Private Sector Access to Foreign Funds Assured

Getting a share of foreign credit lines is easier for private-sector companies as, unlike state projects, they do not require a license from the Economy Council, said the Central Bank of Iran’s deputy heading the Department for Foreign Exchange Credits.

“In order to benefit from these credits for implementing economic projects, private-sector companies need to obtain guarantees from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance,” Hamid Qanbari was also quoted as saying by IRNA.

The official downplayed the idea that the private sector has a slimmer chance of getting a share of foreign finance, noting that it makes no difference for CBI whether to allocate the credits to state-owned or private-sector projects.

Qanbari emphasized that CBI believes that regulations concerning the maximum utilization of domestic capabilities will be in accordance with Economy Council’s decisions.

Iran’s latest monetary agreement was signed on Jan. 10 in Rome by two Iranian banks, namely Bank of Industry and Mine and Middle East Bank, with Invitalia Global Investment, the investment arm of the Italian state-owned holding, Invitalia, with an overall value of €5 billion.

A board member of Middle East Bank has announced that his bank will only use the credit line of the deal to fund the private sector’s projects and the Bank of Industry and Mine will handle the allocation of credit lines to government and public-sector entities, which indicates that the private sector’s share from the attracted credits has been determined.

Seyyed Hossein Salimi, who is also the deputy head of the Money and Capital Market Commission at the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, said eligible private-sector projects in terms of profitability and forex generation, which can also repay their loans, will be able to receive credits from the finance deal.