are many opportunities for finance, so we must evaluate the risks.”







CAP: Central Bank of Iran Governor Valiollah Seif speaking in “The 2nd Business and Banking Forum Iran Europe” in Tehran on Saturday

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President while receiving the credentials of the new Ambassador of Cyprus:

Iran-Cyprus relations in economic and trade fields can deepen

Ayatollah Raisi said, "Relations between Iran and Cyprus are at a stage that can increase in the economic and trade fields, and I hope that with the work of the new ambassador of this country to Iran, these relations will reach an acceptable level."

Deputy Minister for International Affairs at the Ministry of Road and Urban Development Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan believe that the latest status of the deal with Airbus Aerospace company saying “we have been hammering out an accord with Airbus over the past three  and a final agreement will hopefully be reached.”

He Noted that the Iran-Airbus agreement comprises 500 pages dealing with numerous issues, Fakhrieh Kashan said “each page of the contract needs to be delved upon since it contains various financial, legal and administrative issues and it must be assured that the interests of both sides will be considered.”

Deputy road minister highlighted that no exact date can be announced for inking the deal; “at the present time, we are conferring upon details of the contract which proves to be a time-consuming process.”

“The funding issue is 80 per cent through and talks are being held over removing all existing barriers before purchasing the aircraft,” he maintained.

He outlined lease-purchase as the final workable approach for buying Airbus planes adding “these aircraft will be imported to the country via Rent-to-Own option without government intervention.”

 

The Iranian energy delegation headed by Deputy Energy Minister, Hoshang Falahatian, attended the first meeting of the joint energy working group of the two countries held in Prague .

Energy, water, construction and renewing of power plants, development of renewable energies, small hydropower plants, urban water and sewage management were the areas of potential cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Czech Republic discussed in the first meeting of the joint energy working group of the two countries held in Prague on Thursday.

Czech deputy minister of industry and trade along with his Iranian counterpart, Hoshang Falahatian, headed the joint meeting.

Following the joint meeting of the energy working group of the two countries, the Iranian delegation met with Jan Mládek who has been the Czech minister of industry and trade since January 2014.

Asserting the Czech companies’ willingness for work with Iranian partners especially in area of energy, the Minister Mládek reassured that the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade backs development of ties with Iran.

IRISL managing director has announced the establishment of two Iran-Europe shipping companies.

Managing Director of Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) Mohammad Saeidi said “over the past six months, measures have been taken to let Iranian vessels travel on international waterways without restrictions; furthermore, we have managed to create two companies in Europe in joint collaboration with foreign companies.”

“In new conditions, we commute to ports around the world without limitation carrying exported and imported products,” he continued.

The official went on to note that “unlike the time of sanctions, currently access to fresh fleet will soon become available in order to compete with international rivals; a possibility which will become feasible through expansion of the fleet as well as the signed agreements.”

Saeidi also underlined that “various shipping lines have been launched in Europe connecting East Asia to South America as well as the Persian Gulf to North and South America while IRISL had not been allowed to commute over these routes for seven years due to sanctions.”

“Following the JCPOA-implementation, we have achieved great accomplishments inking contracts with large shipbuilding companies while it would take at least two years before the first ship joint the Iranian fleet of maritime transport,” he highlighted.

Managing director of IRISL also noted the berthing of the first Iranian container ship at Hamburg port which will then carry freight to Belgium before returning to the Persian Gulf; “merchants will deliver goods to customers with more security if we possess a dynamic marine company since a total of 80 percent of world trade is transported on the sea.”

“We have sealed joint accords with European companies turning them into partners in order to gain a significant share of the market in Europe,” Concluded Saeidi.

Iranian and Indian oil ministers are scheduled to meet in coming days in Tehran during which they are going to negotiate cooperation in the development of Farzad-B gas field, crude oil transaction, and investment in the petrochemical industry, said Iran’s deputy petroleum minister for international affairs and commerce.

