Iranian Rial

screwball · January 15, 2017

The Central Bank of Iran has issued licenses for 200 credit cooperatives since the beginning of the current Iranian year (started March 20, 2016), CBI’s deputy for supervisory affairs announced on Wednesday.

“The central bank has also finalized the plan for authorizing about 3,000 interest-free funds … Both measures are in line with CBI’s plans to regularize the informal money markets,” Banker.ir also quoted Farshad Heydari as saying.

“CBI’s permission is required for the operation of credit cooperatives,” he added.

As per the law, each credit cooperative should have at least 50 founders and a minimum capital asset of 200 million rials ($7,000) to receive a permit.

Based on a memorandum of understanding signed between the CBI and the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare last year, 600 credit cooperatives will be authorized to operate in the money market.

CBI currently issues licenses for leasing companies, exchange operators, interest-free funds, credit cooperatives and credit institutions. About 7,000 financial institutions are active in Iran’s money market and a majority of them are not authorized yet.

Rating Banks

Referring to plans for rating domestic banks, Heydari said banks are currently rated according to international standards.

“By rating lenders, CBI seeks to promote a healthy banking sector. Rating helps us quickly recognize problems in banks’ operations,” he said.

The official added that the CBI has informed bank executives of some problems in their operations, giving them some time to address the issues.

Heydari did not provide more details about the outcome of rating procedures.

In early September, Heydari had announced that the rating process for Iranian banks will commence in late October and lenders would be classified into four main groups.

However, later in another statement, he said banks’ rankings would not be made public.

The rating of banks has long been overdue, considering that certain unruly banks and rogue financial institutions had in the past decade disrupted the money market, giving the whole banking system a bad name.

In mid-July, representatives from international rating agencies visited Tehran to begin negotiations regarding the rating of Iranian banks and companies.

At the time, Ali Divandari, the head of Monetary and Banking Research Institute, emphasized the importance of rating by credible international agencies, calling it a prerequisite to normal ties between Iranian and major international banks.

screwball · January 15, 2017

Iran Air CEO Farhad Parvaresh said the carrier’s newly purchased Airbus A321 will be used on international routes within two months. “Iran Air is planning to fly the plane to domestic destinations for one or two months, before switching to international destinations,” he was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency. The 194-seat single-aisle jetliner landed at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport on Thursday to mark the first jet Iran received as part of the total of 100 planes the country has ordered from the European planemaker following the lifting of sanctions against the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program. The deal, with a list price of $18-20 billion, was clinched in January last year, and became a firm contract in December.

screwball · January 15, 2017

International flights, credit cards international all march?....just saying

screwball · January 15, 2017

An Airbus A321 airliner landed in Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport on Thursday 14:46 p.m. A ceremony was held to mark the first jet Iran received as part of a total of 200 planes the country has ordered from western planemakers, following the lifting of sanctions against the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program.

Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi, Iran Air CEO Farhad Parvaresh and Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier praised the delivery in Tehran.

“The landing implies that Iran is eager to establish peace and security based on a win-win policy,” Akhoundi was quoted as saying by ILNA.

“The delivery symbolizes the beginning of a new era in Iran’s aviation industry and the return of the country to the international scene.”

Iran Air flies one of the world’s oldest fleets, with an average age of 23 years, and has had to rely on smuggled or improvised parts under the sanctions to keep them operational.

Before this delivery, Iran had not directly purchased a western-built plane in nearly 40 years. However, it recently ordered 100 airliners from Airbus and 80 from Boeing and is close to a deal to buy 20 turboprop aircraft from Toulouse-based ATR, which is jointly owned by Airbus and Italy’s Leonardo Finmeccanica.

The one exception was the sale of a plane to replace an Airbus jet shot down by the US Navy in 1988, Reuters reported.

The new Airbus A321 was formally handed over to Iran Air on Wednesday evening, in the European company’s headquarters in Toulouse, France, after final technical tests were carried out in Hamburg, Germany, where the jet was assembled.

“Today is a great day for this company (Iran Air) and for relations between Iran and the European Union,” Parvaresh said in Toulouse on Wednesday.

Airbus is a European group owned by France (10.93%), Germany (10.91%) and Spain (4.12%) with production sites in France (around 21,000 employees), Germany (around 17,000 employees) and other countries, according to the German Embassy in Tehran.

