Iranian Rial

[screwball]

Tehran, Jakarta call for stronger trade, economic relations

News ID: 4116678 - Tue 17 October 2017 - 14:34

Economy

TEHRAN, Oct. 17 (MNA) – A meeting between Iranian economy minister and his Indonesia counterpart stressed the need to elevate relations and develop bilateral cooperation.

On the sidelines of the 2017 Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group in Washington DC, Iranians Minister of Economy Masoud Karbasian met and talked with Sri Mulyani, the Indonesian Finance Minister.

At the meeting, which was attended by all members of the two delegations, discussed and exchanged views on latest status of the two countries’ economies.

The Indonesian side, while referring to friendly ties between the two states, invited Iran’s Karbasian to take part at the next World Bank Summit to be held in Indonesia. She also emphasized the need to bolster collaboration between the two countries and voiced readiness to further elevate bilateral relations.

 Sri Mulyani also called for stronger cooperation between Iran and Indonesia at international arenas.

Masoud Karbasian, for his part, reviews economic achievements of Iran in recent years and, while stressing the benefits of Resistance Economy as proposed by the Iranian Leader, said expansion of relations with Islamic countries remained a top priority for Iran and voiced the country’s readiness to further develop trade, economic and investment accords with Indonesia.

He further noted that boosting banking ties between Tehran and Jakarta marked a major factor in preparing grounds for stronger relations.

[pokerplayer]

16 minutes ago, screwball said:

The Iranian capital market’s first foreign currency exchange-traded fund is expected to come on stream next week, the deputy head of Securities and Exchange Organization, Ali Saeedi, has announced.

“One no longer needs to enter the physical forex market to invest in currencies. All that has to be done is buying shares in a foreign currency ETF, which will track currency fluctuations and provide investors with returns on investments,” Saeedi was quoted as saying by ILNA.

One aim of setting up currency ETFs, among others, may be to prevent shockwaves in the forex market during a supply deficit. That can be done by expanding their portfolio beyond only purchasing currencies by investing in export commodities and export-oriented firms that benefit from forex fluctuations.

“We’ve had many meetings this week and agreements are being made between the Central Bank of Iran and SEO. Regulatory concerns will be addressed by the end of the week and we expect to have the official go-ahead for setting up the ETF,” he said.

Currency ETFs invest in a single currency or a basket of currencies with the aim to replicate movements in currency in the foreign exchange market by holding currencies either directly or through currency-denominated short-term debt instruments.

Currency ETFs are widely used by investors who wish to gain exposure to the foreign exchange market and prefer not to enter the futures or forex market.

With the growing popularity of ETFs, investors have found it very easy and relatively inexpensive to trade currency ETFs to take advantage of fluctuations between currencies. Currency ETFs can be purchased to track most international currencies ,including the US and Canadian dollars, the euro, British pound and Japanese yen.

The two currencies dominating the Iranian forex market are the US dollar and euro. The former is the official currency used for Iranian transactions and the latter is the private sector’s currency of choice due to sanctions-related limitations on using the US currency.

Saeedi did not mention what currency or currencies the Iranian ETF will be denominated in.

The SEO seems to be aiming to attract investors away from the physical forex market, which is seeing a lot of activity these days due to rising political risks, to the capital market that is always in need of fresh supplies of liquidity.

This will relatively diminish forex trading risk and provide capital market investors with new options to put their money in.

The ETF is expected to fare well, considering the rising trajectory in many export-oriented stocks such as base metals on the back of growing commodity prices and a devaluing currency.

 USD, Euro Zoom Past Rial

Euro has gained 16.68% against rial so far this fiscal year (started March 21) to reach 47,980 rials on Wednesday. The currency started soaring as of the end of the first quarter (June 21) and its path forward seems to be unobstructed for the time being.

The US dollar maintained a relatively balanced trend up until last month with slight upticks. However, the greenback started soaring against the rial on Sept. 23 to gain 3.82% and end at 40,410 rials on Oct. 10.

