Iranian Rial

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Consumption tax will replace value added tax as of next year (March 2017-18) as per a motion proposed by the Majlis Joint Budget Commission. 

The decision is part of the budget bill for the upcoming Iranian year (March 2017-18) and will become law upon the approval of lawmakers.   

Proponents of the initiative believe the mechanism of consumption tax system is simpler and more effective compared to VAT. They also argue that it will help improve transparency and prevent corruption. 

Critics, for their part, maintain that consumption tax is the same old system with a new title and that policymakers have failed to introduce a noticeable change in the consumption tax process. 

Two main violations are usually reported when it comes to the implementation of the VAT Law. First, some business owners charge their customers VAT but do not pay the tax money to the government. Second, the government collects the VAT but avoids paying the revenues to related bodies. To prevent such violations, only the final consumer—the last point in a distribution chain—must be charged consumption tax, the Persian daily Shahrvand reported.  

The VAT Law took effect in the Iranian year to March 2009 and has since taken a lot of flak for its ambiguities. One such criticism is that the law should not be levied on producers or importers in the first place and that only the final consumer must pay a 9% VAT rate. 

This is while deputy chairman of the commission, Hadi Qavami, says a 9% VAT was imposed on each level of the distribution channel during the past years. 

“One of the main reasons behind the replacement of VAT with consumption tax is to narrow the value added tax base to the final consumer,” he added. 

Qavami noted that consumption tax and VAT are two sides of the same coin, stressing that the only difference is that during the implementation of VAT, some areas of the taxation remain unclear and pave the way for corruption and lack of transparency. 

“Consumption tax will rid producers of bureaucracy and corruption. And the government would be able to narrow the budget deficit through consumption tax,” he said.  

Iraj Nadimi, a former lawmaker and current advisor to Budget and Planning Organization, has reasons to think otherwise. He says what is problematic about VAT Law is its poor execution. 

“What has been proposed as consumption tax only addresses the approach but does not put forth a solution for the problems associated with the implementation or the process of taxation,” he said. 

Nadimi believes the overhaul of the current VAT system could lead to a more efficient, workable system than introducing the new consumption tax. 

VAT collection during the nine months to November 20, 2016, increased by 35% compared with last year’s corresponding period, according to the deputy head of Iran National Tax Administration, Mohammad Masihi. 

“VAT rebates to exporters increased 47% during the eight months to November 20,” he said. 

Value-added tax accounts for 48% of the government’s total tax revenues. Despite protests from traders, the 9% VAT rate approved by the parliament back in March 2014 remains in force in the budget law for the 2016-17 fiscal year. 

Clause 2 of Article 117 of the Fifth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2011-16) stipulates that the government is required to increase VAT by one percentage point annually as of the first year of the program’s implementation.

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The Central Securities Depository of Iran issued 21 trading codes to foreign investors during the Iranian month ending Jan. 19. According to Securities and Exchange News Agency, the sole registration entity and overseer of Iranian securities issued the codes for nine individual investors from Germany, Iraq and Afghanistan. It also issued 12 codes for foreign institutional investors from the UAE, Georgia, India, Turkey and Afghanistan. Apart from the above-mentioned countries, investors from the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Russia, Switzerland, Sweden, Poland, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, China, the Netherlands, Lebanon, South Africa, Japan, Cyprus, Italy, Norway, Indonesia, Maldives, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Malaysia, South Korea and Armenia are currently trading in Iran’s equity market.

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2 hours ago, screwball said:

The Central Securities Depository of Iran issued 21 trading codes to foreign investors during the Iranian month ending Jan. 19. According to Securities and Exchange News Agency, the sole registration entity and overseer of Iranian securities issued the codes for nine individual investors from Germany, Iraq and Afghanistan. It also issued 12 codes for foreign institutional investors from the UAE, Georgia, India, Turkey and Afghanistan. Apart from the above-mentioned countries, investors from the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Russia, Switzerland, Sweden, Poland, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, China, the Netherlands, Lebanon, South Africa, Japan, Cyprus, Italy, Norway, Indonesia, Maldives, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Malaysia, South Korea and Armenia are currently trading in Iran’s equity market.

