Iran is negotiating with India, Russia and China to buy Covid-19 vaccines, although unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States have prevented any transaction, the Health Ministry said on Monday.
Iran is negotiating with India, Russia and China to buy Covid-19 vaccines, although unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States have prevented any transaction, the Health Ministry said on Monday.
It will take at least 15 years to clean up the environmental harm caused by the oil slick in Ardel Country in Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari Province where an old pipeline burst, head of the provincial office of the Department of Environment (DoE) said.
“In addition to air pollution, the oil spill will contaminate soil and drinking water, harm the environment, threaten the fish population and wildlife,” Shahram Ahmadi was quoted as saying by ISNA.
A major crude oil pipeline in southwest Iran burst reportedly due to a landslide and set fire to surrounding farms and lands on Sunday noon.
Oil prices rose on Monday, pushing Brent back above $50 a barrel, buoyed by hopes that a rollout of coronavirus vaccines will lift global fuel demand while a tanker explosion in Saudi Arabia jangled nerves in the market.
Brent crude futures for February rose 67 cents, or 1.3%, to $50.64 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures for January were up 62 cents, or 1.3%, at $47.19 a barrel, CNBC reported.
The National Iranian Oil Company aims to produce 4.5 million barrels a day of oil and gas condensate in the next calendar year starting on March 21, the oil minister told lawmakers on Saturday.
“We will increase oil exports to 2.3 million barrels a day provided the US eases sanctions on the energy sector,” Bijan Namdar Zanganeh was quoted as saying by IRNA.
The projected exports are expected to cover 25% of the national budget for the year ending March 2022 -- a sign that the government is reducing dependence on oil income, he said
Isfahan Oil Refinery in central Isfahan Province has purchased high temperature shift (HTS) catalysts for its hydrogen production units from Khwarizmi Technology Development Company, a local knowledge-based firm, to support domestic manufacturing, head of the procurement office of the company said.
“HTS catalysts are used in hydrogen units of refining industries to convert carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide and increase hydrogen purity,” Masoud Motavali was quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry news agency Shana.
“Isfahan refinery, one of the modern refineries in Iran, signed a contract with Khwarizmi Technology Development Company two years ago based on which the knowledge-based firm was to deliver HTS catalysts to the refiner,” he added.
With the manufacture of rail monoblock wheels and wagon breaks by local companies, Iran became 100% self-sufficient in producing cargo wagons, according to the minister of roads and urban development.
“We plan to manufacture wagons and rail system parts in bulk and, apart from meeting domestic demand, gain a foothold in international markets in the near future,” Mohammad Eslami was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
The official told the news portal of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development that the government aims to become self-sufficient in manufacturing passenger wagons.
The official said last year that in meeting domestic demand for wagons and locomotives, the government is giving priority to local manufacturers and their production capacity.
Latest data released by IMIDRO show that Mobarakeh Steel Company produced 6.68 million tons of semi-finished steel products during the first eight months of the current fiscal year (started March 20).
The mill's semi-finished output was 7% higher than the first eight months of the previous fiscal year.
The company’s output during the eighth month of the current fiscal year (Oct. 22-Nov. 20) increased by 11% to reach 837,715 tons.
MSC and its subsidiary Saba Steel produced 5.5 million tons of finished steel during the eight months under review. As a result, the company maintained its position as the largest Iranian steelmaker.
About 1,000 small- and medium-sized industrial units located in Iran’s industrial parks and estates have been revived since the beginning of the current fiscal year (March 20), according to Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization.
"By reviving these SMEs, more than 17,090 jobs were created or reinstated,” Asghar Masaheb, the deputy head of the organization, was quoted as saying by IRNA.
More than 9,800 industrial units are currently inactive, he added.
There are 820 industrial towns across the country.
Chemical industries accounted for the largest number of revived industrial units this year, as 247 units in this sector have become operational this year.
A total of 24.7 million tons of horticultural products are expected to be produced in Iran’s orchards in the current Iranian year (March 2020-21), more than 11.5 million tons of which will be cold climate fruits and nuts, according to an official with the Agriculture Ministry.
The average goods and services Consumer Price Index of “furniture, home appliances and their maintenance” in the 12-month period ending Nov. 20, which marks the end of the eighth Iranian month, increased by 34.1% compared with last year’s corresponding period.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration has become an observer member state of World Free Zones Organization.
