Following last week’s launch of the first phase of human trials for a domestically-developed coronavirus vaccine and administering it to three volunteers, Iran will by the end of the week dose four more participants.
National
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01/05/2021 -
01/05/2021Iran’s government spokesman said on Monday the process of producing 20%-purity enriched uranium had just started at the Fordow nuclear facility.
Energy
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01/05/2021The National Petrochemical Company has plans to lift added value and help curb oil export, director of projects at the NPC said.
Nineteen projects will come on stream by the end of the next Persian calendar year in March and several more are to be completed by 2025, the NPC news website Nipna reported Amir Vakilzadeh as saying.
Of the total petrochemical projects almost 60% are in Asalouyeh and Mahshahr in south and southwest and the rest in other regions. -
01/05/2021As one of the most tumultuous years in oil’s history ends, a delicate task now confronts OPEC+.
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01/05/2021The parliament cut the government's oil export forecast in the next fiscal budget from 2.3 million to 1.5 million barrels a day, head of the energy committee of the Majlis Budget Integration Commission said.
"The proposed 2.3 million-barrel ceiling was unrealistic and unlikely to be realized ... In the best-case scenario, the commission came to the conclusion that the National Iranian Oil Company will be able to export 1.5 million barrels," Malek Shariati-Niasar was quoted as saying by ISNA.
Income from selling 2.3 million barrels of crude a day in the domestic and international markets ($9 billion) is forecast in the 2021-2022 budget... -
01/05/2021Fossil fuel is on its way out. Most countries, even oil-rich states are slowly but steadily shifting to green power as they grapple with the scale and scope of ecological disasters (climate change and global warming) caused by oil and its manifestations, a lecturer at Sharif University of Technology said.
“The future belongs to nations that set informed and long-term policies based on sustainable energy and net zero-carbon emissions, not those still pinning hope on petrodollars contributing terribly to health and environmental problems with catastrophic consequences,” Barg News quoted Hashem Oraee as saying.
Fossil fuels could last three decades at the most because the speed of developing technologies as a viable successor is high and rising, Oraee who also is the head of Renewable Energy Union, said.
“Up until 2050 the global need for power will double and reach 1.2 terawatts of which 60% will be renewable energy.”
Domestic Economy
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01/05/2021A total of $805 million worth of commodities produced in Hormozgan Province were exported during the first nine months of the current Iranian year (March 20-Dec. 20), showing a 6% increase compared with the similar period of last year.
According to Hormozgan Governor General Fereydoun Hemmati, out of the total export value, around $583 million pertained to industrial and mineral goods, $164 million to agricultural products and some $58 million to seafood, IRNA reported.
The official added that total exports from Hormozgan (including those produced in other provinces) stood at around 24 million tons worth $7 billion. -
01/05/2021A total of 1,170 industrial units located in Iran’s industrial parks and estates have been revived since the beginning of the current fiscal year (March 20, 2020), the deputy head of Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization said.
"By reviving these SMEs, more than 19,446 jobs were created or reinstated,” Asghar Masaheb was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
"More than 9,200 industrial units are currently inactive. The plan is to revive 2,000 industrial units by the end of the current [fiscal] year."
There are 820 industrial towns across the country. -
01/05/2021Iran’s Retail Purchasing Managers Index stood at 35.71 in the month ending Nov. 20 to register a 6% improvement compared with the previous month’s reading of 33.69, according to the Economy and Planning Department of Iran Chamber of Guilds’ latest report.
The department has been measuring retail PMI, known by its Farsi acronym Shamekh, since the Iranian month ending May 20.
A reading of above 50 indicates expansion in the sector while below 50 indicates contraction. Traders watch these surveys closely as purchasing managers usually have early access to data about their company’s performance, which can be a leading indicator of its economic performance. A higher than expected reading should be taken as a positive sign for businesspeople while a lower than expected reading should be taken as negative. -
01/05/2021The third edition of Iran Non-Ferrous Industries, Market and Related Technologies Conference and Expo was hosted by Donya-e-Eqtesad Media Group, the Financial Tribune's parent company, at Tehran's Olympic Hotel's Conference Hall on Tuesday.
The event was attended by selected dignitaries, in accordance with social distancing protocols, including Alireza Bakhtiari, the CEO and owner of the media group; Saeed Zarandi, deputy industries minister; Vajihollah Jafari, managing director of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization; and Ardeshir Sa'd-Mohammadi, managing director of National Iranian Copper Industries Company, while a majority of participants followed the event online through the website of Donya-e-Eqtesad Events Center.
A wide range of topics and areas related to non-ferrous industries are being discussed in the two-day online event, including boosting production, achieving sustainable development, modernizing extractions, addressing the problems of small- and medium-sized mines, localizing and making use of domestic capacities, boosting the share of non-ferrous industries in the country's gross domestic product, trends in international markets, corporate social responsibilities and the impacts of coronavirus pandemic on the non-ferrous market. -
01/05/2021The National Iranian Copper Industries Company's sales reached a record high of 279.72 trillion rials ($1 billion) in the first three quarters of the current Iranian year (March 20-Dec. 21), the company’s managing director said.
Ardeshir Sa'd-Mohammadi added that the figure indicates a 93% increase compared with the same period of last year, the company's website reported.
He noted that NICICO’s sales during the ninth month of the year (Nov. 21-Dec. 20) totaled 48.87 trillion rials ($190 million), up 223%, and amounted to 21.9 trillion rials ($85 million) during the same period of last year.