The spike was mostly due to market anxiety over US President Donald Trump’s threats to unravel the nuclear deal, which eventually cooled down and started dropping, as the October 15 deadline for US certification of Iran’s compliance with JCPOA drew closer and leaks showed the deal is here to stay, at least for now. The currency has resumed growth since Sunday.

Overall, the USD has gained a total of 7.2% against rial to reach 40,210 rials since March 21.

 Base Metal Stocks Rising

Base metal stocks have been the hot new thing in Iran since early summer, as global prices showed signs of improvement due to China’s new environmental measures meant to crack down on pollutant industries.

The profit of producers, most of whom are exporters, exceeded forecasts with improving prices aligning with a weakening rial.

Now Tehran Stock Exchange’s Base Metals Index is close to crossing its all-time historic high of 46,975 reached on January 6, 2014. It has come a long way since its January 2016 all-time low of 19,439 by growing more than 138% up to now.

The index closed Wednesday trade at 46,417.40 to record a 0.64% daily growth.

 

 

This is HUGE from what I can see !! Good score SB

 

  pp

[sandfly]

p p i think it is about to bust lose. where are we going to exchange at

[gregp]

Saeedi did not mention what currency or currencies the Iranian ETF will be denominated in.

 

I’m thinking Saeedi would have mentioned what currencies they were going to trade if they were keeping the existing currencies in the market. 

 

We have a real good chance of seeing Iran and Iraq go together. The timing of Iraq’s progress and Iran’s ETF is impressive.

 

Don your speed boat and Speedo’s.

[Freedomwish]

8 hours ago, gregp said:

Saeedi did not mention what currency or currencies the Iranian ETF will be denominated in.

 

I’m thinking Saeedi would have mentioned what currencies they were going to trade if they were keeping the existing currencies in the market. 

 

We have a real good chance of seeing Iran and Iraq go together. The timing of Iraq’s progress and Iran’s ETF is impressive.

 

Don your speed boat and Speedo’s.

 

Brother Gregp, based off your thoughts I just highlighted there was a piece mentioned from the CBI 10/19/2017 thread today....the copy & paste that stood out to me on this:

 

• Strengthening international regional cooperation with the Central Bank of Iran:

Under the joint cooperation of the two countries (the Republic of Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran), two documents were signed between the Central Bank of Iraq and the Central Bank of Iran to consolidate efforts in joint cooperation in the banking and financial fields, electronically regulate transfers and exchange of experiences and all kinds of knowledge in matters related to information exchange and regulatory legislation. International agreements and charters to which both countries are associated

So yeah.....either I'm meeting up with sister PP up north with a nice bottle of scotch on hand, or meeting up with brother Screwball in Dubai with whatever's the best drink they'll have out there lol 

Yup. 

 

[screwball]

On 19/10/2017 at 10:39 AM, pokerplayer said:

 

 

This is HUGE from what I can see !! Good score SB

 

  pp

Yep getting real excited for both rial and dinar

[screwball]

5 hours ago, Freedomwish said:

 

Brother Gregp, based off your thoughts I just highlighted there was a piece mentioned from the CBI 10/19/2017 thread today....the copy & paste that stood out to me on this:

 

• Strengthening international regional cooperation with the Central Bank of Iran:

Under the joint cooperation of the two countries (the Republic of Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran), two documents were signed between the Central Bank of Iraq and the Central Bank of Iran to consolidate efforts in joint cooperation in the banking and financial fields, electronically regulate transfers and exchange of experiences and all kinds of knowledge in matters related to information exchange and regulatory legislation. International agreements and charters to which both countries are associated

So yeah.....either I'm meeting up with sister PP up north with a nice bottle of scotch on hand, or meeting up with brother Screwball in Dubai with whatever's the best drink they'll have out there lol 

Yup. 

 

Oh yeah getting ready..

 

[screwball]

18 hours ago, sandfly said:

p p i think it is about to bust lose. where are we going to exchange at

All I can say is yep...watching for rate change 

[screwball]

The Iranian capital market’s first foreign currency exchange-traded fund is expected to come on stream next week, the deputy head of Securities and Exchange Organization, Ali Saeedi, has announced.

