Iranian Rial

[pokerplayer]

1 hour ago, screwball said:

Iran wants slightly greater than 1 usd...

 

Well considering your guesstimate for March we should know a lot quicker than the dinar whether this shall come to pass.

pp

[jaman]

LET"S HOPE SO.....love the international banking talk 

[screwball]

I am banking on by March, and need it now...the president is up for reelection may..so 4 months..but I am here until the end...

[jaman]

thanks S B for ALL the hard work you have done.... TILL THE END IT IS!!!!!!

[markb57]

absolutely!!!

[blueskyline]

I agree . Thanks SB !

[screwball]

 

 

Sepehr Arefmanesh

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Finance Desk

Iranians made 1.06 billion successful digital payment transactions worth 1.19 quadrillion rials ($30.8 billion) during the month ending December 20.

The latest data released by Shaparak, the body in charge of Iran’s payment network, indicate a 31.17% growth in the number of successful digital transactions and 46.7% growth in the value of electronic operations compared with the same period of last year.

Purchasing goods and services accounted for 75% of the total e-payments during the one-month period. Paying bills and checking account balances reached 18.3% and 6.5% of the total transactions respectively.

Shaparak also registered 111.6 million failed transactions during the period. Failed transactions accounted for 9.46% of the total payments–at 1.18 billion and amounted to 11.75% of total transactions during the same period of last year.

Users' errors were the reason for 88% of failed transactions. Card issuers' (that is, banks) mistake was the reason behind 8.5% of unsuccessful transactions. Mistakes by Shaparak were the cause of failures in only 0.29% of failed transactions.

Banks’ mistakes were the cause of 20% of failed transactions last year, whereas users’ mistake accounted for 75% of failures in digital transactions.

Boom in Online Gateways

According to Shaparak, 253,358 online gateways were active by December 21.

Online gateways experienced a whopping 1,485% growth in their number compared with the previous year’s 15,977 gateways. These increased by 372% during the month ending December 20 compared with the last month.  

“One of the payment service providers started to offer a new service that allows shopkeepers [using POS terminals] to accept money online,” Shaparak said, elaborating on the reason behind the unusual growth.

Shaparak was probably referring to Pardakht Mellat, though it did not name the company. The company, back in October, unveiled its NFC (Near Field Communication) payment system that is available only for its own customers.

Beh Pardakht had already equipped 70% of its POS terminals with NFC technology.

Policymakers’ recent measures over authorizing non-bank payment companies and fintech firms might have had a positive impact on enhancement of online payment methods.

However, online gateways account for just 4.33% of active payment tools in the country. POS terminals are still Iranians’ favorite payment tool, accounting for 95.5% of active payment tools. The total number of POS terminals reached 5,580,501 by December 21.

Shaparak data indicate that transactions valued at less than 5 million rials ($130) accounted for 90% of payments processed by POS terminals. Payments valued at less than 250,000 rials ($6.5) accounted for 62.5% of transactions processed through online gateways.

PSP Performance

Beh Pardakht Mellat, affiliated with Bank Mellat, kept its leading position in Iran’s payment market. The company alone accounted for 23.5% of the total e-transactions during the month ending December 20.

Saman Electronic Payment, affiliated with Saman Bank, and Asan Pardakht Persian ranked second and third, accounting for 17% and 13% of transactions, respectively.

However, SEP managed to take the lead in online payments category, processing 24.14% of total transactions in this group. The market share of two major providers of online gateways, Beh Pardakht and Parsian E-Commerce Company, stood at 23.4% and 15.9%, respectively.

Beh Pardakht dominated POS terminal payments, accounting for 26.1% of transactions in this category. Asan Pardakht Persian also remained the leading PSP in mobile payments category, processing 40% of mobile payment transactions.

Iran is the leading payment market in the Middle East. Nilson Report Magazine listed seven Iranian payment service providers among the world’s largest 150 acquirers in 2016. The seven companies recorded a total of 7.9 billion transactions in 2015.

[screwball]

 

he research arm of the Iranian Parliament has published an analytical report on the plan to increase the capital of public-sector banks, pinpointing its faults while stressing the necessity of the scheme.