This is Interesting with the current rate ? I think not.

Cheers, pp

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The Iranian National Tax Administration has earned 810 trillion rials ($20.9 billion) in tax revenues so far in the current Iranian year (started March 20, 2016), according to its chief Kamel Taqavinejad.

"An aggregate of 1,010 trillion rials (about $26 billion) is projected to be earned from tax and duties by the yearend," he was quoted as saying by the Persian daily Iran.

"Last year’s tax revenues, excluding earnings from duties levied on goods and services, stood at 680 trillion rials ($17.6 billion)."

According to the INTA chief, tax revenues constitute 36% of the government’s total revenues and close to 50% of the current budget come from tax collections. 

The budget bill proposed by the government for the 2017-18 fiscal year projects greater revenues from taxes than from oil exports–up to 70% of the overall revenues.

“Recovering unpaid taxes is INTA’s priority this year. Up until now, the administration has managed to collect nearly 135 trillion rials ($3.5 billion) of arrears,” he said.

Years of restrictions on Iran’s foreign transactions, which were mostly associated with a steep decline in oil price, left the Islamic Republic with a tight budget, forcing the government to reconsider its tax code.

Lack of a comprehensive economic database, widespread tax exemptions and ambiguous regulations, along with a general failure to uphold the law, are minimizing tax revenues.

About 60% of Iran’s economy do not pay tax, including 40% that are exempt from tax and the 20% that evade tax payment. Tax evasion is estimated at 300 trillion rials ($7.7 billion) annually.

By rolling back tax breaks, the government could, at least in theory, cut its budget deficit, which stood at 430 trillion rials ($11 billion) in the first half of the current Iranian year.

Members of the Iranian Parliament approved in December a ban on giving “new” tax exemptions and discounts for the next five years. The move, though the wording “new” would cast doubts and create ambiguities over its consequent implementation and perhaps gives rise to misinterpretation, infringement and abuse–has had mixed reactions on the part of economists and experts ever since it was passed. 

Most such tax breaks are granted to public and semi-private companies. The government ban on new tax exemptions can level the playing field for all economic entities. Yet the move could hurt producers in deprived areas and increase unemployment as a significant fraction of tax discounts are granted to producers in deprived areas.

Noting that about 120 trillion rials ($3.1 billion) of tax revenues were allocated to municipalities last year, the official said this year over 30 trillion rials ($776 million) have been put at the disposal of Tehran Municipality alone.

“Identifying new taxpayers and broadening the tax base is also pursued by INTA. To that end, the department for combating tax evasion was inaugurated in September within the administration, which works in conjunction with the anti-money laundering office of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance," he said.

According to Taqavi-Nejad, value added tax and duties on goods and services account for half of tax revenues and the remaining 50% come primarily from direct taxation.

Stressing that all real and legal entities, except for ministries, organizations and some sectors of municipalities, must pay taxes, Taqavi-Nejad said the tax-to-GDP ratio in Iran stands at 7.3%, which should rise to around 11% as per the sixth five-year development plan (2017-22).

Tax revenues account for 25-30% of GDP in developed countries.

Iran's five-year plans offer a medium-term roadmap designed by the government and Majlis to help achieve sustainable growth, outlining strategies in its budget planning for the next five years.

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The Central Bank of Iran's new oversight plan for the banking system has employed the latest in international banking experiences and practices, announced the head of the much-anticipated scheme. 

The main component of the plan, called the New Model of Supervision Over Banks, initiated by CBI in 2013 was presented to the Money and Credit Council for final approval on Feb. 1. 

The model was officially unveiled at a meeting of Money and Credit Council –a decision-making body—on Sunday.

"At the first step, the current situation [of banks] was fully studied to gain a full understanding of the banking oversight plan," banker.ir also quoted Ahmad Badri as saying.

Badri, also an advisor to CBI Governor Valiollah Seif , added that effective and pragmatic insights were gathered for analyzing the oversight plan by studying the structure and characteristics of about 50 select countries.

"More than 20 experts and 70 professional advisors in accounting, auditing, banking, statistics, legal and jurisprudential issues worked on the plan and selected the general business plan of the European Central Bank as its core backdrop," he said. 

