Foreign companies have invested in many oil and gas development projects in Iran. (Photo by Ali Hassanpour)

China has been the biggest foreign investor in Iran during 2000-2007 followed by France and Germany, according to the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) data on foreign investments in the Islamic state by major industrial countries.
China, Iran’s largest trade partner, invested at least $101.74 billion in the country during the seven year.
Reuters quoted the US-based conservative think-thank as saying that the information was obtained from corporate reports and websites, periodicals and other databases.
The Asian giant’s investments in petrochemical, gas and oil industry totaled $96.7 billion during the period.
To fuel its over 11.9 percent economic growth, the nation of 1.3 billion people aka the ’factory of the world’ is buying all the oil it can from world markets and through bilateral energy development deals with producers and exporters in the Middle East and Africa.
China is the world’s second largest oil consumer.
Iran with the world’s second largest known oil reserves is an important energy supplier for China and has signed multi-billion-dollar energy contracts with that country in the past two years.
The latest of such investments in Iran’s oil and gas development projects was made on Sunday.
National Iranian Oil Company and China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., (Sinopec), signed a two-billion-dollar agreement for the development of onshore Yadavaran oilfield in southern Khuzestan province.
Chinese investors also invested $620 million in banking, finance, export credit agencies; $3.38 billion in construction, power and energy and $1.08 billion in the transportation sector.
France, the second investor in Iran among industrialized nations, invested at least $29.9 billion during 2000-2007 of which $18.5 billion are in petrochemical, gas and oil industry.
French oil giant Total is among major European companies to have undertaken projects in the country’s oil and gas sector.
French entrepreneurs invested $9.2 billion in banking, finance, export credit agencies; $1.15 billion in construction, power and energy; $480 million in telecommunications and $600 million in the transportation sector.
Germany invested $25.4 billion in Iran during the seven years of which $9.82 are in petrochemical, gas and oil fields and $2.14 billion in banking, finance, export credit agencies.
Investments in construction, power and energy sectors totaled $3.38 billion, telecommunications $245 million and transportation $9.86.
The report added that the biggest Germany-Iran project is $9.14-billion deal in 2007 to construct a Maglev railway line to connect the capital Tehran to the northeastern city of Mashhad.
Italy, Iran’s third trade partner, invested $24.7 billion, while country’s second trade partner Japan made close to $16.9 billion in investments.
Russian, UK and American investors made $3.75 billion, $12.7 billion and $3.6 billion investments respectively.

Head of Turkey’s Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) has said that the latest regulations have made Iran more attractive for Turkish investors.
According to MNA, Rona Yircali, who was speaking at the Iran-Turkey Business Council Forum in Istanbul, said that Iran has implemented successful plans to attract foreign investment which could bring Turkish investors to the country.
Pointing to the historical trade ties between the two countries, Yircali said the trade volume between Turkey and Iran was $1.2 billion in 2002 and at that time the goal was to increase the figure to $5 billion, Today’s Zaman reported.
He added that trade volume had reached $6 billion in 2006; however, Yircali said that exports and imports between the two countries were in favor of Iran.
“That’s why we would like Iran to give priority to Turkey in their imports to close this gap,“ he said, adding that Iran was ranked fifth in Turkey’s imports but only 20th in its exports.
Meanwhile, a seminar on Iran’s trade opportunities was held in Rome, Italy, IRNA reported.
Speaking at the seminar, secretary general of Italy Chamber of Commerce stated that Italy, after China and Japan, is Iran’s biggest trade partner.
Pierluigi Dakata hoped that the joint meeting would be fruitful in expanding bilateral ties.
For his part, Mohammad-Mehdi Behkish, head of Iran-Italy Chamber of Commerce, also called for expanding bilateral ties, adding Italy is a gateway for Iran’s exports to Europe.
“Italy is Iran’s top European trade partner and Iranian traders attach great importance to it,“ Behkish said.
From January to August 2007, commercial ties between the two countries showed a favorable growth compared to the same period in 2006, when it stood at 3.8 billion euros.
Iran imported 1.3 billion euros worth of goods from Italy in the second half of 2006 whereas the figure plummeted to 1.1 billion euros in last six months of this year.

Consumer price index climbed 1.7 percent in the month to November 21 compared to a month earlier.

Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Tahmasb Mazaheri announced late Tuesday that Oil Stabilization Fund (OSF) currently has close to seven billion dollars.
He told reporters that he had mentioned the same figure about two weeks ago, reported IRIB News.
Earlier deputy CBI governor, Hossein Qazavi, had said that OSF deposits dropped to eight billion dollars until August 22.
He explained that the fund had about $10 billion in the year to March 2007 and noted that about $10 billion were deposited during March-August, but $12 billion were later withdrawn from the fund for budget purposes.
In the year to March 2008, oil revenues witnessed a steep rise and a major portion of this was deposited in the fund.
Gross domestic product (GDP) registered a 6.2 percent growth in the year to March 2007 while the figure was 5.4 percent in the year to March 2006.
The oil fund was set up by the former Khatami government to fund state expenditures during periods of contingency.
Turning to inflation, Mazaheri, a former economy minister, said the rate stood at 19.1 percent in the month to November 21. The figure was 17.2 percent in the previous month.
In figures released on Wednesday, Central Bank of Iran announced that consumer prices rose to 19.1 percent in the year to November 21. It further said that inflation is continuing a steady rise.
Consumer price index climbed 1.7 percent in the month to November 21 compared to figures for a month earlier. Inflation rate, the top bank said, was 16.8 percent in the month to November 21.
In a press conference on Tuesday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated that the government has a major plan to control inflation.
Iran, the world’s fourth largest oil exporter, has made windfall gains from high oil prices in recent years. It expects to earn about $70 billion from oil exports from the year to March 2008.
Asked whether lending rates would be cut in the coming Iranian year, Mazaheri said the rate depends on several factors, particularly inflation.
“Money and Credit Council will decide next year about slashing lending rates,“ he concluded.
Meanwhile, outspoken Tehran MP Mohammad Khoshchehreh on Wednesday blamed the Economy Ministry and CBI for policies which feed inflation.
Majlis Economy Commission believes the ministry’s policies to control inflation has stoked inflation, the lawmaker, a member of the commission stated.

