Iran Economy in Brief – No. 52

What was going on in Iran over the last few weeks? Here we have made a summary for you:

  • Sepah Bank Opens $1b Line of Credit for Bidboland Project
  • Billions of Investments in ICT Sector in Iran
  • 4% Growth: Says Minister of Economy
  • Only Private Sector in Charge of Building Power Plants in Iran
  • Could Volkswagen deal increase CNG Prices in Iran?
  • Mandatory IFRS for Iranian Banks and Credit Institutions
  • Iran’s largest wind power plant to be built in Abadan

 

Sepah Bank Opens $1b Line of Credit for Bidboland Project

Sepah Bank, announced the opening of a $1b credit line for the country’s largest syndicated banking project.

The project is the construction of a second Bidboland Refinery in Behbahan, Khuzestan province and is being carried out by Persian Gulf Bidboland Gas Refinement Co. The investment cost for the project has been estimated at $2.2b.

Read More Sepah Bank Line of Credit for Bidboland Project


Billions of Investments in ICT Sector in Iran

The Government expects an investment of $18.5b in ICT-sector over the next five years. In parallel the bandwidth is planned to be 4-folded.

The Ministry of Communications reports that in the past three years, 120 trillion IRR ($3.7b) has been invested on ICT infrastructure, from which 80 trillion IRR ($2.5b) has come from the private sector whereas 40 trillion IRR (1.2b) has been invested by the Government.

Read More on Investments in ICT Sector


7.4% Growth: Says Minister of Economy

Based on statistics released by the Central Bank of Iran and the Ministry of Economy, in the first six months of the current Iranian fiscal year, i.e. March 2016, the country has witnessed 7.4% economic growth. Thanks to the nuclear agreement in January 2016, a large portion of this growth is due to increase in production and exportation of oil. However, other sectors such as industry, agriculture and services have all played important roles.

Read More on Problems in Financial Market of Iran


Only Private Sector in Charge of Building Power Plants in Iran

Iranian Government will no longer build power plant nor dams, announces the Ministry of Energy of Iran.

“The policy and outlook of the Ministry of Energy, especially based on the sixth five-year plan, starting from March 2017, is to create the conditions for the private sector and foreign investors to take part in water, electricity and sewage development projects”, said Alireza Daemi, Deputy Minister of Energy.

Read More about Energy Policies in Iran 


Could Volkswagen deal increase CNG Prices in Iran?

Negotiations with the German carmaker, Volkswagen, over the production of CNG vehicles in Iran, strengthens the possibility of increased CNG fees from the government.

Not increasing the fees for CNG since 2014 has caused some problem for station owners and slowed the interest in opening new stations from the private sector. TheNational Iranian Oil Product and Distribution Company (NIOPDC) has therefore requested a reconsideration of the current fees.

Read More about CNG Stations in Iran


Mandatory IFRS for Iranian Banks and Credit Institutions

Securities and Exchange Organization of Iran obligates banks and credit institutions to apply international standard frameworks (IFRS) to their accounting reports.

“The lack of access to transparent information in a standard international language is one of the major problems for the attraction of foreign investors. Foreign investors do not have access to neither internationally standardized financial statements nor are statements available in English”, notes Abbas Nikchery, CEO of Mellat Bank Brokerage.

Read More about IFRS For Iranian Credit Institutions


Iran’s largest wind power plant to be built in Abadan

The largest wind power plant of Iran, with a capacity of 200 Megawatts, will be built in a cooperation of Khuzestan Power Company and the German company, EAB New Energy GmbH. The first executive phase of the power plant has begun in Abadan’s Arvand free zone with based on foreign direct investment (FDI). The total value of the investment is approximately 350 million euros which will create 150 job opportunities for university graduates.

Read More about Abadan Wind Power Plant