Airbus Group SE (2000-13 EADS) is a Dutch company listed on the stock exchanges of all the shareholder states. SE stands for Societas Europea, a stock corporation under European law.

German CEO of Airbus Group SE Thomas Enders was present at the handover ceremony in Toulouse, together with Bregier, who is also the chief operating officer of the parent company.

Airbus stakeholder countries, along with the UK, were represented in the Thursday ceremony at the embassy level.

Addressing the ceremony, Bregier thanked “the governments of France, Germany, Britain and Spain for their support” in finalizing the contract with Iran.

Airbus stands to benefit from the deal it clinched on the final days of 2016.

According to Bregier, the deal accounts for one-seventh of the firm orders the planemaker received in 2016.

The European company has officially booked Iran Air contract as part of a surge in new orders at the end of last year. It won 731 net aircraft orders in 2016, including 321 in December alone. This allowed it to beat American planemaker Boeing in the race for new orders.

The Fruit of JCPOA

The arrival of the Airbus A321 on Thursday comes just over a week before the January 20 inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, who is opposed to the nuclear deal struck by western powers and Tehran in 2015, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which saw the removal of sanctions against Iran in return for curbs on the country’s nuclear program.

Republicans in the US Congress have also objected to the pact, which was signed by the United States, Britain, Russia, France, China, Germany and Iran.

The Thursday delivery is also considered a great success for President Hassan Rouhani and his diplomatic team, dealing a blow to those who have been criticizing the nuclear deal for what they perceive as lack of tangible economic benefits since sanctions were lifted.

“This delivery was very crucial ... especially the timing of it. Now people can see the result of sanctions removal,” a senior Iranian official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

“It will increase Rouhani’s popularity ... and his chances for reelection in May.”

Parvaresh said in France on Wednesday upon taking delivery of the Airbus plane that he hopes the United States would not block the agreement.

Both Airbus and Boeing need US export licenses to deliver the jets because of using US parts.

Both have received licenses but some need to be extended due to the lengthy delivery period and analysts expect Boeing to point to the Airbus delivery to argue its deal should go ahead.

“Everything has been done according to the international regulations and rules up to now. We hope that nothing special happens to end this contract,” Parvaresh told reporters on Wednesday.

Iran Air hopes to receive at least two more aircraft from Airbus by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2017).

Akhoundi said Iran will receive nine other planes from the European company, including A321 and A330 models, by the end of next year.

screwball · January 15, 2017

Domestic Economy

Sunday, January 15, 2017

Tehran, Islamabad Agree to Establish Direct Flights

Pakistan and Iran have agreed to boost mutual cooperation in air aviation and transportation by establishing direct flights.

The issue was raised in a meeting between Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan Mehdi Honardoust and senior Pakistani aviation officials in Islamabad on Friday, Pakistan’s largest English-language newspaper The News International reported on its website.

Honardoust said in the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on implementing agreements and starting direct flights between Tehran and Islamabad by June.

“Iran is a big market and Pakistani goods have a good reputation there. There is a big demand for Pakistani basmati rice in Iran,” the Iranian ambassador said during the meeting.

The ambassador reiterated that Pakistan and Iran have cultural, historical, linguistic and religious commonalities.

“There are tremendous opportunities to improve trade relations between the two countries; sanctions have now been lifted by the world powers and Pakistan can capitalize on lucrative incentives offered by the Iranian government in sectors like energy, pharmaceutical, auto and information technology,” Honardoust added.

In relevant remarks in late December, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Iran Asif Khan Durrani called for broadening bilateral trade ties.

“There is a tremendous scope to strengthen trade and economic relations between Pakistan and Iran,” Durrani said during a visit to Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Durrani was in Pakistan to explain the huge trade potentials of Iran for Pakistani businessmen.

The Pakistani envoy pointed to trade hurdles between Iran and Pakistan, and said, “The lack of banking channel is one of the biggest reasons of limited trade between the two countries. By exploiting trade and investment opportunities, mutual trade could easily touch new heights.”

Durrani invited the Pakistani businessmen to participate in “Aleeshan Pakistan” exhibition slated for March 4-7 in Tehran, adding that it would provide an opportunity to establish new contacts with their Iranian counterparts, which is essential to boost two-way trade.

The Iranian president and Pakistani prime minister have already agreed to boost trade volume to $5 billion.

screwball · January 15, 2017

Foreign investment in Iran has more than tripled in the current Iranian year (started March 20, 2016) compared to the years before the removal of nuclear sanctions, with the investments shifting to sectors with short payback period, the head of Foreign Investment Association at Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture said.

