Turkish investors have visited the Anzali Free Trade Zone in the north of Iran, eyeing investment opportunities.
Representatives of a Turkish basic goods company, which specializes in flour sales, expressed their desire to invest in the trade zone, in a meeting with the head of the Port Management Organization of Gilan. The company is looking to invest in the wood business with the target of creating engineered wood products for export.
Anzali port has 10 docks with a loading and offloading capacity of seven million tons, making it the best equipped port in the north of Iran, according to PMO head Ali Naimi.
“The port of Anzali’s proximity to other Caspian sea ports gives it access to Central Asian markets,” Naimi said, “the port is also situated along the international north-south corridor” making it a viable place for importing into Iran.
Foreign businesspeople who seek investment in Anzali can enjoy advantages like 20-year tax exemption from income and assets; 100 percent foreign ownership; unlimited investment for both Iranian and foreign nationals; full protection and guarantee of foreign investment; flexible banking and monetary system and foreign exchange laws; liberal import and export regulations; flexible and simplified labor employment regulations.
There are no tax duties for raw materials and machinery imported for manufacturing purposes in the zone. In addition, there are no time limitations for release of cargo in the zone.
Easy procedures for re-exported goods; larger discounts for ships entering the zone; quick registration procedures and intellectual ownership rights for items developed in the zone are among other benefits provided.
The zone imposes no limitations on cargo imports and exports, and there is also the possibility of cargo sales for foreign and Iranian nationals. The zone provides land for investors in industrial, trade, tourism and service sections. It also provides modern equipment for loading, unloading and handling of cargo.
Policies to support foreign investment include protection of investments against expropriation, the possibility of a free transfer and repatriation of capital and profits, no restrictions on the amount of capital and stakeholders, as well as facilitation for acquiring visas, certification, working and living permits.
Gilan is one of the thirty-one provinces of Iran. It lies along the Caspian Sea, in Iran’s northern region, just west of the province of Mazandaran, east of the province of Ardabil, and north of the provinces of Zanjan and Qazvin.