According to the CBI advisor, the experts designed the fundamentals of the operational model in a way that bears the most relevance to the current state and structure of the Iranian banking system. 

The next step, he added, consisted of designing the operational model that is governed by 29 principles of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the laws regulating Iranian banking.

As outlined by Seif in early December, the new model of supervision “has been devised by employing the latest in international experience while completely localizing its components” and its execution is aimed at improving the effectiveness of supervision over banks.

Four Categories of Banks 

Badri considered local design, adaptability, flexibility, reduction of systematic risk and being regulation-oriented among the most important characteristics of the new supervision model, based on which, Iranian banks will fall under one of the four categories.

These categories include banks that need only basic supervision, banks that must be supervised more carefully, banks that require obligatory reforms and those necessitating a complete overhaul.

As Badri said after the initial MCC meeting, the plan was launched two and a half years ago and consisted of six months of field studies and two years of joint implementation by CBI and Shahid Beheshti University.

In his latest remarks outlining the plan, he said the oversight regimes of 23 countries were explored and analyzed while studies were done on general banking laws of 12 countries. 

"We used parts of the data as samples and added in the factor of the rules and regulations of the Iranian banking system," he added.  

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  Iranians used 73 million bank cards by Dec. 20, of which 68 million or 93.29% were debit cards, the latest official data revealed. 

Gift cards and vouchers comprised 6.5% of the total cards used in the Iranian banking system.

The data released by Shaparak Company, the payment industry’s regulating body affiliated with the Central Bank of Iran, shows that 169,115 credit cards were used by Iranians during the one-month period, marking a 2.03% growth month-on-month. 

The number of credit cards has registered a significant increase since September when the Central Bank of Iran required lenders to offer credit cards to the public as part of the bank's plans to stimulate spending. 

According to Shaparak's data, 81,682 active credit cards were in circulation by Sept. 20.

CBI required banks to start offering credit cards at three credit levels, based on the applicants’ creditworthiness. The nationwide scheme was aimed at stimulating demand and replacing the defective micro-lending methods that banks use these days.

However, many banks balked at participating in the scheme citing lack of resources. The 18% interest rate–imposed by the Money and Credit Council–could be named as the main reason for banks' lackluster reception of the plan that they considered impractical. 

While the state-owned Bank Melli Iran–the country's biggest lender–seemed to have implemented the credit card scheme as advocated by CBI, Bank Pasargad Iran and Ayandeh Bank were private lenders that tweaked CBI rules, coming up with stricter conditions to offer credit cards. 

By Dec. 20, BMI had issued 64% of the total active credit cards, according o Shaparak. 

The market share of Bank Mellat, another big lender, has gone from zilch to 20% since the credit card initiative was launched in Sept. Surprisingly, the bank made no announcement that it was going to take part in the scheme.  

Pasargad and Ayandeh had a 4.7% and 3.7% share, respectively.

Bank Melli Iran also accounted for 21.68% of total active debit cards during the month ending Dec. 20. 

Bank Mellat and Bank Saderat Iran ranked second and third, accounting for 13% and 10% of total debit cards, respectively. 

Saderat accounted for 37% of total gift cards issued during the period. Tejarat Bank took the second spot, accounting for 17% of total issued gift cards. 

Fees

Shaparak also outlines the performance of acquiring banks. Bank Mellat was the acquiring bank for 34.5% of total transactions during the month ending Dec. 20. 

Parsian Bank and Bank Melli Iran followed, by accepting 7.39% and 7.12% of the total digital transactions respectively.

Mellat also had a 32.32% share in the worth of acquired transactions. Saderat and Bank Melli are the next best scorers at 12.45% and 10%, respectively. 

CBI regulations require acquiring banks to pay the fees when customers use bank cards for purchasing goods and services. Cardholders only foot the bill when transferring money or checking account balances.

Parsian Bank, another leading private lender, paid an average of 237 rials for every 100,000 rials worth of transactions, paying the highest fees in the banking system as an acquirer bank. 

Export Development Bank of Iran paid the lowest fees–an average of 17.84 rials for every 100,000 rials worth of transactions.

The issue is among key challenges for lenders, according to Shaparak, as “they have to balance between the interest earned from keeping the received money and all the fees they pay”.

