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10 MoUs Signed With Foreign Investors

10 MoUs Signed  With Foreign Investors
10 MoUs Signed  With Foreign Investors

Memoranda of understanding for investment in 10 major projects of Tehran Province have been signed with foreign investors, says the head of Tehran’s Management and Planning Organization, Nematollah Torki.

Expansion of the capital city’s suburban railroad and construction of five international hotels and eight wastewater treatment plants as well as other projects in tourism, food processing, agriculture and hi-tech industries were among the projects included in the MoUs, IRNA quoted the official as saying on Tuesday.

In all, 41 major projects in Tehran Province, valued at $13 billion, were offered by the organization to investors attending the International Conference on Economic and Investment Opportunities of Tehran Province.

“Apart from state projects, an additional 159 projects were also introduced by 71 private sector companies to foreign investors during the conference,” Torki said.

Ambassadors, commercial attachés and 125 investors from 24 countries, including the UK, France, Portugal and Germany, along with domestic investors, participated in the event held in Tehran on November 16-17.

Encouraging investors interested in doing business in Tehran, exchanging technical and trading information among investors, businessmen and economic activists of the participating countries and providing an opportunity for collaboration among officials and investors were the main objectives of the conference, according to the event’s official website.

  IKIA Free Trade Zones

Torki said two free economic zones are to be established in the area surrounding Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International airport.

The free zones are part of a master plan for the construction of an airport city in IKIA. The project includes creating a 1,500-hectare free trade zone and a 2,500-hectare special economic zone in a 13,700-hectare area surrounding IKIA.

The plan also aims to establish 25 commercial facilities encompassing a wide range of commercial activities, including manufacturing, telecommunications, hotels, retail outlets, recreational complexes and exhibition centers, in a 400-hectare area in the vicinity of the airport. To attract businesses to invest in IKIA’s Free Trade Zone, the government has offered tax exemption during the first 20 years of establishment, easy registration procedure, entry and exit of cargo from the zones without complicated customs formalities, exemption from import duties on raw materials and income tax exemption for all employees.

Businesses registered in IKIA’s Special Economic Zone can also enjoy benefits like exemption from duties and value-added tax, exemption from tariffs on import of manufacturing machinery and easy issuance of construction permits.

The province, according to Deputy Economy Minister Mohammad Khazaei, who was also present at the conference, is the heart of Iran and the center of the country’s decision making.

Investors in Tehran with more than 14 million population “will not only have access to other markets across the country, but will also benefit from the region’s 350-400 million-strong market,” said Khazaei, who is also the head of the Organization for Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance.

“More than 60 economic delegations, including investors, business owners and officials of different countries, have visited Iran since the beginning of the current Iranian year (started March 21).”

Khazaei noted that Iran is one of the few countries in the region, which enjoys peace and security, and this paves the way for the presence of international investors in the country.

Governor General of Tehran Seyyed Hossein Hashemi, addressing the conference, assured investors that the government will provide them with “guarantee and support”.

“When it comes to investment, the most important issue is the security of the investment environment, which has already been taken care of,” he said.

As many as 107 investment guarantee documents, according to Hashemi, have been issued in Tehran in the past two years, with half of the investments having been realized.

“Promoting foreign direct investments and joint ventures,” he said, “are the government’s top priorities amid the new economic climate following the July nuclear deal between Tehran and the world powers.”

 

Financialtribune.com