“One no longer needs to enter the physical forex market to invest in currencies. All that has to be done is buying shares in a foreign currency ETF, which will track currency fluctuations and provide investors with returns on investments,” Saeedi was quoted as saying by ILNA.

One aim of setting up currency ETFs, among others, may be to prevent shockwaves in the forex market during a supply deficit. That can be done by expanding their portfolio beyond only purchasing currencies by investing in export commodities and export-oriented firms that benefit from forex fluctuations.

“We’ve had many meetings this week and agreements are being made between the Central Bank of Iran and SEO. Regulatory concerns will be addressed by the end of the week and we expect to have the official go-ahead for setting up the ETF,” he said.

Currency ETFs invest in a single currency or a basket of currencies with the aim to replicate movements in currency in the foreign exchange market by holding currencies either directly or through currency-denominated short-term debt instruments.

Currency ETFs are widely used by investors who wish to gain exposure to the foreign exchange market and prefer not to enter the futures or forex market.

With the growing popularity of ETFs, investors have found it very easy and relatively inexpensive to trade currency ETFs to take advantage of fluctuations between currencies. Currency ETFs can be purchased to track most international currencies ,including the US and Canadian dollars, the euro, British pound and Japanese yen.

The two currencies dominating the Iranian forex market are the US dollar and euro. The former is the official currency used for Iranian transactions and the latter is the private sector’s currency of choice due to sanctions-related limitations on using the US currency.

Saeedi did not mention what currency or currencies the Iranian ETF will be denominated in.

The SEO seems to be aiming to attract investors away from the physical forex market, which is seeing a lot of activity these days due to rising political risks, to the capital market that is always in need of fresh supplies of liquidity.

This will relatively diminish forex trading risk and provide capital market investors with new options to put their money in.

The ETF is expected to fare well, considering the rising trajectory in many export-oriented stocks such as base metals on the back of growing commodity prices and a devaluing currency.

 USD, Euro Zoom Past Rial

Euro has gained 16.68% against rial so far this fiscal year (started March 21) to reach 47,980 rials on Wednesday. The currency started soaring as of the end of the first quarter (June 21) and its path forward seems to be unobstructed for the time being.

The US dollar maintained a relatively balanced trend up until last month with slight upticks. However, the greenback started soaring against the rial on Sept. 23 to gain 3.82% and end at 40,410 rials on Oct. 10.

The spike was mostly due to market anxiety over US President Donald Trump’s threats to unravel the nuclear deal, which eventually cooled down and started dropping, as the October 15 deadline for US certification of Iran’s compliance with JCPOA drew closer and leaks showed the deal is here to stay, at least for now. The currency has resumed growth since Sunday.

Overall, the USD has gained a total of 7.2% against rial to reach 40,210 rials since March 21.

 Base Metal Stocks Rising

Base metal stocks have been the hot new thing in Iran since early summer, as global prices showed signs of improvement due to China’s new environmental measures meant to crack down on pollutant industries.

The profit of producers, most of whom are exporters, exceeded forecasts with improving prices aligning with a weakening rial.

Now Tehran Stock Exchange’s Base Metals Index is close to crossing its all-time historic high of 46,975 reached on January 6, 2014. It has come a long way since its January 2016 all-time low of 19,439 by growing more than 138% up to now.

The index closed Wednesday trade at 46,417.40 to record a 0.64% daily growth.

[screwball]

Just now, screwball said:

One no longer needs to enter the physical forex market to invest in currencies. All that has to be done is buying shares in a foreign currency ETF, which will track currency fluctuations and provide investors with returns on investments,” Saeedi was quoted as saying by ILNA.

Can you smell it...

[screwball]

Big news 

[screwball]

13 hours ago, gregp said:

Saeedi did not mention what currency or currencies the Iranian ETF will be denominated in.

 

I’m thinking Saeedi would have mentioned what currencies they were going to trade if they were keeping the existing currencies in the market. 

 

We have a real good chance of seeing Iran and Iraq go together. The timing of Iraq’s progress and Iran’s ETF is impressive.

 

Don your speed boat and Speedo’s.