“Talks on the Farzad-B field are expected to extended for some time, and the Pars Oil and Gas Company will carry out the negotiations about the field,” Amir-Hossein Zamani-Nia said on Monday in an exclusive interview with Shana on the upcoming visit by India’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Pradhan’s visit, reportedly on April 6 and 7, is the first by an Indian minister following removal of sanctions as India wants more oil imports and shipments of natural gas from Iran.

New Delhi is looking to increase engagement with Iran for the development of Farzad-B gas field in the Persian Gulf that was discovered by India’s ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of the India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.

Under pressure from the United States, the OVL-led consortium delayed and ultimately relinquished development of Farzad-B offshore natural gas block. New Delhi also withdrew from the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline project slated to bring 11.3 bcm meters of Iranian natural gas per year to India.

“A proposal on the undersea pipeline to carry natural gas from Iran to India is also under study by an Indian firm,” the deputy minister added.

Last December, managing director of the National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC) said Tehran and New Delhi are seriously negotiating construction of a trans Oman Sea-Indian Ocean pipeline to transfer gas to the energy hungry India.

“The 4.5-billion pipeline is set to pump 31.5 mcm of Iran’s gas to India’s western Gurjarat port,” Ali-Reza Kameli said on the sidelines of the Fifth World Energy Policy Summit in New Delhi adding that the talks are underway with the pipeline construction company South Asia Gas Enterprise (SAGE) which has the expertise for laying deepwater gas pipelines.

Zamani-Nia also told Shana that Tehran and New Delhi are in talks over payment of India’s outstanding amounts arising from crude oil transactions.

Director general of International Affairs of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has denied media reports that Tehran has accepted receiving the arrears in Indian rupees. “If NIOC was to receive the unpaid sum in rupees, it would do it earlier,” Mohsen Qamsari told Shana.

The debts have been overdue because of US-led sanctions which barred their transfer to Iran which were lifted in the wake of the nuclear accord with the world powers.

Gas-rich Iran which holds the largest reservoirs of 34 tcm or 18 percent of the global resources has also entered into contracts for export of natural gas to neighboring Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq, and UAE.

Zamani-Nia said that the Indian minister is going to negotiate with Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh and meet minister of industry, governor of Central Bank of Iran, and FTZs secretary.

“Pradhan will travel to Chabhahr port to visit the petrochemical site under construction by Indian firms for production of fertilizers before winding up his visit to Iran,” he said.

 Tehran and Tokyo signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Friday to further broaden mutual cooperation in the field of transportation.

The MoU was signed in a ceremony in Tokyo today by Iran's Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development for international affairs Asqar Fakhrieh and his Japanese counterpart Hiroshi Tabata.

The MoU was the outcome of the first Iran-Japan joint commission on infrastructure and transport.

Tabata welcomed implementation of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and underlined the important role of infrastructures for Iran-Japan cooperation in future.

Fakhrieh visited Tubo Railroad Control Center and met with deputy minister of foreign affairs, deputy minister of economy, trade and industry as well as directors of different Japanese companies during their stay.

The capacities for joint venture investment in Iran's railroad transport were introduced to the Japanese firms in a seminar on 'Iran Railroad' at Edmont Hotel in Tokyo by the Iranian delegation.

In late May, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi voiced Tehran's readiness to expand bilateral ties with Tokyo.

"Iran and Japan had satisfactory relations during the sanction-era as the two countries managed to maintain their good mutual cooperation despite the difficult conditions of that time," Araqchi said in a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Shinsuke Sugiyama in Tokyo.

The Iranian deputy foreign minister, meantime, thanked the Japanese government for opening a 10-billion-dollar credit line to facilitate the volume of trade exchanges with Iran, and said, “Continuation of this important step and making full use of this credit line to pave the way for participation of Japanese companies in Iran’s economic projects requires the two countries’ joint will.”

Sugiyama, for his part, felicitated Iran on the occasion of striking a nuclear deal with the world powers and the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

In February, Iranian Economy Minister Ali Tayyebnia and his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso in a meeting in Tokyo underlined the need for the further expansion of mutual cooperation between the two countries, specially in economic and trade fields.