“Foreign firms have submitted requests to invest more than $11 billion in Iran so far this year,” Hossein Salimi also told the Persian daily Shahrvand, adding that FDI stood at $3-4 billion under the sanctions.

Sanctions imposed by the European Union, United Nations and USA against Iran over its nuclear energy program were lifted on January 16 last year, when Iran and world powers officially started to put into effect the historic deal they clinched in July 2015.

Official reports indicate the Iranian government approved the attraction of $11.8 billion in foreign direct investment during the 12 months to December 21. Of this sum, $11.33 billion pertain to greenfield and $496 million to brownfield investments.

Europe took the lead in the size of investment, with Spain investing in a $3.2-billion project, followed by Germany with $2.96 billion in 17 projects and China with $895 million in 11 projects, a recent government report published ahead of the anniversary of the sanctions removal show.

The nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, opened the gates to an inflow of foreign capital to rebuild infrastructures worn out and underdeveloped under the sanctions at a time when the country faced a steep plunge in oil price, which has traditionally been the government’s main source of revenues.

Although the government is working to do away with petrodollars to finance its development projects, authorities have no illusion that foreign investment is crucial for reviving the economy.

Water and energy (including renewables) projects had the largest share of FDI approved during the period with $8.1 billion going to 35 projects, while services and tourism (17 projects worth $1.53 billion) and industries and mining ($1.53 billion for 48 projects) stood at second and third places in attracting the largest amount of FDI during the period under review.

Salimi said Iran’s oil and gas industries no longer offer the most attractive opportunities to foreign investors.

“Tourism … and renewable energies account for a majority of the investment bids made by private investors,” he said.

Majid Fani, deputy head of ICCIMA’s Foreign Investment Commission, explains the investors’ preference for short payback in tourism and renewables.

“Payback period for investment in the hospitality industry of Iran, which is among the most attractive countries in terms of tourism, stands between three and five years, while the period is way longer for oil industry,” he said.

According to ICCIMA, Germany accounted for 25% of all the investment bids made this year, while the Germans have shown the most interest in renewable energies.

Iran’s policy is to attract investment in renewable energy infrastructure. The installed capacity of renewable sources is planned to increase by 100 MW in the current fiscal year that ends in March 2017. Iran’s total installed power generation capacity for renewables, including wind and solar, is close to 250 megawatts. Plans have been made to raise the capacity to 300 MW by 2018.

As part of efforts to cap emissions from greenhouse gases, Iran informed the Paris Climate Conference last year that it would produce up to 7,500 MW from renewable sources. This requires an investment of at least $12 billion.

According to Fani, state-dominated economy is the main obstacle to Iran’s efforts to attract FDI.

“It is also the main reason behind the inclination of businesses to invest in sectors with shorter payback period,” he said.

“Corruption and rent seeking, which have always been considered the main impediments to foreign investment inflow, are the side-effects of state-run economy.”

This has increased investment risk in Iran, which Fani believes can be mitigated by short-term measures such as drawing on the services of financial insurance entities such as Italy’s SACE.

screwball · January 15, 2017

No Restriction on Sales of Airbus Planes’ Parts in Iran: Official

News ID: 1295456 Service: Economy

January, 13, 2017 - 17:16

تحویل نخستین هواپیمای ایرباس 321 به ایران

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The chairman of Iran Air announced that there is no restriction on Iran to supply spare parts of the commercial planes manufactured by France's Airbus except “a sensitive part” used for air navigation.

A license has been given to the Airbus, Boeing and ATR to sell airplanes and their spare parts to Iran, Farhad Parvaresh told the Tasnim News Agency.

He said except for “a sensitive part” related to air navigation, Iran has no limitation on the supply of the spare parts of the Airbus commercial planes.

The comments came after the first commercial airliner purchased from Airbus following the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers landed at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport on Thursday.

The Plane arrived in the Iranian capital after it took off from Germany’s Hamburg with Iranian pilots on Wednesday.

The 189-seat plane, already painted in IranAir’s livery, is the first of 100 ordered from the company.

Iran Air is reportedly set to receive the next seven or eight planes from Airbus in 2017.

During a January 2016 visit to Paris by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Tehran signed a major contract with Airbus worth about $27 billion to buy 118 planes.