The capital level of public-sector banks has been identified as one of their major weaknesses during the past few years and “to address the issue, the 2017-18 Budget Law contains measures to increase their capital”, the report by Majlis Research Center was cited by IBENA.

The Cabinet headed by President Hassan Rouhani voted last week to obligate the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance to allocate 200 trillion rials ($5.2 billion) of excess funds to increase the core capital of state-run banks.

MRC refers to two clauses in an article of the budget law, noting that “while increasing the capital of public-sector banks is necessary under the current circumstances, methods cited in the aforementioned clauses contain numerous flaws”.

The first regulatory measure found to be lacking by the think-tank is Clause B of Article 17, which states that “the government is allowed to raise the capital of Bank Melli, Bank Sepah and Bank Keshavarzi (Agriculture Bank) by a maximum of 50 trillion rials ($1.3 billion)” from the interest and fees related to overdrafts and credit lines paid by these banks to CBI.

As per the clause, the share of each bank will be determined on the basis of consensus reached by CBI, the Ministry of Economy and the Budget and Planning Organization.

 Rewarding Violation

The MRC asserts that the clause has failed to mention the adverse effects of waiving overdraft fees of banks and lacks transparency regarding “the various dimensions of capital increase” and is in contradiction with “budget planning principles”.

The report takes a dim view of the fact that the provision implicitly rewards violators, “prioritizes the fiscal policies of the government over the monetary policies of the central bank” and indirectly uses the assets of the central bank to increase the capital of public-sector banks.

“Even though a bank’s capital can act as a buffer against shocks, trends of the past three years have shown that the mechanisms to guard against financial shocks have in fact turned overdrafts into credit lines that are not the  banks’ capital,” reads the report.

The parliamentary think-tank adds that under such conditions, while increasing the capital of the banks “from appropriate sources” may create a positive momentum for public banks, bad credit management by these lenders and the existence of the possibility of future overdrafts “coupled with a lack of fiscal discipline in the government” will destroy the positive effects of banks’ capital increase.   

Therefore, the research center suggests that the clause be entirely removed from the budget law.

The other faulty provision, according to MRC, is Clause C of Article 17 that states that during the next fiscal year (starting March 21), “the government will be allowed to allocate up to 100 trillion rials ($2.6 billion) of its capital and financial assets to increase the capital of public-sector banks in line with the needs of the corresponding bank to conform to international standards”.

The think-tank notes that the clause does not clarify the performance of past similar legislation or how the resources will be provided for and reminds that increasing the banks’ capital by forgiving their debts to the central bank will cause “indiscipline, create further tensions in badly-managed banks and lead to borrowing from the assets of the central bank”.

It does not, however, advocate the removal of this clause.

 A Better Path

Instead, the think tanks urges regulatory bodies to proceed with structural reforms in the banking sector and cautions that any bank bailout that is not preceded by such reforms would in fact squander national resources.

It proposes alternative, fixed measures to increase banks’ capital such as using banks’ unexpected net profits and their paid taxes.  

The MRC also disclosed the capital adequacy ratio for seven public-sector banks. Only the Export Development Bank of Iran and the Bank of Industry and Mine registered a ratio higher than the 8% “minimum standard” cited by the research center, with a strong 30.86% by the former and an 11.90% by the latter.

Post Bank at 5.65%, Agriculture Bank at 5.47%, Bank Maskan at 4.87% and Bank Sepah at 2.46% are the other banks with less-than-impressive capital adequacy ratios while Bank Melli was the only public-sector bank with a negative capital adequacy ratio.

[screwball]

onforming to International Financial Reporting Standards will have immediate positive implications for attracting foreign investments and help Iranian banks on the international scene, believes an accounting expert.

“IFRS plays a very important role in creating transparency and in the current state of the Iranian economy, wherein we feel a dire need to attract foreign investment, the formation of a common accounting language would elevate Iranian companies’ status in the global community and change the atmosphere of distrust against the country,” IBENA quoted Gholamreza Salami, a member of the Iranian Institute of Certified Accountants, as saying.