During the meeting in the Japanese capital, the Iranian and Japanese economy ministers explored the avenues for the bolstering and reinvigorating bilateral ties.

"Cheap energy and labor in Iran and the region's big market are advantages for Japan in order to make its products competitive," Tayyebnia said.

Aso, for his part, reiterated that his country is ready for transfer of technical know-how and joint investments in Iran's infrastructure projects.

The Japanese economy minister said that Tayyebnia's visit to Japan can contribute to expansion of economic cooperation and boost the level of bilateral relations between the two countries.

Iran and Japan will promote cooperation in energy optimization in buildings as the two companies of knowledge-based Mahsabad and AZBIL have launched cooperation in the field.


 The Japanese company has announced its readiness for cooperation with the Iranian Mahsabad in the field of optimizing energy in buildings.

During the meeting secretary of the Headquarters for Optimizing Energy and Environment of the office, Yadollah Sobbouhi stressed the need for undertaking extensive projects in optimizing energy, saying that optimal use of energy and environmental management are among the priorities of the country, especially in the southern oil-rich areas.

He introduced Mahsabad Energy Company as a knowledge-based company to the Japanese company AZBIL, saying that cooperation in the field of developing energy-related services will pave the way for exchanging knowledge and technology.

AZBIL has been operating in the field since 1906 for producing measurement and control equipment, electricity systems and equipment, safety equipment and optical systems are among the major undertakings of the German company.

Deputy oil minister has announced that Japan’s Mitsui Company is eager to cooperate with Iran and company may have an active participation in Iran's petrochemical sector.

The Japanese possess deep roots of collaboration with the Iranian oil industry, especially in petrochemical areas where construction of Imam Port Petrochemical marked the successful experience of partnership between the two sides.

Following implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the removal of sanctions against Iran, Japan expressed willingness to increase oil purchase and investment in Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) as well as upstream oil industry and Japanese reputable companies like Mitsui requested participation in Iran's petrochemical industry.

Zamaninia, while speaking at a meeting with Executive Director for the Middle East, Europe and Africa Division of Mitsui Company Atsushi Kome underlined necessity of cooperation with Japanese companies in upstream and downstream sectors of oil, gas and petrochemical industry in post-JCPOA arena adding “in view of brilliant background of Mitsui Company in petrochemical sector, the company may have active participation in Iran's petrochemical industry projects.”

He went on to underline that Iran's petrochemical industry requires 80 billion dollars of investment for next 10 years, “we hope that the company would opt for joint venture investment with Iran.”

The Japanese director said that “Iran has an important position among countries of the region and cooperation with Iran is extremely momentous for Japan.

The foreign ministers of Iran and New Zealand on Sunday emphasized the importance of expanding bilateral relations, particularly in the economic sector.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who had arrived in New Zealand a day earlier on the fifth leg of his Asia-Pacific tour, held a meeting with his New Zealand counterpart Murray McCully in Wellington.

Zarif said Tehran is ready to take major steps to expand ties with Wellington in all fields, while McCully, for his part, said Iran plays a leading role in finding ways to settle regional issues.

In another meeting with Iranian nationals residing in New Zealand on Sunday, Zarif called on the nationals to make use of opportunities created after the removal of sanctions against the country.

 
Zarif-Newzland



 

Zarif said it was actually the Iranian people who made the sanctions fail, adding, “Resistance and wisdom of the [Iranian] nation proved that no Iranian individual should be threatened.”

On February 19, New Zealand lifted its sanctions against Iran following the implementation of Tehran’s nuclear agreement with world powers, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

On January 16, Iran and the P5+1 group of countries — the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China plus Germany — started to implement the JCPOA which was reached between the two sides on July 14, 2015, following two and a half years of intensive talks.

After the JCPOA went into effect, all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran by the European Union, the Security Council and the US were lifted. Iran, in return, has put some limitations on its nuclear activities.

