Samsung to Produce Smart Televisions in Iran

Iran’s economic cooperation with South Korea is entering a new phase. Although the two countries are no strangers in industrial partnership and South Korean home appliances have been produced in the country over the past two decades, Iran has solely been the assembler of Korean productions.

Now, however, a giant South Korean home appliance manufacturer plans to transfer production technologies to Iran, IRNA reported.

“Samsung Electronics plans to produce the new generation of smart televisions in Iran. The move is aimed at creating jobs and boosting the skills of Iranian experts for manufacturing up-to-date products,” Navid Ghanadan, Samsung Electronics’ marketing manager in Iran, said.

With the transfer of latest production facilities and technologies into the country, Iran will be able to produce and export smart TVs to regional countries.

Ghanadan clarified that the products in Iran will be no different from those imported in terms of quality, guarantee and after-sales services.

The new TVs to be produced in Iran will feature some 200 applications made by young Iranians, which is an important step in job creation and encouraging young people in the country in the field of information technology.

In Ghanadan’s words, the new move will create 30,000 new jobs and Iran will be the main hub in the Middle East to meet regional demand.

Samsung’s largest sales center opened in central Tehran in February. The store located in the new Charsou Shopping Mall was set up over an area of 820 square meters–making it the biggest of its kind in the country.

Samsung Electronics, which never left the Iranian market despite sanctions, is one of the major international brands to offer comprehensive services and guarantees in the country.

Back in March, Samsung was accused by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration of violating trade regulations to evade payment of 3.36 trillion rials ($89.4 million) in tariffs, similar to another violation by LG Electronics, which surfaced in December.

LG Electronics was fined almost three quarters of a billion dollars by IRICA for dodging the payment of 18.2 trillion rials (over $450 million) in tariffs by shipping disassembled products into Iran through separate customs bureaus.

Iranian customs regulations subject home appliances to import tariffs of over 50%, when shipped as final products to Iran. However, the government imposes considerably less for parts used in domestic manufacturing to support local industries.

Samsung and LG Electronics lead Iran’s home appliance market. While foreign products account for 65% of the domestic market, the two South Korean companies hold a 55% share.

Both companies are active in Iran through their representative companies.