Corporate News & Business

 

Australia willing to expand water, energy ties with Iran (Tehran Times, 14 March 2017)

South Australia’s Minister for Investment and Trade Mr. Martin Hamilton-Smith has said Australia is willing to expand economic ties with Iran especially in water and energy sectors. The official also expressed hope for expansion of academic and research cooperation between the two countries saying that some of the world’s leading universities are located in South Australia and they are ready to share their experiences with Iran. Mentioning the trade turnover between the two sides, Hamilton-Smith noted that the worth of annual trade between the two sides is about $1.5 million which is relatively low.  Iranian deputy minister for his part said Iran is open to new investment and financing in areas like climate change, renewable energies and seawater desalination and the country welcomes interested Australian companies in this regard.

 

Iran’s ICT Minister in Moscow to discuss expansion of ties (Mehr News Agency, 13 March 2017)

Iran’s ICT Minister Mr. Mahmoud Vaezi, who also heads Iran-Russia’s Joint Commission for Cooperation, arrived in Moscow on 13 March2017 to meet with Russian officials. The Iranian ICT Minister is scheduled to hold talks with Russian Energy Minister Mr. Alexander Novak who heads Iran-Russia’s Joint Commission for Cooperation on the Russian side. Mr. Vaezi will also meet with Mr. Nikolai Nikiforov, Minister of Communications and Mass Media, as well as Russia’s first Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Igor Shuvalov. On this two-day visit, the two sides will exchange views on a comprehensive development of bilateral relations. The 15-strong delegation accompanying Mr. Vaezi will discuss expansion of cooperation in various fields of oil, industry, railway and judiciary with the Russian side.

Russian off-road SUVs come back to Iran (Mehr News Agency, 13 March 2017)

Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant), better known around the world by its acronym UAZ, is about to begin production of its UAZ Patriot SUVs and pickup trucks in Iran. UAZ Export Sales Director Mr. Andrey Dorofeev explained that he company first needs to assess the capacity of the Iranian market and the demand for its products before beginning manufacturing. Iran is familiar with UAZ vehicles as about 15,000 of them were supplied to the Islamic Republic in the 1990s. Back then however, the cars were purchased strictly to satisfy the needs of the Iranian Defense Ministry.

Iran, South Korea reach new water agreement (Mehr News Agency, 13 March 2017)

Managing Director of Iran Water and Energy Resources Development Company Mr. Mohammadreza Rezazadeh referred to a contract between Tehran and Seoul for construction of dams and power stations in Iran, stating that three cooperation agreements with an overall worth of US$ 3.4 billion have been so far inked between Iranian and South Korean companies in the utility industry. Mr. Rezazadeh said  that a finance deal worth 1.7 billion dollars has been inked with Seoul over Bakhtiari Dam as final stages of coordination to finalize the project is being carried out between Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and South Korean banks. He further touched upon an agreement with China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure) for the financing of two water dam projects underlining that the first Line of Credit (LOC) worth 230 million euros is to finance the construction of the Rudbar Lorestan hydroelectric dam. Mr. Mohammadreza Rezazadeh also reported on a 290 million euro-worth deal with Chinese financers to build the Chamshir Dam and power plant.

 

 

Finance

 

ICCIMA chairman advocates mergers in banking sector (Financial Tribune, 14 March 2017)

Iran’s economy does not have the capacity for so many banks and credit institutions and hence the idea of merging them should be considered, Head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture Mr. Gholamhossein Shafei said during the last meeting of ICCIMA. According to the latest report of the Central Bank of Iran, there are 35 banks and credit institutions with 21,656 branches across the country. The ICCIMA chief regretted that the production sector is unprofitable while speculative activities give high returns. Mr. Shafei noted that the private sector welcomes disinflationary policies but is worried that the government may use liquidity to trigger a short-term boom in the economy.

 

Oil & Gas

 

Iran leapfrogs Iraq as India’s no. 2 oil supplier in February 2017 (Reuters, 13 March 2017)

India’s oil imports from Iran rose nearly 17% in February from a month earlier as refiners received less crude from key OPEC producers Saudi Arabia and Iraq after an OPEC deal to cut output. The jump meant Iran replaced regional rival Iraq as India’s second-biggest oil supplier – a role Tehran used to occupy before Western sanctions were imposed against it over the country’s disputed nuclear program. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pledged to curb production by about 1.2 million bpd from 1 January 2017, the first cut in eight years, in a move designed to boost prices and drain a supply glut. Iran, Libya and Nigeria were, however, granted exemptions from the deal.

 

 

Economy & Society

 

National census preliminary results released: Iran’s urban population up (Financial Tribune, 14 March 2017)

Findings of the recent National Population and Housing Census show Iran’s population is over 79.92 million, which is about 4.77 million more compared to the previous figure registered by the census conducted in the Iranian year 1390 (March 2011-March 2012). Out of the total 79,926,270 Iranians or 24,196,035 households, 59,146,847 or 18,125,488 households live in urban and 20,730,625 people or 6,070,547 households live in rural areas. The urban population shows an increase of 5,500,186 and the rural population has decreased by 772,383 compared with the 1390 national census. he census put the number of men at 40,498,442 and the number of women at 39,427,828, meaning the sex ratio stands at 103:100. Men’s and women’s unemployment rates officially stand at 10.5% and 20.7% respectively. The Statistical Centre of Iran (SCI) put youth unemployment rate, i.e. the proportion of the population between the ages of 15-24 and 15-29, at 29.4% and 25.9% respectively.

Linkup of IHIO, SSO databases planned (Financial Tribune, 14 March 2017)

The government is planning to link the databases of Iran Health Insurance Organization and Social Security Organization to ease access to policyholders’ profiles, reduce prescriptions and medical errors, said Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare Minister Mr. Ali Rabiei. The government also plans to phase out health insurance booklets, making them electronic to lower medical expenses, improve diagnosis and enhance supervision over insurance companies. Health insurance booklets have been misused a lot and impose an important financial burden US$17 million annually on the healthcare system.

By Natela Outtier

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