Yep same time or real close together

[screwball]

13 hours ago, gregp said:

Saeedi did not mention what currency or currencies the Iranian ETF will be denominated in.

 

I’m thinking Saeedi would have mentioned what currencies they were going to trade if they were keeping the existing currencies in the market. 

 

We have a real good chance of seeing Iran and Iraq go together. The timing of Iraq’s progress and Iran’s ETF is impressive.

 

Don your speed boat and Speedo’s.

That hotel in Dubai is looking for appealing...the grovernsor hotel Dubai 

[screwball]

Is this a timeline..the can efts be transacted without being paired against currencies Iranian capital market’s first foreign currency exchange-traded fund is expected to come on stream next week, the deputy head of Securities and Exchange Organization, Ali Saeedi, has announced.

[screwball]

17 minutes ago, screwball said:

With the growing popularity of ETFs, investors have found it very easy and relatively inexpensive to trade currency ETFs to take advantage of fluctuations between currencies. Currency ETFs can be purchased to track most international currencies ,including the US and Canadian dollars, the euro, British pound and Japanese yen.

The two currencies dominating the Iranian forex market are the US dollar and euro. The former is the official currency used for Iranian transactions and the latter is the private sector’s currency of choice due to sanctions-related limitations on using the US currency.

Here's a hint...at some 

[screwball]

On 18/10/2017 at 12:14 AM, sandfly said:

please by end of year. that would be great

Could be next couple of weeks.....can they open exchnage and trade in efts without being international..? Can they trade in one or two and bring th others on,one or will they pop and trade in efts in major currency trading pairs 

[screwball]

26 minutes ago, screwball said:

The Iranian capital market’s first foreign currency exchange-traded fund is expected to come on stream next week, the deputy head of Securities and Exchange Organization, Ali Saeedi, has announced.

 

Is this a timeline....I am getting excited 

[gregp]

2 hours ago, screwball said:

That hotel in Dubai is looking for appealing...the grovernsor hotel Dubai 

 

I was thinking the same thing. Thanks SB. 

I can smell the Cubans and I don’t smoke. 

8 hours ago, Freedomwish said:

 

Brother Gregp, based off your thoughts I just highlighted there was a piece mentioned from the CBI 10/19/2017 thread today....the copy & paste that stood out to me on this:

 

• Strengthening international regional cooperation with the Central Bank of Iran:

Under the joint cooperation of the two countries (the Republic of Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran), two documents were signed between the Central Bank of Iraq and the Central Bank of Iran to consolidate efforts in joint cooperation in the banking and financial fields, electronically regulate transfers and exchange of experiences and all kinds of knowledge in matters related to information exchange and regulatory legislation. International agreements and charters to which both countries are associated

So yeah.....either I'm meeting up with sister PP up north with a nice bottle of scotch on hand, or meeting up with brother Screwball in Dubai with whatever's the best drink they'll have out there lol 

Yup. 

 

 

Here’s to Dubai. SB has the plan. Thanks my friend. 

Edited October 20, 2017 by gregp

[screwball]

Iran, Turkey finalize landmark currency swap deal  

Fri Oct 20, 2017 10:25AM

1. Home
2. Iran
3. Economy

Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim (R) in a joint press conference with Iran’s First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri. (Photo by IRNA)

Iran and Turkey have finalized what could be a historic deal to trade in their local currencies instead of the euro and the dollar.   

The deal was signed between the central banks of the two countries during a visit to Turkey by Iran’s First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri. 

It is expected to help Tehran and Ankara to triple the volume of their trade activities to as high as $30 billion from current $10 billion among other strategic benefits.   

“Trading with local currencies is the most significant step to improving economic ties. The central banks of both countries agreed on this issue and they will inform other banks about how the deal will be aplied,” Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim was quoted by media to have told a joint news conference with Jahangiri.

“Trading in local currencies will be encouraged and this will contribute to making trading easier and increase the trade volume and diversity,” Yildirim added.

Iran and Turkey signed an initial agreement on the same front earlier this month during a visit to Ankara by Valiollah Seif, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI). 