He referred to other advantages of the standards, saying they are very important for the country’s international banking transactions in that “they pave the way for attracting foreign capital through banking channels”.

The Central Bank of Iran is seriously pursuing the complete implementation of IFRS and other international banking requirements such as Basel guidelines. The bank has notified the new financial methodology using the IFRS format and banks’ financial statements will be based on it in the current fiscal year (ending March 20).

The senior accountant also emphasized that drafting financial statements based on IFRS is not sufficient and must be coupled with complementary policies in order to come to fruition.

“One of these policies pertains to drafting financial statements for the board members of the banks,” says Salami, noting that such statements are currently lacking and must be made more detailed and comprehensive.

Kourosh Parvizian, the head of the Association of Private Banks, believes that supervisory bodies must be obliged to coordinate and “adopt a unified approach” to publish the information required as part of IFRS.

“These new standards are expected to help create stability and sustainability in banks and credit institutions, instill transparency and create more trust among beneficiaries and shareholders, depositors and bank and credit institution’s staff,” he said.

Parvizian, who is also the CEO of Bank Parsian, added that conforming to international standards is not a point of dispute among officials, “but what is divisive is the timing of the implementation of the standards and their localization and instruction,” referring to recent complaints from some bankers  that the new financial statements have hurt their profit.

 IFRS are a single set of accounting standards, developed and maintained by the International Accounting Standards Board for application on a globally consistent basis—by developed, emerging and developing economies.

These standards help provide investors and other users of financial statements with the ability to compare the financial performance of publicly listed companies on a like-for-like basis with their international peers.

IFRS are now mandated for use by more than 100 countries, including the European Union and by more than two-thirds of G20 states.

[pokerplayer]

Bring it on !! I for one am ready ! Already scoping out South Pacific Island property's on the beach should one of my crazy azz Investments come in. 

pp

[Freedomwish]

9 minutes ago, screwball said:

The Central Bank of Iran is seriously pursuing the complete implementation of IFRS and other international banking requirements such as Basel guidelines. The bank has notified the new financial methodology using the IFRS format and banks’ financial statements will be based on it in the current fiscal year (ending March 20).

This statement right here......Oh Christ Lord...........I swear I had almost just dropped my Corona beer on the floor...... oh man....

Screwball, I hope you are keeping count on how many drinks I'll be owing you!!  WOW! 

Edited January 28, 2017 by Freedomwish

[markb57]

32 minutes ago, pokerplayer said:

Bring it on !! I for one am ready ! Already scoping out South Pacific Island property's on the beach should one of my crazy azz Investments come in. 

pp

Just one word to think about and research on for any south pacific property. Fukushima. 

[blueskyline]

34 minutes ago, markb57 said:

Just one word to think about and research on for any south pacific property. Fukushima. 

Yeap ................................Thats one Powerful Deterant of a Word 

 

[sandfly]

I for one will buy my wife a big a$$ diamond ring 

[screwball]

3 hours ago, sandfly said:

I for one will buy my wife a big a$$ diamond ring 

I think my wife can buy me a big ass 24ct diamond ring...

[screwball]

01/27/17

Iran starts sending own oil tankers to Europe

Source: Press TV

Reports say Iran has sent at least two supertankers to Europe in what appears to be the country's first direct shipment of crude oil to EU clients after the removal of sanctions last year.

A report by the Financial Times said two giant vessels called 'Snow' and 'Huge' were already on their way towards the storage and trading port of Rotterdam. 

Both belong to the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) and had taken their loads at Iran's Kharg Island earlier this month. 

The supertankers are the first vessels operated by the NITC rather than independent shippers. Both can carry more than two million barrels of oil, the Financial Times wrote, adding that they are expected to reach Rotterdam early next month. 

Earlier, Bloomberg had quoted market figures as showing that Europe was already preparing to import the highest amount of crude oil from Iran in five years.

Bloomberg had highlighted estimates as showing that tanker arrivals from Iran would reach 622,581 barrels a day in January. This, it said, would be the biggest flows for a single month since at least November 2011. 