Acquiring banks are also required to pay the fees for the rent and maintenance of POS terminals. Parsian has paid an average 782.89 rials for every 100,000 rials worth of transaction during the period.

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The government's measures to plump up the capital cushion of public-sector banks will see the capital of Bank of Industry and Mine rise to 60 trillion rials ($1.5 billion), announced the bank's CEO.

"Twenty trillion rials ($519.8 million) will be added to the capital of BIM, which will increase the bank's capital assets to 60 trillion rials ($1.5 billion) and will subsequently increase its capital adequacy ratio to 12%," Ali Ashraf Afkhami was also quoted as saying by IBENA.

The bank will receive the capital as part of the latest plan to increase the capital of seven banks. The Cabinet obligated the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance in late January to allocate 200 trillion rials ($5.19 billion) to the plan.

According to a recent study by Majlis Research Center, the minimum CAR for Iranian banks has been set at 8%.

Afkhami said his bank has no foreign debt, though it previously exceeded €500 million as a result of international sanctions.

BIM's chief executive reported that in the past few years, the ratio of non-performing loans of BIM has experienced a steady decline, first going down to 10.5% from 12.5% and then to 7.8%. 

"The bank's ratio of NPLs to total loans outstanding will drop below 7% by the end of the current fiscal year in March," he said.

He added that BIM's NPLs currently stand at 20.9 trillion rials ($543.2 million). 

Afkhami further said that in the first 10 months of the current Iranian year (March 20-January 19), 102 small- and medium-sized enterprises were established through 1.5 trillion rials ($38.9 million) worth of loans from the bank creating jobs for 1,650 people.

"Furthermore, $150 million worth of loans have been allocated to 18 major projects," he said. "We have projects at hand which target137 SMEs with loans worth 425 billion rials ($11 million), the majority of which will take off next year and generate employment for 3,700 people."

Noting that 180 big and medium-sized enterprises will begin work during the next two fiscal years with an investment of 260 trillion rials ($6.75 billion) from BIM, Afkhami said more than €4 million of the amount were in foreign currency.

These projects, he added, will create 33,000 new jobs.

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1. Economy
2. Business And Markets

Tuesday, February 07, 2017

$360m Worth of Rail Projects Ready 

 

Railroad projects worth 13.9 trillion rials ($360 million) will be inaugurated by Friday on the occasion of the 10-Day Dawn ceremonies, which culminate in the celebration of the 38th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, said Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi. “Of the total sum, $189 million pertain to new rail projects. One hundred and ninety-eighty kilometers of new railroads will be connected to five provincial capitals,” he was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency. “We have double tracked 496 kilometers of railroads with an investment of $142 million.” 

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Iran’s President Urges Closer Banking Ties with Brazil 

News ID: 1319045 Service: Economy 

 February, 05, 2017 - 17:27 

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stressed the need for Tehran and Brasilia to facilitate banking relations in a bid to boost trade exchanges between the two sides. 

The Islamic Republic of Iran sees no obstacle to the promotion of its relations with Brazil, President Rouhani said Sunday in a meeting in Tehran with new Brazilian Ambassador to Iran Rodrigo de Azeredo Santos.

“Iran attaches significance to its cooperation with Brazil, as a big country with a considerable economy in South America, and is willing to promote the level of cooperation,” he said.

The president further highlighted the importance of efforts to facilitate banking relations between the two countries and expressed the hope that the ties would gain serious momentum in various fields, economy in particular.

The Brazilian diplomat, for his part, emphasized that his government considers Iran as a reliable partner and is seeking to establish strategic economic ties with the Islamic Republic.

During the meeting, Rodrigo de Azeredo Santos also submitted his credentials to President Rouhani.

The relations between Iran and Brazil date back to 1903. In 1957, they signed a cultural agreement, which came into force in 1962. The agreement marked the elevation of the Brazilian legation in Tehran to the condition of the embassy.

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• Interview 

 

Iran Ready for Oil Sale to Belarus: Larijani 

News ID: 1320240 Service: Politics 

 February, 06, 2017 - 17:43 

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani voiced the country’ preparedness to sell crude oil to Belarus. 