“Based on it, Iran’s Rial and Turkey’s Lira can be easily converted into each other and merchants on both sides of the border can accordingly use those currencies for their trade activities,” Seif had been quoted by the media as having told the reporters during his stay.

The official had emphasized that this could help reduce the costs relating to the conversion as well as the transfer of currencies.

He had also added that the banks of the two countries can use the international payment tools to convert currencies into Rials and Liras.

The deal allocates a credit line of 5 billion Liras and its equal amount in Iranian Rials. It would be used to facilitate the proceedings for the opening of letters of credit by merchants on both sides of the border.   

The central banks of Iran and Turkey further agreed to work together to create a switch platform to connect their banking networks thus enabling citizens to use the services of their respective lenders in both countries.   

The currency swap deal with Turkey is the first of its kind that the Islamic Republic has sealed in what appears to be a cornerstone of the country’s strategic plans to reduce its vulnerability to US economic pressures.

Even now that the US-led sanctions against Iran have been removed, the country is still grappling with Washington’s bans that restrict the country’s access to the dollar. 

The same bans are believed to have been instrumental in keeping foreign investors away from the vast Iranian investment potentials.  

[gregp]

Quote 

The deal allocates a credit line of 5 billion Liras and its equal amount in Iranian Rials.

 

5-billion Lira = 1.6 trillion Rial 

 

Remove 4-zeros from Rial and you get an equal playing field. 

 

 

 

[screwball]

On 20/10/2017 at 2:23 PM, gregp said:

 

I was thinking the same thing. Thanks SB. 

I can smell the Cubans and I don’t smoke. 

 

Here’s to Dubai. SB has the plan. Thanks my friend. 

 Think I will smoke a Cuban and drink twelve year old whiskey just for the hell of it! 

[screwball]

Iran private sector key to boost economic ties with Iraq

Baghdad, Oct 22, IRNA – Iran's private sector activities in Iraq should be expanded in order to boost the economic relations between the two countries, the Iranian envoy to Baghdad said.

Iran's ambassador to Iraq Iraj Masjedi in a meeting to explore weak and strong points of the two countries' economic relations urged officials of Iran's private sector to boost the sectors' activities so that they can survive the competition with rivals.

'One of the most important departments of the embassy is the economic department that we are trying to strengthen it,' he added in the meeting with Saeid Ohadi, the advisor to Iran's first vice-president on Saturday evening.

Ohadi who is also the head of the committee for boosting Iran-Iraq economic ties in the meeting echoed the ambassador's views.

Referring to the efforts by the Iranian embassy in Baghdad to enhance the bilateral relations with Iraq and, to raise the trade exchange between the two countries, he said that the significant presence of Iranian companies in the international exhibition in Iraq this year is a sign of the rising economic activities of the embassy.

The 44th Baghdad International Fair with 350 companies from 14 countries, including Iran, started on Saturday in the Iraqi capital city.

9156**1771

Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish

[screwball]

Erdogan: Iran-Turkey trade to hit $30bn soon

Sat Oct 21, 2017 09:14AM

1. Home
2. Iran
3. Economy

The volume of trade between Iran and Turkey currently stands at $10 billion, down from $22 billion in 2012.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sees trade with Iran hitting the $30 billion mark “soon” as the two regional powers are shoring up relations on multiple fronts.

“With the large-scale planning which is underway, we will soon reach the sum of $30 billion in trade transactions between the two countries,” the Turkish leader told Iran’s First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri in Istanbul Friday night, the state news agency IRNA reported.

Jahangiri traveled to Turkey to attend a summit of Developing-8 countries, where the two countries’ central banks also formally agreed to trade in their local currencies.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said trading with local currencies would help improve economic ties through making dealings easier and increasing their volume and diversity.

The volume of trade currently stands at $10 billion, down from $22 billion in 2012, with intensified sanctions on the Islamic Republic being the main cause of the slump.  

Since the lifting of the sanctions in January 2016, Iran and Turkey have stepped up efforts to boost bilateral trade and signed a number of bilateral agreements.