Iran and Airbus intensified business negotiations in October 2016 following the US decision to remove a final hurdle for Western aircraft manufacturers to sell planes to Iran under contracts signed after coming into force of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a nuclear agreement between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France, and Germany).

screwball · January 15, 2017

Direct Flight between Iran, Pakistan to Be Launched Soon: Envoy

News ID: 1296401 Service: Economy

January, 14, 2017 - 18:44

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Ambassador to Islamabad Mehdi Honardoost said Iran and Pakistan have agreed to establish direct flights between the two nations in the near future.

Pakistan and Iran agreed to boost their cooperation in the aviation industry and transportation by establishing a direct flight route between Tehran and Islamabad, Honardoost said on Friday during a meeting with Pakistani aviation officials, The News reported.

“Iran is a big market and Pakistani goods have a good reputation there. There is a big demand of Pakistani basmati rice in Iran,” he further said.

“There are tremendous opportunities to improve the trade relations between the two countries; sanctions have now been lifted by the world powers and Pakistan can capitalize on lucrative incentives offered by the Iranian government in sectors like energy, pharmaceutical, auto and information technology,” Honardoost added.

Back in March, high-ranking officials from Iran and Pakistan signed six memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to strengthen bilateral cooperation in various areas, including health, commerce, security and foreign services.

The documents were signed in a ceremony in Islamabad on March 26, attended by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

screwball · January 15, 2017

Iran eyes $55b in petchem investment

Iran needs to attract investments of about $55 billion to develop its thriving petrochemical sector, said deputy oil minister.

"We hope to attain the 150-million-ton production capacity within 10 years. We need nearly $55 billion in investment in the petrochemical industry to implement new projects and expand output capacity," Marzieh Shahdaei was quoted as saying by Shana.

"We need $20 billion in investment, to complete ongoing petrochemical projects," she added.

Shahdaei, who heads National Petrochemical Company (NPC), said drawing foreign investment to expand the petrochemical sector is on top of the Oil Ministry's agenda.

Iran sits on the world's fourth-largest oil and second-largest gas reserves.

Tehran has already unveiled plans to become the leading producer of petrochemicals in the Middle East by significantly expanding the range and volume of its petrochemical output.

Iran exported petrochemical products valued at about $7.3 billion in the eight months to November 20, 2016.

The country sold more than 10 million tons of petrochemical products in Asian markets during the aforementioned period.

The installed capacity of Iran's petrochemical industry has reached about 63 million tons and is projected to rise to 130 million tons by 2020.

Iran has increased petrochemical exports following the implementation of last year's nuclear deal with the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council — the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia — plus Germany.

The implementation of the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), has already eased nuclear-related financial sanctions on Iran.

markb57 · January 15, 2017

Rouhani would do well if he would meet with Trump and try to smooth things out.

WheresmyRV? · January 15, 2017

Well looks like Iraq has put off their deletion of the zero's for most likely this year, lets hope that Iran does this at the end of March.

markb57 · January 16, 2017

looks like it

markb57 · January 16, 2017

I guess they either don't want to go international and grow or they could go international with toilet paper currency....I don't know. They seem to get ahead and don't want to complete the deal. that's the corruption in Iraq.

WheresmyRV? · January 16, 2017

6 hours ago, markb57 said:

I guess they either don't want to go international and grow or they could go international with toilet paper currency....I don't know. They seem to get ahead and don't want to complete the deal. that's the corruption in Iraq.

Why should they move forward when every month the UST ,IMF, and the World Bank is giving them billion dollar loans. At least with Iran they have told the world what they are going to do at the end of March.

Edited January 16, 2017 by WheresmyRV?

Freedomwish · January 16, 2017

On 1/14/2017 at 8:01 PM, screwball said:

International flights, credit cards international all march?....just saying

I keep whispering to myself in front of the bathroom mirror in the morning before and after I brush my teeth....."March 20th, 2017.....March 20th, 2017.....March 20th, 2017"........yup.

That's what I've been saying to myself.

screwball · January 16, 2017

Ayear has passed since Iran's nuclear accord with world powers has been implemented and the governor of Central Bank of Iran believes the deal has paved the way for financial institutions outside of the United States to resume work with the country.

"Reaching the goals is relative in any agreement and it can never be said that 100% of the targets have been realized, but that does not mean that the nuclear accord [apart from the way it was implemented] will not get a passing score," Valiollah Seif also said in an interview with the government-owned newspaper Iran about the deal's achievements, reports Dolat.ir.