Iran is ready for selling oil to Belarus, Larijani said at a meeting with speaker of the Council of the Republic of Belarus, Mikhail Myasnikovich, held in Tehran on Monday.

Highlighting Tehran’s resolve to forge closer trade ties with Minsk, the Iranian speaker noted that parliamentary friendship groups can contribute to the enhancement of scientific, technical and academic collaboration between the two sides.

For his part, Myasnikovich described Iran as a “key partner” for Belarus, calling for political and parliamentary efforts to strengthen bilateral relations.

Iran and Belarus have developed good relations in recent years, particularly in the economic and trade sectors, and have signed a number of agreements to boost cooperation.

In May 2016, Belarusian Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov voiced his country’s willingness to develop bilateral relations with Iran in various economic and political areas.

Later in 2016, Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vladimir Semashko unveiled plans for the sale of electric buses to Iran.

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1 hour ago, screwball said:

 

  Iranians used 73 million bank cards by Dec. 20, of which 68 million or 93.29% were debit cards, the latest official data revealed. 

Gift cards and vouchers comprised 6.5% of the total cards used in the Iranian banking system.

The data released by Shaparak Company, the payment industry’s regulating body affiliated with the Central Bank of Iran, shows that 169,115 credit cards were used by Iranians during the one-month period, marking a 2.03% growth month-on-month. 

The number of credit cards has registered a significant increase since September when the Central Bank of Iran required lenders to offer credit cards to the public as part of the bank's plans to stimulate spending. 

According to Shaparak's data, 81,682 active credit cards were in circulation by Sept. 20.

CBI required banks to start offering credit cards at three credit levels, based on the applicants’ creditworthiness. The nationwide scheme was aimed at stimulating demand and replacing the defective micro-lending methods that banks use these days.

Wow, to bad Iraq couldn't move at warp speed in there banking laws. Good find SB

pp

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IME planning to boost exports to Iraq

Iran Mercantile Exchange (IME) is resolved to raise the country's exports to Iraq by establishing a branch in Baghdad.

The IME announced in a statement that serious negotiations have been held to pave the way for setting up an IME branch in Iraq to export industrial and mineral commodities as well as oil, petrochemical and agricultural products, Fars News Agency reported.

The IME is determined to deepen its relationship with the Iraqi side, expand cooperation with Iranian and Iraqi free trade zones, remove customs barriers and use modern financial instruments in free trade zones, the statement added.

The IME was set up on September 20, 2007 in accordance with Article 95 of the new law of Securities Market of the Islamic Republic of Iran following the merger of agricultural and metal exchanges of Tehran.

The merger marked a new chapter in Iran's capital market providing endless trading opportunities for customers both at home and abroad.

Economic and industrial sectors benefit from the stock exchange. The IME currently offers various services, including: Performing as the first market providing access to the initial offering of the listed commodities in the IME, price discovery and price making for Iran's over-the-counter (OTC), secondary markets and end users, providing venue for government sales and procurement purchases, providing trading platform and user interface, providing clearing and settlement payments, risk management, technology services and training market participants.

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Just now, pokerplayer said:

Wow, to bad Iraq couldn't move at warp speed in there banking laws. Good find SB

pp

Set to international with cards after or around march 21

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1 hour ago, screwball said:

Set to international with cards after or around march 21

This says volumes. Just hope no monkey wrench gets thrown in the mix before then.

pp

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Tehran, Muscat to begin fresh round of gas talks

News ID: 3898800 - Mon 6 February 2017 - 21:34

Economy

TEHRAN, Feb. 06 (MNA) – Omani minister of oil and gas is slated to make a visit to Iran on Tuesday in order to launch a fresh round of gas negotiations and finalize the gas export contract between the two sides.

A new round of Tehran-Muscat talks will kick off in the Iranian capital on Tuesday aiming to finalize provisions of the natural gas export contract and partnership in LNG projects of the Arab state.

Accordingly, Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh and Mohammed Al Rumhi, Oman’s Minister of Oil and Gas, will meet and discuss existing disputes in the contract for new route of pipeline construction for gas transmission to Oman through Sea of Oman or the Persian Gulf.