In August, the Turkish firm Unit International said it had signed a $7 billion agreement with Russia’s state-owned Zarubezhneft and Iran’s Ghadir Investment Holding to drill for oil and natural gas in Iran.   

Hundreds of trucks bringing in diesel from Iran line up on a road as they head to the eastern province of Van in Turkey, Nov. 30, 2005.

Turkey is the biggest purchaser of Iran’s natural gas and a major Iranian oil importer. Erdogan said on Friday his country is interested in buying more oil from the Islamic Republic.

According to Turkey’s Energy Market Regulatory statistics, the country imported 225,800 barrels per day of oil from Iran on average between January and April.

Iran is also Turkey's second-biggest supplier of natural gas after Russia and sells about 10 billion cubic meters a year of gas under a 25-year supply deal.

Earlier this month, President Hassan Rouhani said during a joint news conference with Erdogan in Tehran that Iran would pump more natural gas to Turkey as part of the Islamic Republic’s plans to expand economic ties with its neighbor.

“We are ready to increase our oil and gas exports to Turkey and guarantee the country’s need for energy,” Jahangiri said on Friday.  

The Turkish president said the two countries needed to remove obstacles and use their joint potentials, experiences and capacities to improve their cooperation.

Iran's First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meet in Istanbul, Oct. 20, 2017. (Photo by IRNA)

Jahangiri called for an expedited implementation of the agreement to use local currencies in bilateral trade and for the countries’ border terminals to offer 24-hour service, besides activating their private sectors and facilitating banking and customs processes.

“Iran and Turkey, as the two great countries of the region, have vast capabilities and capacities that should be used to develop and consolidate their relations,” he said.

The two countries are also cooperating on easing an economic stranglehold by Saudi Arabia and its allies on the Persian Gulf state of Qatar.

Turkey and Iran were quick to fly food and other commodities and then agreed on a land route to export goods to Qatar after the tiny country came under an economic blockade of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in June.

On Friday, Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhundi said a trilateral transit agreement had been signed with Turkey and Qatar for transporting Turkish goods through Iran to the Arab state.

Ankara's U-turn

Turkey’s strained ties with the US and Europe have also prompted Ankara to swing to the side of Iran and Russia. Syria has become a platform for Ankara’s dramatic U-turn, where Turkey initially supported militants fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) speaks with Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani during the signing of cooperation documents in Tehran, Oct. 4, 2017.   

Turkey is now concerned that US operations in Syria and Iraq are empowering Kurdish militants who it says are closely linked to the insurgents in its southeastern regions.

In his talks with Jahangiri on Friday, Erdogan hit out at the West’s double standards in dealing with terrorist groups and underlined the need for coordination among other countries to confront the global menace of terrorism, IRNA said.

“Iran and Turkey, by standing together, will definitely succeed in the fight against terrorism, which calls for cooperation in this field to expand,” he said.

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[screwball]

Companies scurry for clarity on Iran amid US threats 

Sat Oct 21, 2017 11:55AM

1. Home
2. Iran
3. Economy

US House will vote next week on a bill which could allow sanctions against Iran to automatically kick in.

International businesses and state agencies are seeking clarifications in the face of the US sending mixed signals about business with Iran.

Tehran, which faces already reluctant international companies for trade, is on Washington’s radars again for fresh restrictive measures despite vociferous opposition from Europe and other countries.

On Friday, media reports said the US House of Representatives will vote next week on a bill sought by President Donald Trump, which could allow sanctions against Iran to automatically kick in.

The draft bill could derail a 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran by holding the country to a series of requirements not previously agreed to when the deal was forged by the US and other countries two years ago, the Associated Press reported.

The legislation, the news agency said, aims to meet Trump’s demands that Congress act quickly to toughen the existing law that governs US participation in the Iran nuclear deal.

Iran and other parties to the nuclear agreement have made it clear that they would not conform to any unilateral US measures and that the new coercive steps would not have a bearing on their nascent trade relationship.

However, the belligerent US posture is already generating a swirl of apprehension.

On Friday, French businesses and foreign and finance ministry officials were said to be meeting next week to discuss the consequences of Trump’s refusal to certify the Iran nuclear deal.