"We believe that the accord created a capacity so that non-American banks and credit institutions could cooperate with Iranian banks and credit institutions without fearing sanctions from the US, the European Union and the United Nations," he added.

On July 14, 2015, the P5+1 (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, plus Germany), the EU and Iran reached a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

January 16, 2016, marks Implementation Day of the JCPOA.

Seif noted that the reality is that international banks do not take a different approach overnight and establishing correspondent relations in their fullest form requires hard work, negotiations with the banks and creating prerequisites that take time.

He explained that during the years when Iran was disconnected from the international financial system, big changes were made in banking regulations across the world.

"In order to be active on the international scene on par with other banks, Iranian banks must understand these changes and upgrade their financial and professional standards to the level of international standards," he said.

"This is irrelevant to the JCPOA and since professional banking standards are defined for banks all over the world and are not limited to Iran, Iranian banks should not expect an exemption."

The central bank governor also said matters such as capital adequacy ratios, loan regulations and other major commitments are general standards that are supported by logic and expert reasons.

"Therefore, any existing problems need to be dealt with in order for the country to have an active presence on the international scene," he said, adding that preventing the remaining sanctions from influencing matters outside the accord is also very important "and we will insist on them".

In a speech at the US Council on Foreign Relations last year, Seif complained that “almost nothing” has been done to reintegrate Iran into the global economy since it implemented the nuclear deal in January.

“Unless serious efforts are made by our partners, in my view, they have not honored their obligations,” he said at the time.

Primary Sanctions

Asked about Iran's access to dollar transactions and the fact that it was not part of the negotiations, the official said being able to engage in such transactions will have positive aspects, but it will also give rise to negative issues.

"Firstly, I must explain that having access to US dollar transactions is different from accessing the US financial system," Seif said. "The provision of services of US banks and financial Institutions to Iran is currently prohibited."

In other words, he added, if non-American banks wish to offer services to their Iranian counterparts using the greenback, they are allowed to do so as long as it does not directly involve the US financial system.

The CBI governor then pointed out that American banks have had no ties with Iranian banks since the very beginning of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

"Their primary sanctions were devised and implemented before Iran's nuclear program and therefore alleviating these sanctions was not part of the negotiations," he said.

Seif, who is also the head of Money and Credit Council, explained that before JCPOA, Iran's correspondent relations were limited to a handful of countries.

He noted that if the sanctions were to remain in place, oil export conduits would be reduced and "we would have no choice but to reestablish the rationing system in use during the first years of the revolution".

"Except a single country that had ordered its banks to provide Iran with banking services, a number of countries had each singled out one bank that monopolized services with Iran," he said.

"They would change the regulations any way they wished and imposed high costs on Iranian importers. That is while we had no leverage in negotiations and sometimes they would even abruptly halt their services or set an expiration date."

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screwball · January 16, 2017

There's that date again...

The Central Bank of Iran has ordered all banks to finalize their annual financial statements in accordance with new standards by the end of the current fiscal year (March 20, 2017), said Abbas Kamarei, the director of CBI’s Office for Banking Supervision.

The official noted that the central bank has reduced the number of reforms for banks with satisfactory levels of capital adequacy, “to help them get the task done by the end of the deadline”, Fars News Agency reported on Monday.

“Since last winter, the CBI has required banks to implement new standards in their financial statements, mainly to boost transparency of banks’ operations, control risk in the banking sector, and [improve] the banks’ capital adequacy levels,” he said.

Noting that the plan is still in the early stages, Kamarei said, “We need to enhance collaboration and coordination between various organizations in the first year of the plan.”

After receiving banks’ financial statements, the CBI will hold meetings with experts, auditors, bank executives and board members of banks to assess the banking sector’s performance, according to Kamarei.

Back in August, the Central Bank of Iran, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance, and Iran Audit Organization agreed on the new framework for banks’ financial statements and their audit by regulatory bodies.

Based on the agreement, the financial statements of banks should be prepared in line with the CBI’s new framework notified to them earlier in February.

The new templates have been developed on the basis of International Financial Reporting Standards and in accordance with usury-free banking regulations.

Kamarei hoped that banks' trade suspension in the stock market would soon be resolved, which he added had nothing to do with the upgraded balance sheet of banks.