Zarif arrived in New Zealand after he wrapped up his official two-day trip to Thailand, where he participated in the 14th Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Ministerial Meeting.

He also met with senior Thai officials, including Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai.

The Iranian minister started his six-nation tour on March 6 and paid visits to Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand. At the end of his trip to New Zealand, he is scheduled to visit Australia on the last leg of his tour.

The 2nd meeting of quadrilateral coalition of Financial Intelligence Units of Iran, Russia, Iraq and Syria in the sphere of fighting against financing of ISIL (ISIS, Daesh) terrorist organization held on 23 April 2016 in Tehran, Iran. This meeting follows the previous meeting held in Moscow, Russia in February 2016.
This meeting aimed at detecting and suppressing financial flows linked to ISIL and was highly successful in strengthening cooperation in fighting against financing of this terrorist organization. This type of collaboration among four FIUs could be a good symbol of international cooperation in fighting against terrorist financial at practical manner.

To reach a trade volume of $30 million by the end of 2017, Iran and Turkey started a joint committee on banking relations.

The first meeting of Iran-Turkey joint committee on banking relations was held on Wednesday in Tehran, announced the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran in a communiqué on Thursday.

Hassan Yaghoubi, Director of International Relations Department at the Iranian Central Bank's International Affairs Office headed the Iranian side of the meeting and Mehmet Taşkin, the Deputy Executive Director at Central Bank of Turkey was the top figure of the Turks in the meeting.

During the meeting, the two delegations discussed the ways to remove obstacles ahead of the banking relations of the two countries, the use of local currency for trade, connection of the switch cards of the two countries, and continuation of the bilateral talks in the next three months.

The agreements reached in talks between the two sides was signed by the two sides in the form of a banking Memorandum of Understanding.

The signed MoU is in line with the terms of cooperation agreed by the presidents of the wo countries who have set the goal to reach a trade volume of more than $30 million by the end of 2017.

The next meeting of the committee is set to be held in Turkey in late February.

Iran and Britain signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the field of renewable energies.

The MoU was signed between the Renewable Energy Organization of Iran and Britain's Solar Energy Companies Consortium in London on Saturday.

On the basis of the MoU, the British consortium will supply electricity to Iran and some other regional countries by means of utilizing solar energy through sharing solar technology and providing financial assistance.

In a relevant development on Thursday, Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian announced his country's readiness for investment by the UK firms.

"Iran is ready to accept investment by British companies in the field of water industry and management," Chitchian said in a meeting with a group of British industrialists and businessmen in London.

He said that Iran needs at least $12 billion of investment in its water and wastewater management sectors in the next five years.

Iran and Britain have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in the field of rail transportation.

The cooperation agreement was sealed during the visit to London of Mohsen Pourseyyed Aghaei, the President of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (RAI).

The MoU, which seeks to develop Iran’s railway system through the exchange of knowledge and technology, was signed at the presence of RAI CEO and his British counterpart and emphasizes bilateral cooperation in the fields of process management, rail transportation systems as well as technical and technological management of railways.

During his meetings with two executives of Britain’s Department for Transport (DfT) in London, Pourseyyed Aghaei referring to the steps taken for promotion of rail transport and movement of passengers and cargo in the country offering the English side unparalleled investment opportunities in the sector.

The British  side also pointed to the attractions of Iran for trade and economic cooperation voicing willingness to develop relations with the country in the area of rail transportation.

The MoU was signed as a follow up to the visit of Britain’s Deputy Minister of State at the Department for Transport Robert Goodwill earlier this year.

During Goodwill’s visit to Tehran, further cooperation between Iran and the UK especially in the field of rail transport and high-speed trains as well as in airports and aviation infrastructure was emphasized.