The project of transferring gas from Kish field to Oman will cover a 200-kilometer pipeline which for the most part would be located under the water; in the first phase of the project, one million cubic feet of gas will be transferred while by development of other faces this amount will increase to three billion cubic feet per day.

However, the United Arabic Emirates has officially opposed construction of a natural gas pipeline from Iran to Oman in its sovereign waters and the change in the construction route of the pipeline could adversely affect economics of the gas export project.

On the other hand, high-ranking oil officials of Iran and Oman held a joint session on gas exports with representatives Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) last year while a Dutch firm has also expressed willingness to participate in the project.

INTECSEA of the Netherlands has made an official proposal to launch partnership in construction of the gas transmission pipeline while the Dutch firm has previously joined hands with Iran in construction of certain submarine pipelines of South Pars field.

Back in 2013, Tehran and Muscat signed into a deal under which Iran will export 1.5 million cubic feet of gas to Oman through a submarine pipeline in the Persian Gulf.

The project covers both onshore and offshore areas each requiring about 200 kilometers of pipelines as well as compression and measurement facilities.

A portion of the gas is expected to be consumed by Oman while the rest will be deployed to target markets via LNG facilities of the Arab country.

The project, for holding great significance, is expected to strengthen Iran-Oman ties and energy ties in the Middle East.

Iranian companies possess the technology for installation of pipelines in shallow waters; nevertheless, given that they have never carried out the project in waters with a depth over 1,000 meters, experience of international firms will be exploited appropriately.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Oil Minister, Bijan Zanganeh, had deemed one of the most important reasons of exporting gas to Oman as participation in LNG retail market; “exporting gas to Oman will provide the opportunity to sell Iran’s natural gas to other countries in particular Asian countries,” he stressed.

Previously, Managing Director of the National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC) said the gas contract with Oman consists of two stages one being basic marine engineering studies for which a contract has been signed and a contractor has been chosen.

He maintained that the next phase would be selection of another contractor to construct pipelines to transfer Iran’s gas to Oman.

Stressing that the pipeline construction process would approximately require two year of time, Kameli asserted, “accordingly, the two countries have agreed that part of the transferred gas will be used by Oman and the rest will be devoted to LNG production.”

On the Iran’s possible share in LNG market after the implementation of the agreement, Kameli noted: “currently, about 25 per cent of Omani LNG production plants’ capacity is empty.”

The official underlined Iran’s plans to dedicate the empty capacity in Oman’s plants to Iranian LNG; “in other words, on the basis of the new agreement the commission costs of Omani LNG plants will be paid by Iran,” he added.

Reminding that Iran will own the produced LNG being in charge of its marketing, he said, “normally, participation in the market will be more convenient for us because the project will be carried out in joint collaboration with Oman which already has its own costumers.”

“The total available capacity at Oman’s LNG plant mounts to 1.5 million tons per year a part of which will be dedicated to Iran,” he concluded.

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Malaysian agricuture min. to visit Tehran soon

News ID: 3896419 - Sat 4 February 2017 - 17:06

Economy

TEHRAN, Feb. 04 (MNA) – Minister of agriculture and agro-based industries of Malaysia will head a 25-strong delegation to Tehran next week in a bid to expand bilateral ties.

During his three-day stay in Tehran, Malaysia’s Mah Siew Keong will meet and talk with Iranian officials like Minister of Industry, and Mines and Trade Mohammadreza Nematzadeh, Minister of Agriculture Mahmoud Hojjati as well as Head of Commission on Healthcare in the Iranian Parliament Ali Nobakht Haghighi.

Concurrent with the visit, a seminar will be held on wood and an exhibition and seminar on benefits of palm oil will be held as the Malaysian officials with discuss with Iranians revival of regional palm oil office in Tehran and upgrade cooperation in caoutchouc.

Prior to Iran, the minister visited India and held talks with the country’s officials on expansion of cooperation.

In its 2017 budget bill, the Malaysian government has paid particular attention to development of exports in caoutchouc, palm oil as well as wood and the upcoming visit of Siew Keong to Tehran will be in line with the same policy.

