Non-oil Export Up
In the first eight months of the current Iranian year (started March 21), non-oil exports, by weight, were twice as much as imported goods, said the spokesman of the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade.
Alireza Shojaei added that the latest figures by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration indicated that during the period, non-oil exports, including gas condensates, exceeded 49.5 million tons, while some 23.8 million tons of goods were imported, IRNA reported.
He stated that in the same time span, imports declined by 21.4 percent.
Shojaei attributed the 34-percent growth in the value of exports and 6.1-percent decline in the value of imports to good planning and favorable cooperation between executive organs and the private sector.
He further stated that foreign trade meetings are held in different provinces regularly. In the meetings, he said, exporters’ problems are discussed and those which need to be decided upon nationally are referred to Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI).
Earlier, TPOI’s director said revenues from non-oil exports, including gas condensates, exceeded $28 billion in the first eight months of the current year.
Hamid Safdel said that export revenues show a 35-percent growth against the figure for the same period last year. He put the figure for imports during the same period at $40 billion, indicating a six-percent decline compared to the amount for same period a year ago.
Iran’s major non-oil exports include petroleum gases, liquefied gas hydrocarbons, liquefied propane, methanol, mineral fuels, chemical products, plastics, fruits, nuts, fertilizers, and carpets.
Earlier, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced plans to boost non-oil exports to $60 billion by March 2013.
The president stated that exports will exceed $45 billion by the end of this year.
Lopping Off Zeros From National Currency Under Study
The government has presented a proposal to the Economic Council to further examine its plan to lop four zeros off the national currency, said deputy minister of economic affairs and finance.
“Currently, the government’s economic commission has completed [its] review of a bill to overhaul the national currency, and it has been presented to the Economic Council,” Mohammad-Reza Farzin said, Presstv reported on Friday.
Farzin added that the Majlis will discuss the issue and will vote on it after the council completes its studies.
However, the official cast doubt about the passage of the bill before the end of the current Iranian year (in March 2012).
Earlier in April, Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Shamseddin Husseini announced a plan to remove three zeros from the national currency, the rial, in a move to optimize financial performance.
Iran ‘will remove three zeros from the national currency this year on the condition that the prerequisites are met’, he noted.
Analysts say the decline in the value of Iran’s national currency in recent decades has triggered a number of objective and subjective dilemmas.
Aluminum Ingot Production Capacity Doubled
Domestic Economy Desk
Aluminum ingot production capacity has doubled during the tenure of the ninth and tenth government (2006 to present), said the head of Iranian Mines, Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO).
Khodamorad Ahmadi stated the capacity has grown by 235,000 tons since 2005 with the current level at 457,000, IRNA reported.
He said the figure should reach 1.5 million tons by 2025, adding “Fortunately, with the government formulating the policy and making related planning, the target will be attained.
“Currently, contracts have been concluded to procure materials from domestic and foreign sources.”
Referring to the new management in Almahdi Aluminum Company, he said supplying the domestic need and then resuming exports should be among the priorities of the new management, adding a balance should be maintained between the two.
Earlier in November, a report by IMIDRO said that export of aluminum and alumina powder exceeded $267 million in the first seven months of the current Iranian year (started March 21).
According to the report the figure indicated a 32-percent increase from the figure for the same period last year.
The report said the country’s exports of aluminum ingot and alumina powder reached $201 million during the same period last year.
Iran ranks among the 15 major mineral-rich countries of the world and exports industrial and mineral products to 159 countries, including Iraq, China, the United Arab Emirates, India and Afghanistan.
Deputy head of Iran’s Geology and Mineral Exploration Organization, Behrouz Borna said recently that Iran ranks first in the Middle East in mineral reserves.
Iran’s important mines include coal, metallic minerals, sand and gravel, chemical minerals and salt. Iran has the world’s largest zinc and second largest copper deposits and ranks ninth in iron reserves.