Since the huge losses racked up by banks became known five months ago, the Securities and Exchange Organization of Iran has suspended 14 banks from trading their share. This is while the suspended shares of only three major privatized banks are worth over 140 trillion rials ($3.57 billion at market exchange rate), which account for roughly 4% of the total value of the equity market.

screwball · January 16, 2017

he Central Bank of Iran has communicated to all banks and credit institutions the criteria for the implementation of a foreign exchange directive originally issued by First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri regarding letters of credit.

The directive states that “for each case of imports, and outfitting of the assembly line of businesses, they are allowed to open a usance L/C worth a maximum $50 million for three years at the most [if the bank decrees that it is feasible investment],” as reported by the official news website of the central bank.

As to reasons behind the directive, the central bank first points to Iran’s nuclear accord and opportunities created by it in terms of establishing correspondent banking relations with foreign banks, which has subsequently helped open L/Cs for imports.

The CBI notes that the directive was issued since L/Cs are “the most prevalent and safest instruments in international banking for undertaking foreign purchase deals” and Iran also used them frequently before the sanctions.

In his directive, Jahangiri–who is also the head of Resistance Economy Headquarters–set out a series of f conditions regarding L/Cs, first of which is that applicants must obtain a license from the corresponding ministry for the import of goods.

The next one dictates that applicants must adhere to directives regarding the review of their financial and credit status by the central bank.

Applicants will receive 10% of the total amount of the credit when opening the L/C, another 10% when they make the deal and the rest when the contract has materialized. Any advance payments will be made following a credible bank’s guarantee.

Referring to contracts with a maturity of over two years, the credit will be reimbursed in the currency that was registered at the beginning, but it can be changed into another currency of choice.

The directive also asserts that any attempt to put forward the maturity date of the contract will have to be approved by the central bank. It adds that applicants are also obligated to receive a registration certificate from CBI’s Foreign Exchange Supervision Department and register the information in the Foreign Exchange Management System.

If the applicant fails to pay back the rial or foreign exchange equivalent of the contract, the original amount and any potential interests or penalty will be followed up on and received in line with the terms of the contract and directives issued by the corresponding department of the central bank.

The CBI has authorized banks to deal in foreign exchange trading at a free-market rate, as authorities move toward unifying exchange rates and weaken the role of bureaux de change in forex transactions, which had become the new normal during the period of sanctions targeting Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran operates two exchange rates, a free market rate of around 39,300 rials to the US dollar on Sunday and an official rate used for state transactions set by the central bank at around 32,370 rials.

In recent months, the central bank raised the official rate gradually to shrink the gap between the two. It said the goal is to unify the exchange rate, to make the economy more efficient and create a level field for private firms competing with state institutions with access to cheaper foreign exchange.

screwball · January 16, 2017

Just now, screwball said:

The CBI notes that the directive was issued since L/Cs are “the most prevalent and safest instruments in international banking for undertaking foreign purchase deals” and Iran also used them frequently before the sanctions.

Just now, screwball said:

The CBI has authorized banks to deal in foreign exchange trading at a free-market rate, as authorities move toward unifying exchange rates and weaken the role of bureaux de change in forex transactions, which had become the new normal during the period of sanctions targeting Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran operates two exchange rates, a free market rate of around 39,300 rials to the US dollar on Sunday and an official rate used for state transactions set by the central bank at around 32,370 rials.

Just now, screwball said:

It said the goal is to unify the exchange rate, to make the economy more efficient and create a level field for private firms competing with state institutions with access to cheaper foreign exchange.

screwball · January 16, 2017

he parliament voted on Sunday to double the budget allocated to Iran’s state-owned media corporation, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.

The decision was made as part of the parliament’s review of the sixth five-year development plan (2016-21), which was earlier proposed by the government early December.

The development plans outline government strategies in its budget planning for the next five years. The approval of the Sixth Plan has already been delayed, IRNA reported.

As per the parliament’s decision, the IRIB will receive 0.7% of the government’s general budget over the next five years. This will allow the state-owned media organization to get 30 trillion rials (about $750 million) of cash to spend annually throughout the sixth plan.

IRIB is among the largest media organizations in Asia-Pacific region. It is independent of the government and its head is appointed directly by the Leader of Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

With 13,000 employees and branches in 20 countries, including France, Belgium, Malaysia, Lebanon, the UK and the US, IRIB offers both domestic and foreign radio and television services, managing 12 domestic television channels, four international television news channels, six satellite television channels and 30 provincial television channels.

screwball · January 17, 2017