Iran’s economic growth (using 2011 as the base year) turned from negative to positive in the first half of the current fiscal year (March 20-Sept. 21), the governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Abdolnasser Hemmati, wrote in an Instagram post.
“Economic growth, excluding oil, stood at 1.4%, and 1.3% when factoring in the oil sector in the first six months of the current year compared with the same period of last year,” he said.
“Economic growth, including oil sector stood at -2.9% and 5.1% in the first and second quarters of the current year.”
Iran’s gross domestic product, excluding the oil sector, saw a contraction of 0.6% in Q1 but an expansion of 3.2% in Q2, according to the CBI chief.
His comments came after the Statistical Center of Iran said Iran’s gross domestic product saw a contraction of 1.9% in H1. Economic growth, excluding oil, stood at -1.3%, according to SCI.
The government’s budget deficit (the excess of spending over revenue) is estimated to reach 3,190 trillion rials ($12.26 billion) as per the budget bill of next fiscal year (March 2021-22), i.e. five times the projected figure of the current year, says top advisor to the president of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture and former official with Industries Ministry.
“As per the document of expenditures and revenues, the Budget Law should pursue goals such as balancing revenues and expenditures as well reducing the size of the government, delegation of affairs to the private sector and cooperatives, and reforming the banking system according to the Sixth Five-Year Development Plan (2017-22). But what is expected from the budget under the current circumstances is for it to pull the country out of recession and improve the economy,” Ebrahim Bahadorani was also quoted as saying by the news portal of TCCIM.
Iran and Afghanistan can resolve issues related to export income repatriation by creating a joint fund through which Afghan migrants in Iran can send money home and exporters repatriate their revenue, head of the Iran-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce said.
“More than 1.5 million Afghans live and work in Iran Most of them send money to their families back home after changing rials to dollars at Iranian exchange shops,” Hossein Salimi was quoted as saying by TCCIM.ir.
Salimi implied that Afghans can put the money into the proposed fund in Iran, instead of transferring it home. Exporters’ money would be kept in the fund in Afghanistan, to be used for making payments to Afghans in Iran.
Tehran stocks on Monday extended losses from the previous session as sell side pressure refused to ease on almost all stock categories.
TEDPIX, the main index of Tehran Stock Exchange, shed 31,600 points to fall 2.08%. The benchmark retreated from 1.5 million points reached a week earlier and ended the session at 1,484, 158 points.
The equal-weighted index was in upbeat mode during most of the trading session but later succumbed to sell pressure coming from large-caps to lose 1%. The index gives the same weight to all shares irrespective of their market capitalization.
The loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) increased slightly at the end of sixth calendar month (Sept. 21) posting two straight growth periods after extended declines.
LDR was 78.5% in the reviewed month up 0.8 percentage points compared to the preceding month and 2 percentage points higher than two months earlier.
In comparison to the end of last fiscal year, however, LDR was down 0.9%, indicating 1.3% decline on an annualized basis, according to a report published by the Central Bank of Iran.
Two pending bills demanded by the Financial Action Task Force, the global anti-money laundering watchdog, will again be discussed at the Expediency Council, the top legislation vetting body.
The announcement was made by La'ya Jonaidi, Iran’s vice president for legal affairs, on Sunday but some EC members have said they had no information about it.
In a talk with the Persian-language government newspaper ‘Iran’, Jonaidi said the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has agreed with a government request to extend the deadline for reviewing the two FATF bills.
The European Central Bank made a stark admission last week as it announced a fresh round of policy measures; even three years from now, it’ll still be well short of its inflation goal of just under 2%.
Replacing carbureted two-wheelers with electric motorcycles is one of the initiatives pursued by Iranian urban managers, as providing eco-friendly and efficient transportation has become a real challenge in view of a growing population and soaring demand.
In line with this agenda, MAPNA Group unveiled a new electric motorcycle, ISNA reported.
Abbas Aliabadi, the company’s CEO, explained that the bike is equipped with an in-wheel drive engine and an electric vehicle drive system that directly powers the wheels.
“The motorcycle has an air-cooling generator system and a 72-volt battery, which increases the motorcycle’s top speed to 70 km/h,” he said, adding that the company is also working on boosting the bike’s batteries.
“MAPNA is starting a promising collaboration with local auto producers to expand the production of electric bikes,” he said.
The company has also stepped in to set up infrastructures for producing electric four- and two-wheelers in the country, including charger stations.
Aliabadi said the company set up Iran’s first EV charging station at Tehran’s Milad Tower in May 2019.
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