NIOC Plans 36 New Rigs
Domestic Economy Desk
The number of on-shore and off-shore drilling rigs will increase to 134 by March 2014, said the managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).
Ahmad Qale’bani added in a bid to attain the goals of the oil industry in the Fifth Five-Year Economic Plan (2010-15), 36 new rigs will be added to the drilling installations, IRNA reported on Friday.
Currently, 98 on-shore and off-shore drilling rigs are operational nationwide, he said.
The official praised NIOC’s capabilities in drilling operations and providing technical-engineering services and stated it is expected that NIOC will focus on off-shore drilling which is more specialized.
He emphasized the use of new technologies and accelerating drilling operations, adding, “The economy is one of the main bases for administering a country and oil is its most important sector.”
Commenting on NIOC’s plans to maintain and increase oil production, he said “In the last [Iranian] year (ended March 20), we witnessed a growth in crude production, and we intend to continue this trend in the current year.
By commissioning phases 9 and 10 of the South Pars gas field, Assaluyeh in Bushehr province and increasing gas production by 50 million cubic meters per day, the output will rise by 10 percent in the winter, he noted.
Qale’bani further sated that increasing gas production capacity by 20 million cubic meters per annum is on NIOC’s agenda.
NIOC’s managing director reiterated that by the end of the Fifth Plan, crude production is expected to exceed five million barrels per day, and gas production should reach 1.47 billion cubic meters per day. To materialize these goals, oil industry needs to invest some $156 billion, he concluded.
Industrial Townships
Some 898 industrial townships are currently operational nationwide, creating 600,000 jobs, said Deputy Industry, Mines and Trade Minister Fakhrollah Molaei.
2.7m Housing Units Under Construction
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“The second lane will be completed in the near future,” he said.
Earlier last week Nikzad said that Mehr Housing projects are expected to be commissioned in various provinces by the end of the current Iranian year (in March 2012).
He said that 6,000 contractors are involved in mass housing construction, adding the capabilities of the private sector should be used to implement the projects.
“We handed over all the investment opportunities to the private sector, and they announced that €70 million worth of investment opportunities were prepared for different sectors.”
He said, “During our recent visit to Syria, we tried to link Iran’s private sector with that of the country, but no agreement on housing projects was signed between the two sides since construction prices in Syria are lower.
“No housing unit, built by the government, will be inaugurated in the country without adequate facilities.”
Nikzad further stated that 25 airplanes have been added to Iran’s aviation fleet following the merger of road and housing ministries.
Last year Nikzad said, “Mehr Housing Plan has led to stability in housing prices and in some provinces it has even resulted in the reduction of prices of land and housing.”
In recent years, the construction industry of Iran has been thriving due to an increase in national and international investment to the extent that it is now the largest in the Middle East region. The Central Bank of Iran indicates that 70 percent of the Iranians own homes.
As of January 2011, the banking sector, particularly Bank Maskan has given loans up to 102 trillion rials ($10.2 billion) to applicants of Mehr housing project.
Under this scheme, real estate developers are offered free land in return for building cheap residential units for first-time buyers on 99-year lease contracts.
The government then commissioned agent banks to offer loans to the real estate developers to develop the land and begin construction projects to increase production and create equilibrium in the supply and demand curve (2008).
Close to 400,000 units have been built and permits have been issued for another 12,000.
Mehr housing project is expected to provide 600,000 residential units in its first phase.
About 3.7 million people have so far registered for Mehr Housing Plan (2008).
Applicants should pay about 20 percent of the construction costs. While most Iranians have difficulties obtaining small home loans, 90 persons have managed to secure collective facilities totaling $8 billion from banks.
Foreign Investments Up 124%
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Iran’s foreign investments amounted to over $3.7 billion last year, the minister noted.
Earlier this month, the minister said a special investment award is being considered this year to encourage further foreign investment.
Husseini said Iran’s National Development Fund’s reserves stand at $27 billion and at least $5.4 billion of this sum will be allocated to promoting foreign investment.
