London to Host Forum on Iran Investment Opportunities

A two-day economic forum dubbed ‘Showcase Iran 2016’ will open in London on Monday to promote Iran’s investment opportunities among British investors.

The event “will showcase a variety of Iranian growth companies looking to increase their investment profile and engage with institutions and professional service providers from the UK and Europe,” reads a statement on a website dedicated to the event, www.showcase-iran.com.

“The forum also features topical content on the practicalities to investing in Iran, including legal dynamics, KYC and due diligence requirements, sources and structures of finance, successful market-entry strategies and methods to mitigate and manage risk.”

Showcase Iran 2016, co-organized by Frontier Exchange and the Intelligent Persians Corporation, claims to have been specifically designed to provide Iranian companies with the opportunity to connect and forge ties with global investors, multinational corporations and joint venture partners with serious interest in doing business in Iran.

“The event will draw together Iranian business leaders, government officials, regionally-focused banks, law firms and professional service providers with the common objective of restoring ties and building bridges in the world’s fastest growing frontier market,” the statement added.

Hamid Badieinejad, Iran’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, and Hassan Forouzanfard, board member at Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture are among the keynote speakers, alongside representatives of British financial and legal firms.

On the second day, companies and businesspersons from both countries will hold B2B meetings.

“Despite an opening in Iran’s economy, there has been little communication with Britain in the absence of embassies in the months following the implementation of the nuclear deal,” Forouzanfard was quoted by TCCIMA’s news service as saying.

“This is while London is one of the biggest financial hubs in the world,” he added.

In August, UK’s former foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, reopened the British Embassy in Iran for the first time since it was closed in 2011. The two countries officially resumed political relations as Tehran also reopened its embassy in London simultaneously. This paved the way for British companies to consider opportunities in the emerging economy, which opened up following the easing of international sanctions in January, as part of last year’s historic deal between Tehran and the six world powers.