Iran reports 100% growth in direct foreign investment

TEHRAN,July 14(MNA) - Foreign investment plans worth as much as $10 billion are expected to be transacted by Iran during the Iranian calendar year, which ends on March 20, 2013, a 100 percent growth year on year, the Iranian deputy finance and economic affairs minister said. Behrouz Alishiri added that some $2.5 billion in foreign investment plans were approved during the first quarter of the year. Foreign investment plans in Iran amounted to $5.3 billion last year, showing a 27 percent growth compared on the year before, Alishiri said on April 2. Iran needs up to $400 billion in foreign direct investment to materialize its objective of 8 percent economic growth, he added. Over the next five years, the government will need new sources of capital sourced through participation of the domestic and foreign private sectors, Alishiri said. He said in October 2011 that the growth of foreign direct investment in Iran ranks amongst the highest in the world. Despite the global economic sanctions, more than 400 foreign companies are now directly investing in Iran.