Selling petrochemicals in the Philippines, region and Europe is a priority of the International Petrochemical Company.

Managing director of International Petrochemical Company, Mohammad Hadi Rahbari said Iran has invested $125 million to purchase a petrochemical plant in the Philippines.
Speaking at a press conference on the occasion of Ten-Day Dawn (February 1-11 which marks the anniversary of the victory of Islamic Revolution) on Tuesday, he said that National Petrochemical Company (NPC), Petrochemical Investment Company and Philippine Polymex Company have bought 40, 20 and 40 percent shares of Bataan Polyethylene Corp. respectively, adding the firm is now called NPC Reliance.
He told IRNA in Tehran that the unit, which produces 225,000 tons of heavy polyethylene annually, has been purchased from local shareholders.
“The company will prioritize sales of products to the Philippines, the region and Europe,“ he noted.
The company, he added, will spend revenues from the sales of products on developing the plant which was constructed in the Philippines five years ago.
Turning to the measures taken by the International Petrochemical Company to attract foreign finances in petrochemical projects, Rahbari stated that two long-term agreements worth $400 million were signed with Belgium and Germany for financing Ilam Petrochemical Plant and NF3 unit of Imam Khomeini Petrochemical Complex.
Laleh Petrochemical Company, established in cooperation With German SABIC Company, National Petrochemical Company and Poshineh Polymer Company with $300 million worth of investment, will go into operation in the near future, he noted, adding it has the capacity of producing 300,000 tons of light polyethylene.
The official stated that South African Sasol Company and NPC have invested about $1.2 billion in Aryasasol Company for producing one million tons ethylene.
The need is to establish downstream industries in the country as this will not only create value-added for petrochemical products but will also lead to a boom in the domestic market and export sector, he underlined.

Mohammad Reza Eskandari

Minister of Agricultural Jihad Mohammad Reza Eskandari has an ambitious plan for his ministry during the upcoming Iranian year to March 2009.
“Exports of agricultural products would reach three billion dollars in the next year,“ the minister promised reporters on Tuesday in Tehran.
Putting the exports at $2.2 billion in the nine months to December 21, Eskandari said the country imported $3.9 billion of crops, pesticides, fertilizers and etc.
“The export-import balance is positive if we exclude fertilizers and pesticides.“
Over 4,4300 agricultural projects will be inaugurated on the occasion of Ten-Day Dawn marking the 29th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution countrywide to create jobs for an estimated 66,870 individuals, he noted.
More than 479.4 billion rials have been spend on these projects in fields such as water and soil, livestock affairs, herbal products, fishery, forests and pastures, industries and rural cooperatives.
He said agricultural sector has posted a growth rate of above seven percent in the past two years which is ahead of the 6.5-percent target set in the Fourth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2005-2010).
Marine production which exceeded 630,000 tons this year is above the 600,000-ton target stipulated in the development plan.
“We plan to achieve a production of 700,000 tons in the next year.“
Eskandari said that reduction in usage of pesticides is on the next year agenda of the ministry in a bid to produce healthy foods for the Iranians.