Two railroad lines pass through TehranÕs congested 17th Municipal District.

A section of the Tehran-Tabriz railway line passing through the urban areas of Tehran’s Municipality District 17 will be moved underground at a cost of 600 billion rials.
Announcing this, deputy mayor of Municipal District 17 told Iran Daily that the issue was initially discussed by Rahshahr consultant engineering group in 1997 and the group conducted feasibility studies on moving the railway line out of built up areas.
Mohsen Mollasalehi said that based on a memorandum of understanding signed with the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways Company, Khatam ol-Anbia Headquarters was entrusted with implementing the project to construct five kilometers of the underground railway line. The project started two months ago and is expected to be completed within two years.
Khatam ol-Anbia Headquarters has implemented major tunnel projects across the country.
The project is being implemented as part of efforts to renovate dilapidated texture of the district, improve urban services, remove obstacles to urban development, reduce traffic jams, prevent accidents and control air pollution.
Tehran’s 17th Municipal District is one of the most congested areas of the metropolis and two railway lines of Tehran-Ahvaz and Tehran-Tabriz pass through the area.
Mollasalehi recalled that during the tenure of Mohammad-Hassan Malekmadani, the then mayor of Tehran, a memorandum of understanding was signed among municipality districts which were crisscrossed by railway lines to study plans to remove them.
The official continued that when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was Tehran mayor, he called for the involvement of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways in the project. Therefore a consultant firm named Metra was selected by IRIR and Emco was chosen by District 17, to form Metraco group, Mollasalehi said.
Following extensive studies, the group decided that the railroad had to be transferred underground, he pointed out.
Mollasalehi explained that IRIR officials initially opposed the project in the belief that other districts across the country would follow suit.
He underlined that over 4,000 martyrs in the Sacred Defense Era (Iraq-imposed war of 1980-1988) were from his district. Therefore, as mayor, Ahmadinejad pledged that the project would be implemented in deference to the martyrs.
After Ahmadinejad became president, the scheme was approved by the cabinet and upgraded to a national project, he said, adding the budget was also made available.
Mollasalehi elaborated that currently temporary railway lines are under construction near the Tehran-Ahvaz railway to which trains plying the Tehran-Tabriz route would be diverted. The location is ready for earth-removal operations, he added.
A valve will be created every several meters of the tunnel to ventilate and remove toxic fumes from the tunnel, he concluded.

Pakistan and Iran will soon sign an agreement on the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project. Expressing this, Pakistan’s Caretaker Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Ahsanullah Khan told reporters in Islamabad in the presence of Iran’s Special Representative on the gas project Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, “We had productive meeting with Iranian delegation and we have agreed to sign the deal during their current visit.“
Khan also expressed satisfaction over the progress on the project, saying that its early implementation would help strengthen and boost economic and trade relations among countries in the region, Pakistani daily ’Dawn’ reported.
The IPI project, in its present state, envisages the construction of a 2,600-km-long pipeline that would bring gas from Iran’s giant South Pars field to Pakistan and India.
Under the trilateral contract, Iran will export 60 million cubic meters of gas to Pakistan and India each per day.
Some 1,035-km segment of the 7.4-billion-dollar gas pipeline project would pass through Pakistan.
In the Islamabad session, the officials discussed issues such as gas delivery point, the rate of gas pressure delivered at the border of the two countries, the fines both parts should pay, the timetable for the project and the commitments of the governments in implementing the project.
It was announced at the end of the meeting that negotiations would continue in Tehran next week to finalize the project of gas transfer from Iran to Pakistan, IRIB said.

Talks are underway between ministers of oil and economic affairs to establish an international oil bourse soon, head of the Retirement Fund of Oil Industry said.
Mehdi Karbasian told PIN Tuesday that in talks he had with the oil minister to follow up the establishment of the long-awaited bourse, Gholamhossein Nozari said that final coordination had been made by Economy Minister Davoud Danesh-Jafari. “The oil bourse will be launched in the near future and the final steps are underway.“
The official, whose fund is one of the main shareholders in the bourse, recalled that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had urged that the bourse had to be set up by December last year.
He, however, regretted that the establishment of the bourse, first reported in 2005, has so far been delayed several times. The exchange has missed at least three announced opening dates until now.
Karbasian blamed disagreement between oil and economy ministers for the delay.
The official noted that the other problem facing the bourse was specifying the oil commodities which are to be traded there.
“Given that petrochemical products, oil derivates and even crude need special pricing and supervision mechanisms, making decision on such issues requires a great deal of time and attention.“
Karbasian further underlined that executive operations to launch the much-publicized bourse will begin once its secretary general is appointed.
Iran is planning to open a commodity exchange, variously referred to as the Iran Petroleum Exchange, International Oil Bourse or Iranian Oil Bourse.
It would be a Petrobourse for petroleum, petrochemicals and gas in various non-dollar currencies, primarily the euro. If successful, it would establish a euro-based pricing mechanism for oil trading, or oil marker as it is called by traders.
Although opening an oil bourse has so far been unsuccessful, Iran has had success in asking its petroleum customers to pay in non-dollar currencies. On December 8, 2007 Iran reported it had converted all its oil export payments to non-dollar currencies.