Trump did not pull the US out of the agreement, but gave the US Congress 60 days to decide whether to re-impose the economic sanctions that were lifted on Iran under the pact in January 2016.

Which side will Europe bear with?  

The Medef business group will gather officials from the foreign ministry, finance ministry and France’s business office in Tehran on Tuesday to offer an “analysis of the consequences of the non-certification” of the accord by Trump, reports said.

“We’re still assessing how firms are reacting to the Trump decision, but we are trying to not be overly alarmist with them,” Reuters quoted an unnamed French diplomatic source as saying.

Medef led a large delegation of business people and industry groups on a mission to Iran to explore business opportunities in the country after the deal was agreed.

Emmanuel Macron, as the then French minister of the economy, at a meeting with Iranian delegation in Paris in 2016

France’s energy group Total and its automakers Peugeot and Renault were among the first multinational groups to clinch deals with Iran after the sanctions were lifted.

Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne, whose company plans a $5 billion development of phase 11 of Iran’s South Pars, said Wednesday it was waiting for the US Congress’s decision and that it would withdraw from Iran if obliged by law.

Washington's mixed signals

On Friday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Washington did not intend to disrupt European business deals with Iran and that he would address European allies' business concerns.

"The president's been pretty clear that it's not his intent to interfere with business deals that the Europeans may have under way with Iran," he said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.     

Indian media, meanwhile, quoted what they called a top US official as saying that New Delhi should make its own decisions on the relationship with Iran based on its interests.

The Press Trust of India said it asked the senior Trump administration official about India developing the strategically-located Chabahar port in Iran, which will give New Delhi access to Afghanistan and Central Asia.

"India should make its own decisions based on how it sees its interests," the official told PTI, while stating that the countries should take a hard look at their business partners in Iran at the same time.

Business as normal for now

Among the Europeans, the bellicose rhetoric by Trump and some other American politicians did not prevent Norway’s Saga Energy to conclude  Tuesday a $2.9 billion deal to build solar power plants in Iran. 

Britain's Quercus and Dutch energy firm Global Renewables Investments (GRI) also said they would not change their strategy on Iran and would continue with their investments in the country, Reuters reported. 

Quercus plans to build the world’s sixth-largest solar farm in central Iran with an investment of over half a billion euros. GRI is about to build up solar and wind farms that could produce up to 1,700 megawatts of electricity. 

While others are taking a “wait-and-see” approach, Iranian officials say the country is prepared for any eventuality after years of experience under sanctions.  

Previous sanctions have "made Iran stronger," director of international affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Saeid Khoshrou was quoted as saying. 

Iran's Deputy Petroleum Minister Amir Hossein Zamaninia said he sees "little or no implications on our future plans in the oil industry" from new US measures. 

Iran's NITC is one of the world's largest tanker companies with a fleet of 65 tankers and gas carriers.

On the shipping side, market sources said they do not expect much change, given that Iran ships out much of its oil on its own tankers, Platts reported.

Shipowners and traders said unless the United Nations follows suit, business will probably carry on as normal.

"Anything to do with Iran is never linked with the US anyway, not even paid in US dollars," Platts quoted one shipbuilder as saying. 

Moreover, tankers would not have problems for protection and indemnity liability if the reimposition of sanctions were not backed by the EU because most shipping cover is tied to European insurers, it said.  

[screwball]

Economy, Domestic Economy

Monday, October 23, 2017

INTA Defends Monitoring of Bank Transactions

 

Head of the Iranian National Tax Administration Kamel Taqavi-Nejad said it’s perfectly legal for the administration to monitor banking transactions to prevent tax evasion.

“There are people who suggest that probing into people’s income and bank account is against the law, whereas they are either ignorant about the rules and regulations, or pursuing their own interests,” IRNA quoted Taqavi-Nejad as saying. Noting that reforms have been introduced to criminalize tax evasion, the official said those involved with the illegal practice will face investigation. He had earlier said that tax evasion stands at between 140 and 300 trillion rials ($3.5-7.5 billion) in the country due to the underground economy, smuggling and lack of transparency.