The Financial Times further in its report highlighted remarks by NITC Managing Director Sirus Kianersi that the resumption of his company's oil shipments to Europe was a result of a "resolution" of the insurance and international certification issues.

The same issues, the report added, had delayed the Iranian oil shipper from sending its own vessels to European ports. 

On a related front, Reuters said earlier this week that global ship insurers planned to resume near full coverage for Iranian oil exports from next month without involving US-domiciled reinsurers.

It said the insurers had reached a deal to the same effect, adding the mechanism would be effective as of next month.

[screwball]

Just now, screwball said:

It said the insurers had reached a deal to the same effect, adding the mechanism would be effective as of next month.

Interesting is it feb or march?

[screwball]

Europe to Receive Iran’s Biggest Oil Import in 5 Years: Report 

News ID: 1308806 Service: Economy 

 January, 26, 2017 - 17:43 

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The highest amount of Iranian crude in almost five years will be exported to Europe this month, a report said. 

According to ship-tracking and the European Union data compiled by Bloomberg, arrivals on supertankers will reach 622,581 barrels a day in January, the biggest flows for a single month since at least November 2011.

Two Iranian supertankers, Huge and Snow, are en route, bringing about 4 million barrels between them.

It shows that Iran is reclaiming its previous share in the global oil market after anti-Tehran sanctions halted all deliveries back in 2012.

The sanctions were removed after Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France, and Germany) on July 14, 2015, finalized a lasting nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and implemented it on January 16, 2016.

[pokerplayer]

1 hour ago, screwball said:

Interesting is it feb or march?

Either one will work for me but Feb is preferred. 

pp

[screwball]

1 minute ago, pokerplayer said:

Either one will work for me but Feb is preferred. 

pp

Don't worry I'm hearing ya!

[screwball]

News ID: 3889313 - Sat 28 January 2017 - 13:20

Economy

TEHRAN, Jan. 28 (MNA) – Following exports of several gas condensate cargos to South Kora, Japan has also purchases 160,000 barrels of gas condensate from phases 20 and 21 of South Pars field.

Managing Director of Iran Oil Terminals Company (IOTC) Seyyed Pirouz Mousavi, while pointing to deployment of 160,000 barrels of gas condensate from South Pars phases 20 and 21, said “the cargo has been delivered to Japan’s 300,000-ton oil tanker.

The official noted that the Japanese tanker, after being loaded with 160 thousand barrels of Iranian gas condensate, left Assalouyeh for Kharg terminal where it will receive 650 thousand barrels of crude oil before departing for Japan.

Hamidreza Mahdavi, Project Director of South Pars Phases 20 and 21, stated that two desalination plants have become operational in the two phases estimating that two more plants as well as a sulfur recovery unit will come on stream by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (to end March 20).

Meanwhile, Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC) has recently announced that 28 million cubic meters of gas are being produced at phase 21 platform per day. Gas recovery capacity at South Pars joint field has climbed to 515 million cubic meters per day.

Sour gas of phase 1 in South Pars has reached, which amounts to 28 million cubic meters per day, is transferred to refineries of phases 20 and 21 and is injected to the national gat network after being processed and sweetened.

HA/3888617

[screwball]

Since the nuclear-related sanctions against Iran were lifted a year ago, several European companies have started negotiations to establish businesses in Iran’s diversified market.

Stating the above, a report published by the Chinese official news agency Xinhua gave an overview of some of the promising deals. Below is the full text.

According to a report by Fars News Agency on Wednesday, an Iranian oil exploration and production company signed a memorandum of understanding with an Austrian oil and gas company for cooperation in upstream oil projects in Iran.

The Austrian OMV, an integrated oil and gas company based in Vienna, and Dana Energy company, a leading Iranian company active in oil and gas upstream field development activities, signed the MoU and agreed to evaluate prospective development and redevelopment projects in the Iranian oil and gas industry.

The document was signed in Vienna by Mostafa Khoee, Dana Energy board member, and Johann Pleininger, OMV executive board member responsible for upstream projects.