The World Bank provides data for Iran from 1990 to 2014. The average value for Iran during that period was 13605.34 U.S. dollars with a minimum of 10173.68 U.S. dollars in 1990 and a maximum of 17949.24 U.S. dollars in 2011.

http://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Iran/GDP_per_capita_PPP/

By Rupert Hargreaves


According to Sturgeon Capital, the firm that started up in December with the goal to invest exclusively in Iran, falling interest rates are the “single biggest catalyst” for an equity market rally in the country.
Iran: One of the most attractive emerging markets?

As reported in the Bloomberg Brief Hedge Fund newsletter, Sturgeon believes that Iran is one of the most attractive emerging markets out there today, and the country’s sky-high interest rates of 21% leave plenty of room for further monetary easing.

Sturgeon Capital Inagural Report On Iran Strategy

Iran’s central bank has become more hawkish in recent months. The country’s inflation rate, which hit a high of 40% in 2013, has fallen to 12.6% in the 12 months ending February 19 and now that sanctions against the country have been lifted inflation should fall further. Interest rates should soon start to reflect this disinflationary trend.

According to Clemente Cappello, founder of the London based Sturgeon:

“We expect them [interest rates] to go down gradually to higher single digits. That should provide a big boost for the stock markets because it means your cost of capital is going down, it means the interest rates you’re getting from bank deposits will be reduced and therefore, it makes the stock market comparatively more attractive.”

To play the falling interest rate trend, Sturgeon is focusing on small-cap, family-owned companies in Iran’s industrial and consumer sectors, which have strong export potential.

A great example is the glass sector. The main cost inputs for Iranian glass companies are labour, energy and sand — all of which are in abundant supply in the country. Other examples of companies the fund is interested in are; a utility company that services the petrochemical sector; an Internet provider, a payment processing company and; a vegetable oil producer.

Now that sanctions against the company have been lifted, Sturgeon’s investment universe has widened from 50 to all 600 companies listed on the Iranian stock exchange – that total excludes four entities controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.

With Sanctions Gone, Is Iran A Hot Investment Destination?

According to Bloomberg Brief, Greylock Capital Management is also bullish on the outlook for Iran’s stock market as foreign investors and multinationals flock back to the country after last year’s historic nuclear deal.

According to Greylock’s CEO and chairman, Hans Humes, who traveled to Iran in June, the biggest opportunities for investors are Iran’s energy, infrastructure and corporate services markets where investment opportunities may be worth “multiple tens of billions” of dollars in the next five to ten years, assuming political stability.

However, there are risks and some are more skeptical. Recent actions by Iran may give one a reason to be a bit more hesitant from either an ethical and/or realist point of view.

Iran equally benefits from its large market size (20th), which enables businesses to reap economies of scale in the domestic market; this advantage could be further strengthened by removing barriers to trade, which shield the country from foreign competition

Lower tariffs (135th) and more foreign ownership (139th) would also raise the efficiency of markets for goods and services (98th)

Other priorities for reform include labor markets, which are among the most restrictively regulated worldwide (135th), reflecting high brain drain (109th) and incentive structures that are not based only on meritocracy (121st for reliance on professional management and 111th  in terms of the link between pay and productivity)
 
Female participation in the labor market (126th) need to be improved; this will help reduce Iran’s high unemployment rate especially among the youth
It will also be important to foster a more trustworthy and efficient financial sector (120th)

The limited access to finance (129th) across different financial products as well as low confidence in the banking sector (114th) significantly limits private-sector growth in the country

Improvements in productivity could also be achieved by leveraging the latest technologies available from abroad

Presently, the capacity of Iranian firms to absorb new technologies is very low (116th) and access to these technologies is limited (123rd); progress could be achieved by fostering the use of mobile telephony (95th) and access to broadband (101st)

Iran’s intellectual property rights needs further legal strengthening in order to foster  innovation, confidence in registering patents (80th) as well as protect companies interested in transferring technology to the country

Improvements should be made in Iran’s education sector. While Iran’s education system demonstrates high quality in the math and sciences (41st), the quality of overall education (108th) in other areas need attention

More modern technology and access to internet need to be made available to students (114th)