The Export-Import Bank of South Korea (Eximbank) announced Sunday it would upgrade Iran’s credit rating to C2 from C3, the sixth-highest on its nine-grade rating system.
A rating upgrade will increase the bank’s credit line to Iran, which reached $60 million last year from $1.44 billion in 2011, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported.
The decision for raising its sovereign credit rating for Iran by one notch comes after the international community’s lifting of sanctions against Tehran on Sunday.
The United States and the European Union lifted their economic sanctions in return for Tehran’s progress in scaling down back its nuclear program.
The Exim Bank forecast the lifting of international sanctions will help the Iranian economy grow in the mid-4 % range this year. Tehran is also expected to resume investment in oil and gas fields, placing orders worth $60 billion this year alone, the lender added.
According to estimates by the International Contractors Association of Korea, $130 billion to $145 billion worth of plants, infrastructure and other construction projects will be offered to foreign investors in the coming years.
The Korea International Trade Association projects that Iran’s construction market will reach $154 billion in 2016, sharply up from $88.7 billion in 2013, the Korean Herald reported.
According to a recent survey by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency of 521 Iranian companies, 90 % of respondents said they plan to expand trade with Korean companies following the sanctions relief, citing reasonable price and quality of products.
South Korea is one of the biggest buyers of Iranian crude. Eximbank had earlier said it could offer project financing, loans and credit, and was also seeking to secure a memorandum of understanding with Tehran on building 10 hospitals in the country.