‘About 20 percent of this amount have been allocated to foreign investors’ as an incentive to participate in economic projects, Mehr News Agency reported.
He further stated that the country has created conditions for a more active cooperation of the private sector in economic plans nationwide.
The minister also assured foreign investors of the safety of investing in the Islamic Republic.
“The country’s political conditions are appropriate for attracting foreign investment,” Husseini said, adding that Iran has prepared the grounds to facilitate investment in the country.
Iran also attracted $3 billion in foreign investment in 2009, becoming one of the top six countries in the world with the highest foreign investment attraction rates.
Call to Expand Turkmen Ties
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov underlined the need to further expand trade ties between Tehran and Ashgabat.
Speaking in a cabinet meeting on Saturday, Berdymukhammedov said ties between Ashgabat and Tehran meet the needs and national interests of both nations, Fars News Agency reported.
Referring to Iran’s 6th Exclusive Industry and Mine Exhibition, he directed high-ranking Turkmen authorities to organize it at the highest possible level of quality.
Iran has initiated massive diplomatic steps to expand its ties with neighboring and the Central Asian states.
17 New Oil Deals Expected
Iran is expected to sign 17 new oil contracts before the end of the current Iranian year (on March 21, 2012), said deputy oil minister.
Ahmad Qale’bani, who is also the managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), said the company is planning to sign 20-22 new contracts for developing joint and independent oilfields, Presstv reported on Friday.
“Thus far, 6-7 new oil-related contracts have been signed with domestic and foreign contractors,” he added.
The official stated that, at least, 17 contracts for upstream oil industry operations will be signed before the end of the year.
“These contracts are related to the development of [oil and gas] fields, or establishing [necessary] infrastructure for the development of [these] fields, including power plants, pipelines and …,” he noted.
The official said that oil industry needs $36 billion in investment to implement its development projects in line with the Fifth Economic Development Plan (2010-15), which calls for attracting $3 billion in investment per month.
The deputy oil minister added that the country’s oil production capacity will hit 5.1 million barrels per day by March 2016.
Qale’bani stated that natural gas output will also rise by 10 percent during the current year and is expected to increase by 20 percent per year over the next four years.
Iran is OPEC’s second largest oil producer and the fourth largest crude oil exporter and has moved in recent years towards becoming a major exporter of refined products.
The country holds the world’s third-largest proven oil reserves and the second-largest natural gas reserves.
Energy Bourse Operational By March
Domestic Economy Desk
Energy Bourse is expected to be inaugurated by the end of the current Iranian year (in March 2012), said the managing director of Electricity Network Management Company.
Mirfattah Fattah-Qarahbagh said that based on the latest announcement made by the Bourse Organization, the Initial Public Offering (IPO) will be launched from Jan. 2, 2012, IRNA reported.
The official said that 60 percent and 20 percent of the shareholders of Energy Bourse Public Corporation Company are monetary and baking institutes and private sector involved in electricity industry respectively, adding ground has bee prepared for the public to purchase the remaining 20 percent of the shares.
Meanwhile, the director general of Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (PSEZ) Ahmad Pourheidar said export from the zone witnessed a growth both in terms of weight and value in the first nine months of the current Iranian year.
Ahmad Pourheidar said 1.11 million tons of non-oil products were exported from the region during the period, adding the figure indicates a 161-percent increase compared to the amount for the same duration last year, Fars News Agency reported.
He put the total value of non-oil exports at $848.55 million which he said shows a 202-percent growth.
Pourheidar said 695,035 tons of gas condensates valued at $677.98 million were exported via PSEZ during the same period, indicating growths of 187 percent and 274 percent in terms of weight and value respectively compared to last year’s figures.
He listed export items as light and heavy polyethylene, gas condensates, propane gases, butane, benzene and Paraxylene.
The main export outlets included China, Japan, UAE, India, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Turkey, Romania, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Afghanistan, he added.