Recovery Tied to New Investments

The director of the Export Guarantee Fund of Iran (EGFI) says exit from recession also is subject to fresh capital inflows into the economy.

“It is possible that Iran’s economy will be able to partially exit recession in the foreseeable future. But for that to happen, there is a need for security of investments and new investments,” Seyyed Kamal Seyyed Ali was quoted as saying by the news website khabaronine.ir.

In a talk with the media at in the latest Press Exhibition in Tehran, he noted that industries have managed to receive loans through the Industries, Mining and Trade Ministry with the help of the banking system. “The average amount given to an applicant is 7-8 billion rials ($219,000-$250,000).”

On the efficiency of loans and credits and whether or not they have been able to prove influential in helping the country out of recession, the EGFI head said this would become clearer in three to four months.

“That is because the loans must be received and transformed into intermediate goods. In other words, raw material must enter the production line and the final product delivered to the market.”

However, he noted that the loans will surely have their effect on prices in the market because “when supply is on the rise, it affects prices.”