Almost 72 million dollars have been allocated for bringing about a rise in Malaysia’s exports of the three products, a figure which indicates the importance the Malaysian government attaches to this particular economic sector.

Iran, as a traditional importer of palm oil from Malaysia, has decreased the imports figure in recent year due to certain claims on unhealthiness of the product.

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Norwegian Finance Minister underlines expansion of trade ties with Tehran

London, Feb 6, IRNA – Minister of Finance of Norway Siv Jensen underlined expansion of ties with Iran and removing banking obstacles in a meeting with Iran’s Ambassador to Oslo Mohammad Hassan Habibollahzadeh.

 

In the meeting, the two sides discussed ways to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries.

Considering outlooks of development of ties between Iran and Norway, the ambassador called for signing basic economic documents.

Siv Jensen welcomed expansion of trade ties between the two countries, and expressed readiness of her Ministry to hold negotiations on agreement to avoid taking double taxation and helping banking problems.

1391**2050

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Zarif: No problem with Iran-Belarus economic, banking cooperation

Tehran, Feb 6, IRNA – Foreign Minister, Mohammad-Javad Zarif, said on Monday that with removal of sanctions, there will be no problem at work for development of Iran-Belarus economic and banking cooperation.

 

Speaking to Belarus Speaker, Mikhail Myasnikovich, Zarif said, “The sides are able to upgrade their economic relations based on common interests.”

He said parliamentary relations between Iran and Belarus are in a good level and they need to try to upgrade ties in other domains as well.

Myasnikovich said for his part that his country attaches special importance to expansion of relations with Iran and has many plans to promote ties in many fields.

He said many companies from Belarus are active in Iran and many Iranian companies in Belarus.

He added that Belarus companies are interested in further expansion of economic relations between Tehran and Minsk and support growing activity of Iranian companies in Belarus.

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Iran, Hungary to sign MoUs within days

Belgrade, Feb 6, IRNA – During the upcoming Joint Economic Commission in Budapest, Iran and Hungary are to ink a number of MoUs on developing cooperation in tourism, sports, economic and research fields, Iranian envoy said.

 

Iranian ambassador to Hungary Gholam Ali Rajabi Yazdi in an exclusive interview told IRNA on Monday that the commission which is supposed to be held with the attendance of the ministers of both countries aims at developing cooperation between Iran and Hungary in different fields and boosting bilateral economic ties.  

He pointed to the last joint commission between the two countries held about 23 years ago, saying that the volume of trade exchange between Iran and Hungary was over 350 million dollars during the first decade of the Islamic Revolution victory in 1979 and the figure gradually decreased to $35m.

“In the wake of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s trip to Iran last year, 10 MoUs in economic, political and cultural fields were inked between the two countries,” he said.

“Based on one of the aforementioned MoUs, the Budapest Joint Economic Commission is scheduled to be co-chaired by Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and Iran’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Ali Tayebnia.

Tayebnia heading a delegation is scheduled to have a trip to Hungary on Tuesday to participate in the event.  

Rajabi Yazdi referred to agriculture and food products industries, water management, fighting environmental pollution, developing infrastructures, construction industry, new and renewable energies, oil and petrochemicals, sanitary and pharmaceutical industries, transportation and civil services as advantageous grounds for Iran and Hungry cooperation.

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JCPOA paves way for boosting Iran-Malaysia economic cooperation

Tehran, Feb 6, IRNA – Malaysian Minister of Industries and Agricultural Products and Commodities Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong said that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has created numerous opportunities for promoting agricultural and economic interaction between Iran and Malaysia.

 

Speaking in a meeting with Ali Nobakht-Haqiqi, a visiting member of Iran-Malaysia Parliamentary Friendship Group who is currently in Malaysian capital, Keong said that the post-JCPOA opportunities should be used in line with the interests of the Iranian and Malaysian nations.

The landmark nuclear deal was signed in July 2015 between Iran and the world six major powers (the US, Britain, Russia, France and China plus Germany). It ended more than a decade of nuclear dispute between the two sides.

Hailing the increasing trend of relations between Iran and Malaysia, Keong hoped that bilateral ties would reach its previous high levels as soon as possible.