Some 21 months after a Majlis ratification obliging the government to reduce lending rates to single digits by the end of the Fourth Five-Year Economic Development Plan in 2010, this question has been asked economic circles; Should the rates continue its slide as inflation is heading towards 20 percent at the end of the current Iranian year to March 2008?
Lending rates in Iran are higher than those in regional countries and its reduction has been one of fundamental challenges facing financial and monetary policymakers. Although Iran’s lending rates are high and double digit, economists believe that lowering the rates should move in tandem with inflation. High lending rates make production expensive. This increases production cost and investment and ultimately prices of products, diminishing their competitiveness and affecting creation of jobs.
In the beginning months of the current Iranian year to March 2008 and after discords, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ordered a cut in lending rates to 12 percent for state and 13 percent for private banks. The cut, however, did not include profit rates paid to depositors. This only enforced a type of banking contracts called ’Transactional Contracts’, excluding other contracts signed for partnership in investment.
The government’s decision was aimed at boosting production, creating jobs and supporting production units. The move was also taken to encourage state and private banks to extend loans and finance economically-viable projects undertaken by private and cooperative sectors.
The increase in inflation and liquidity has forced policymakers and economic planners to take measures to tame inflation. This has raised a new issue that lending and inflation rates should be brought down simultaneously.
A way to materialize the objective is to write off fines for clients because of overdue payments. The government plans to do the same, aiming to support private and state sectors and solving their liquidity problems. This would also help them to repay their debts.
Other measure is to reduce government debts to the state banks and increase capital of government-run financial institutions. Based on a new Majlis ratification, parliamentarians decided to raise capital of state banks to over $15 billion. The new decision would boost the credibility of Iran’s international banks. Meanwhile, the increase in their ability to extend loans would speed up the privatization process.
President Ahmadinejad assigned two special groups last summer to evaluate reforms in the banking system and regulations. When outcomes of the assessment by the two groups have been finalized, it would be able to improve the financial, legal and administrative structures of Iranian banks. Once such ambitious plan materializes, competitiveness between banks would increase.
The other significant issue is the approach of Tahmasb Mazaheri, governor of the Central Bank of Iran, who took office last summer. Mazaheri, a former economy minister, has turned out to be an ardent advocate of banking reforms. After months in office, he has attempted to organize monetary policies. The top banker has also submitted a proposal for lending rates. The proposal, yet to be finalized, supports fundamental reforms in legal and operational systems of banks rather than cut in lending rates. It seems we should wait to see the results.

Inflation reached 17.5 percent in the 12 months to January 30, up 0.3 percent compared with the rate for a month earlier, according to the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) which further announced that consumer prices rose by 19.2 percent in the same period. The figure was 17.6 percent in the 12 months to December 21.
These figures were released several days after the head of Monetary and Banking Research Institute predicted inflation rate will reach about 20 percent by the end of the current Iranian year to March 2008 unless the Central Bank takes precautionary measures.
Every three months, the center makes a forecast on inflation rate based on economic indices, Ahmad Mojtahed, head of the institute which is affiliated to CBI, told MNA over the weekend.
Mojtahed said given that in the two-three months to the end of year, the government’s payments go up, it would be possible to tame inflation near or at 17.5 percent if the CBI takes proper measures.
Economists are expressing growing concern about runaway inflation which is moving towards the 20 percent mark with many blaming the problem on poor measures to check the excessive flow of liquidity into the economy.
Earlier, government spokesman, Gholamhossein Elham stated that the Ahmadinejad administration is working on short- and long-term plans to bring prices down.

Iran Khodro signed a deal with Youngman in 2006 to set up a joint venture in China.

The giant auto manufacturter Iran Khodro Investment Development Company may sever its partnership with Chinese auto maker Jinhua Youngman Automobile Manufacturing Co. Ltd. after just one year.
Iran Khodro, largest auto manufacturer in Iran and the Middle East, is expected to scale back investment with Zhejiang-based Youngman. The Chinese carmaker has sped up development with British maker Lotus Engineering after failing to gain enough technical support from Iran Khodro, Shanghai Securities News reported, citing an unidentified source.
Youngman is developing models with Lotus, while Iran Khodro is also pouring investment into China’s fifth-largest car maker Chery Automobile Co Ltd, the Shanghai-based paper said.
Officials from Youngman declined to comment, China Internet Information Center reported. Iran Khodro signed a deal with Youngman in 2006 to set up a joint venture in China, with 70 percent of the stake held by Youngman.
The tie-up, part of Iran Khodro’s plan to tap the emerging Chinese market, included a plant to make 30,000 Samand sedans a year in Shandong province.
Details of the break-up have not been outlined, said the newspaper, adding that Youngman plans to produce Lotus models in Shandong.
Youngman started cooperating with Malaysian car maker Proton, owner of Lotus, in July last year. The first model, an imported RCR roadster coupe, went on sale in China last month priced between $17,800 and $20,500.