Iran OKs $5b in foreign investment plans, attracts $2b, despite sanctions

TEHRAN,Feb.5(MNA)-- Iran's deputy minister of economy said the Islamic Republic has approved $5 billion worth of foreign investment plans in the recent 10 months, of which $2 billion dollars have been attracted by the country. Behrouz Alishiri, who also heads Iran's Organization for Investment and Economic and Technical Assistance, expressed the hope that the amount of the absorbed foreign investments would increase in the coming months by final completing the aggregating of the statistics and documentations of the newly approved plans. Speaking to the reporters in Tehran on Saturday, he added that from the total value of the approved foreign investment in the recent 10 months, 83 percent belongs to the industry sector, 11 percent to the services sector, and 4 percent is related to the agriculture sector. He said that it is expected that the projects will help create more jobs in the country, improve the quality of domestic products, transfer technology and increase non-oil exports. Official data show that Iran has attracted over $3.7 billion in foreign investment in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended March 20, 2011), despite sanctions. Previously, Iranian Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Shamseddin Hosseini assured foreign investors of the safety of their investment in the Islamic Republic. “The country's political conditions are suitable for drawing foreign investments,” Hosseini said. In 2009, the Islamic Republic also saw the highest rate of foreign investment attraction, hitting the all-time record of $3 billion, which places Iran among the top six countries of the world with the highest rate of drawing foreign investments.