Describing cultural and religious commonalities as effective factors in promotion of mutual interaction, particularly in the fields of trade, economy and agriculture, he underlined the need for using the ‘Halal’ brand in food products.

Meanwhile, the Iranian official said that establishment of Iran-Malaysia Parliamentary Friendship Group in the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) could be translated as a sign of Tehran’s willingness in expanding its ties with Kuala Lumpur.

Enhanced cooperation between the two Muslim states can open up new atmosphere for upgrading commercial and economic exchanges, he said.

Nobakht, head of Majlis Health and Treatment Commission, underlined the need for promoting tourism and acquaintance of the two nations from each other.

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DyFM underlines necessity to strengthen central government of Iraq

Tehran, Feb 6, IRNA – Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and Africa Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari underlined on Monday the necessity to strengthen central government of Iraq and maintaining its unity and territorial integrity.

 

According to the report of Foreign Ministry Media Department, Ansari in meeting with special envoy of the UN secretary general for Iraq affairs Jan Kubis by referring to a number of positive developments in the region in recent months and relations between regional developments and their reciprocal affects, said that terrorism is the important problem of Iraq, region and the world and added that Iraqis and its different political and social currents by common understanding on terrorism threats have reached to a gradual unity in confrontation against Daesh (the ISIS).

Jan Kubis explained the latest situations in Iraq and discussed challenges and opportunities in the country, fight against terrorism and establishment of stability as main priority for all Iraqi groups.

Considering tribal diversities in Iraq, maintaining unity and integrity and co-existence of all Iraqis was underlined by the UN special envoy.

Jan Kubis said that stabilization of situation in Iraq and passing the current phase to post-Daesh era needs all sides look at the future, instead of retros.

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Veep: Up to 560mcm gas to be extracted from SP

Ahvaz, Khuzestan Prov, Feb 6, IRNA – The First Vice-President, Eshaq Jahangiri, said on Monday that gas extraction from South Pars field will rise up to 560 million cubic meters.

 

Jahangiri made the remarks in ceremony marking start of executive operations on the project for development and stabilization of the production capacity of Abadan refinery.

He said by end of this year (to end on March 20, 2017), gas extraction from South Pars gas field will rise to 550 million to 560 million cubic meters.

He added that oil production from joint fields west of Karoon river has risen to 270,000 barrels per day from 70,000 barrels per day. “That’s an exception work and a big honor for the operators. All the oil directors have the grave duty to make more efforts after the JCPOA to extract Iranian nation’s right from the join oil field.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, Jahangiri said Iran used to be gasoil importer but turned to exporter of the substance this year.

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ime: 12:43|

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US measures have no effect on Iran’s negotiations with int’l firms: Oil official

Tehran, Feb 6, IRNA - US fresh sanctions and measures against Iran have had no effect on negotiations and cooperation between Iran and Asian and European oil companies, Deputy Petroleum Minister for International and Commerce Affairs Amir Hossein Zamani Nia said.

 

“On the reasons behind delays in the implementation of new contracts, Zamani Nia said Iran is a country with different political factions, so the process of reaching a final agreement takes time,” Amir Hossein Zamani Nia said. 

International companies are keen to work with Iran, but the affairs move 'slowly' here in Iran, commented Zamani Nia.  

“Based on the US Congress preliminary sanctions, American oil companies are not permitted to participate in Iran’s oil tenders,” he added.

“Iran has placed no limitations on American companies, but based on their own laws they are not allowed to attend oil tenders in Iran,” he said. 

After lifting sanctions and the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in January 2016, international oil companies held talks to participate in Iran’s oil industry as a result of which a number of MoUs were inked.  

In spite of US President Donald Trump’s sharp remarks on Iran deal, a French oil delegation accompanied by French Foreign Minister was in Iran last week.

[tigergorzow]

SB,  Thanks....Awesome articles and it seems that all countries are jumping on board the money train before U.S. sanctions restrict other countries from dealing with Iran. 

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8 minutes ago, tigergorzow said:

SB,  Thanks....Awesome articles and it seems that all countries are jumping on board the money train before U.S. sanctions restrict other countries from dealing with Iran. 

We are safe...we just need to look to major trading partners to realise which countries will be paired against the rial and where we may need to go to cash in!