Reportedly, OMV entered Iran’s energy market in 2001. In 2016, the National Iranian Oil Company and OMV signed an agreement concerning the evaluation of various fields in Zagros area in the west of Iran, for potential future development, and to carry out a joint study for explorations in the southern Fars area.

Also, Tasnim News Agency reported on Tuesday that German major oil and petrochemical companies have offered to invest in the Iranian oil and petrochemical sectors.

A total of $12 billion in finance have been offered by the German companies, including the chemicals manufacturing corporation BASF.

BASF, whose managing director paid an official visit to Iran last year as a member of a delegation accompanying German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel, has offered to invest $6 billion in a petrochemical project in the south of Iran.

Wintershall Holding GmbH, Germany’s largest crude oil and natural gas producer, is another company that has signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Iranian Oil Company to make studies on four oilfields in the west of Iran.

Besides, a French delegation comprising representatives from six French companies is expected to arrive in Tehran on Saturday for talks on trading opportunities.

The French traders are scheduled to meet with their Iranian counterparts at Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture on Jan. 28.

French enterprises in fields, such as energy, transportation, mining machinery, forestry, baking industry, home appliances and healthcare products, are seeking to explore avenues for further cooperation with Iranians.

“Iran is planning to establish three trade offices in Europe and launch them before October 2017,” said Abolfazl Koudeie, director general for trade with Europe and the US from Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization.

“We also plan to set up three other trade offices in Ukraine, Armenia and Tajikistan,” Koudeie was quoted as saying by the report.

Moreover, the downturn on the Norwegian continental shelf has sent Norway’s risk-taking oil companies to Iran to engage in business with the Islamic Republic.

“During the past year, we have had around 40 assignments from Norwegian companies wishing to do business in Iran,” said Erik Arvnes, director of the Investigation Department of the KPMG company that helps Norwegian companies conduct surveys of potential Iranian business partners.

“The companies we have worked with come mainly from the oil and gas industry, but there are also those that deal with shipping, seafood and renewable energy,” Arvnes was quoted as saying by the daily Aftenposten on Monday.

“Companies must be more creative and look at new markets where opportunities for growth are bigger. They are forced to think differently, both regarding which markets to enter and which companies to partner with,” Arvnes said.

Oil supply company IKM also saw great opportunities in Iran. Chief executive officer of IKM, Stale Kyllingstad, confirmed to Aftenposten that the company has had a team of 14 people working in Iran since last spring.

“They perform services in subsea technology field. This is a first long-term mission, which will generate between $6-12 million annually in the coming future,” Kyllingstad said.

Iran owns one of the world’s largest oil and gas reserves.

[sandfly]

Moving ahead sweet 

[screwball]

1. Economy
2. Domestic Economy

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Iran's Income Tax Exemption Determined

 

As decided by Majlis Joint Commission last week, Iranians with an annual income of less than 240 million rials ($6,220) will be exempt from paying income tax in the next Iranian year (March 2017-18), the commission’s spokesman said. “The government bill for the next year’s budget had initially suggested that the threshold be 180 million rials ($4,665) per year,” Mohammad Mehdi Mofatteh was also quoted as saying by IRNA.

[screwball]

Iran Air has published the image of an Airbus A330, which is said to be parked in France’s Chateauroux-Centre “Marcel Dassault” Airport and painted in the flag carrier’s livery.  “Iran Air’s new A330 has been spotted … Awaits delivery!” reads a late-Friday tweet from Iran Air’s official handle.  Iran Air received an Airbus A321 on January 12, which marked the first delivery from western planemakers after the nuclear deal.  A background check of the A330 shows the plane was initially built for the Sao Paulo-based Avianca airline, which canceled its order before delivery. The delivered A321 was also sold to Iran after it was cancelled by another buyer.  Iran Air says it hopes to receive at least two aircraft in addition to the one it received earlier from Airbus by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2017).  After the nuclear deal was signed, Iran Air ordered 100 airliners from Airbus and 80 from Boeing and is close to a deal to buy 20 turboprop aircraft from Toulouse-based ATR.