NICICO’s sales totaled 227 trillion rials ($886 million) in the last fiscal year that ended on March 19, 2020, to witness a staggering rise of 127% compared to the year before. -
01/05/2021Freeway tolls have increased by an average of 15%, says Abbas Bayat Sarmadi, director general of Freeways Utilization and Maintenance Company.
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01/05/2021A total of 65,000 tons of eggs were exported from Iran during the nine months to Dec. 20, 2020, says Hedayat Asghari, the head of Iran's Egg Producers Union.
“Over 1 million tons of eggs were exported from Iran in the last [Iranian] year [March 2019-20]. Given the current level of production, exports are expected to reach between 90,000 and 95,000 tons by the end of the [current fiscal] year [March 20],” Asghari was quoted as saying by IRNA.
“Exports need to be managed smartly and at the provincial level rather than the national level; in other words, each province must be allowed to export its excess output. The market needs to be regulated by producers themselves. The ban on exports results in an uncertain future for local producers.” -
01/05/2021The Association of Iranian Airlines has sent a letter to President Hassan Rouhani seeking the termination of airlines’ obligation to sell tickets only up to 60% of planes’ total seating capacity for domestic flights.
According to Fars News Agency, the letter, signed by Younes Daqiqkia, the head of the association, reads as follows:
“The transportation industry has suffered a great deal throughout the coronavirus pandemic due to lockdowns and quarantines. It saw a decline of 43% in the number of passengers for domestic flights and 96% in the number of passengers for international flights during the first six months of the current [fiscal] year (March 20-Sept. 21).
“The limit set by the Health Ministry for selling tickets at up to 60% of a plane’s total seating capacity has imposed serious economic pressure on airline companies. This is while, thus far, limiting the capacity of flights has not been recommended by the World Health Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization or the International Air Transport Association, which constantly monitor the impacts of coronavirus on air travel.
Business & Markets
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01/05/2021Tehran's stock market posted gains on Monday after a dull performance a session earlier thanks to surge in most large caps.
The main index of Tehran Stock Exchange, TEDPIX, gained 19,132 points climbing more than 1.4% to reach 1,374,483 points.
TEDPIX was buoyed mainly by giants as indicated by the nearly 2% growth in the TSE-30 Index, which tracks performance of the top 30 TSE-listed companies in terms of market capitalization.
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01/05/2021The Governor of the Central Bank of Iran Abdolnasser Hemmati criticized the parliament’s decision to raise forex rates for importing essential goods, saying that it would negatively impact monetary variables. The Majlis Joint Commission, an ad hoc commission in charge of reviewing the budget, voted Saturday to raise foreign currency rates by more than 400% for importing basic goods from the subsidized $1=42,000 rials to 175,000 rials. The cheap currency is sourced from oil export and used only for importing basic goods, pharmaceuticals and machinery to avoid price hikes for food and raw materials.
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01/05/2021Gold prices surged on Monday in Tehran amid sharp increase in the international market. After weeks of a lukewarm market due to relative stability in forex rates, as the main driver of gold prices, the Emami gold coin jumped 2.5 million rials or 2% to reach 120.5 million rials.
As with forex rates, the coin was largely stable in the past two months after bouts of sharp volatility. Plunging more than 25%, the coin was the worst-performing asset in the month from Oct. 15 to Nov. 15.
Half Bahar Azadi coin recorded a 2.4% increase on Monday to be traded at 63.5 million rials, and 18-karat gold quoted at 11.84 million rials per gram, more than 2.2% higher compared to Sunday, the Tehran Gold and Jewelry Union website said.
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01/05/2021Tehran's two main football clubs Esteghlal and Persepolis are set to be listed on the stock market because the financial restructuring required of them is complete, the deputy head of the Iranian Privatization Organization, Abolqasem Shams said.
The capital increase was done in the form of "contribution in kind" in which each club incorporated two sport complexes into their assets. The properties were originally owned by the government, according to the IPO public relations website.
Contribution in a method of increasing capital for companies. It is a capital increase that is not in cash: for example incorporation of liabilities in equity, contribution of assets or of a business and which is remunerated by issuance of new shares (either during incorporation of a new company or increase in share capital).
Auto
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01/05/2021Iran’s automotive production increased by 7.3% during the nine months to Dec. 20, 2020, compared with the year-ago period.
According to data released by Securities and Exchange Organization on Codal.ir, Iran’s leading automakers, namely Iran Khodro (IKCO), SAIPA and Pars Khodro, produced 628,547 sedans during the period.
IKCO’s output during the period rose to 342,173, which is 34.4% higher year-on-year when the company manufactured 117,700 passenger vehicles. Several Peugeot and Dena models formed a large share of the company’s production. In addition, IKCO manufactures commercial vehicles, such as pickups, vans, trucks and buses, but the production rates of these vehicles have not been released yet.
SAIPA produced 256,185 vehicles in the nine months, marking a 16.6% year-on-year decline. Tiba was the best-selling vehicles on SAIPA’s production list. Pars Khodro, a subsidiary of SAIPA, registered a paltry rise by producing 72,740 vehicles during the period compared to 72,681 in the same period of last year.
Monthly comparisons show that the total production of three companies increased. During the month ending Dec. 20, 2020, auto output reached 84,822 to mark a 25% rise compared to the previous month.
