TEHRAN, April 19--The proposed scheme to transform Central Bank of Iran (CBI) into an independent entity would help improve the management system of the key Foreign Exchange Reserve Fund, said deputy minister of economic affairs and finance here on Tuesday.
Saeed Shirkavand told ISNA that once the CBI becomes independent, neither the government and nor any other state organization would be authorized to interfere in the monetary decision-making processes.
Asked whether the CBI independence would help increase the body’s authorities, the deputy minister said the central bank would not need to have more authorities only on paper.
“We should not look at problems the CBI is facing at present as authorities which are usually on paper only,“ he said, adding that the CBI independence would bear fruit only when it leads to an end to interferences by other organizations in monetary issues.
Conservative lawmakers are against CBI independence.
A lawmaker said last week CBI should not be subject to privatization since it is in charge of formulating macroeconomic policies, criticizing calls for the CBI’s independence.
Nasser Ashouri, a member of the Parliament’s Economic Commission, told ISNA that the CBI could not be allowed to act independently of the government, stressing that the idea is na•ve.
Banking experts say the independence of Central Bank of Iran could help bring about economic stability and preserve the value of the national currency.

Confiscation of cigarettes, medicines and cosmetics increased by 20, 56 and 23 percent respectively in the past six months.

TEHRAN, April 19--The Central Headquarters for Fighting Smuggling of Goods and Foreign Exchange convened its first session in the new Iranian year (March 2005-2006) on Tuesday, reporting a remarkable success in efforts to check the illegal business over the past six months.
According to ISNA, Mohsen Bahrami, the headquarters’ spokesman, told reporters that confiscation of cigarettes, medicines and cosmetics increased by 20, 56 and 23 percent respectively in the past six months, when the number of vessels carrying contraband to southern Iran declined by 90 percent to 40 units a day.
He said 1.4 trillion rials worth of contraband was seized by the security forces in the same period.
The official said the anti-smuggling police used sophisticated equipment, including X-ray systems at border areas as well as special economic zones to check smuggling of goods into the country.
Bahrami rejected speculations that senior government officials were involved in major smuggling cases but said some low-ranking officials have been found guilty of collaborating with smuggling groups in border areas and customs offices.
He confirmed that investigations into some major smuggling cases have led to judicial rulings, but did not explain why the verdicts have not yet been announced publicly.
Secretary of Central Headquarters for Fighting Smuggling of Goods and Foreign Exchange, Brigadier General Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said earlier complex bureaucracy and chaotic administrative system are responsible for growing poverty and injustice in Iran, stressing that the smuggling dilemma is deeply rooted in economic woes.
He said the underground economy accounts for a remarkable portion of economic activities in the country.

Iran produced 10 million tons of decorative stones in 2003.

TEHRAN, April 19--Some 500,000 tons of ornamental stones were exported in the year to March 2005, said Fars news agency quoting a report released by Iran Mining House.
It said that exports of decorative stones stood at $62.7 million, showing an increase of 21 percent in value against the figure for the same period the previous year.
Iran’s ornamental stone deposits stand at 1.6 billion tons. Over 11 million tons of decorative stones were mined in the year to March 2005.
Unprocessed stones accounts for 81 percent of decorative stones exported from Iran.
Ministry of Industries and Mines has announced that it plans to extract 162 million tons of various kinds of minerals from some 4,000 mines nationwide in the year to March 2006.
Some 28.7 billion tons of mineral reserves are expected to be explored in the same period, when an additional 90,000 jobs will be created in the sector.
More than 9,000 operation licenses are to be issued for private mining engineering companies during the period.
The ministry is also planning to increase the number of ornamental stone mines from the current 962 to 1,190 in the same period.
It is expected that some 13.3 million tons of ornamental stones would be mined in the year to March 2006.
Iran produced 10 million tons of decorative stones in 2003, making it the third largest producer in the world. Iran accounted for 12.3 percent of the total global production of decorative stones, which reached 81.4 million tons in 2003.
China with 18.6 million tons was the biggest producer of unprocessed decorative stones in 2003, while India ranked second with 11.2 million tons.

Oil exports hit $31.5 billion in March 2004-2005, when Iranian oil sold for $35 a barrel.

TEHRAN, April 19--Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said here on Tuesday that oil revenues would increase by $4.5 billion in the year to March 2006, if Iran’s oil continues to sell at an average of $40 per barrel.
He told Fars news agency that oil exports hit $31.5 billion in March 2004-2005, when Iranian oil sold for $35 a barrel.
The minister said that the weakening of the greenback against the euro has pushed down Iran’s purchasing power.
“The US dollar has weakened by 30-35 percent against the euro,“ he said, adding that Iran’s foreign purchases are mostly in the euro.
Iran earns in the dollars and spends in the euro as it has limited trade cooperation with the United States due to strained diplomatic ties while it is a major trading partner for some European Union member-states.
The country saves surplus oil revenues in the Foreign Exchange Reserve Fund, which is used for funding private sector projects. The fund renders financial facilities in US dollars, while private sector companies have to purchase machinery from European countries in the euro.
Iran has proposed a switch from the US dollar to the euro in the currency unit for oil exports by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Counties (OPEC). The organization is unlikely to go for the initiative as its key member-states, like Saudi Arabia, are amongst staunch US allies.

TEHRAN, April 19--A stock market expert has accused major brokerage firms of resisting efforts to establish new companies, stressing that the capital market would need 1,000 more brokerage firms if it were to ensure adequate growth.
Gholamreza Eslami-Bigdeli told ISNA that the old hands at the stock market deem it against their interest to have new brokerage firms.
“In the past only 15 brokerage firms were operating on the stock market but now we have 100,“ he said, expressing hope that the next government would manage to improve this situation.
The expert further noted that growing economic indices show the stock market would experience a boost in transactions the year to March 2006.
Head of Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) said earlier this week that transactions at the bourse are expected to increase by 10-fold in the next five years.
Hossein Abdeh-Tabrizi said the financial interests of certain investors demand the manipulation of market prices, stressing that the TSE would not permit long-term national interests to be put at stake by the short-term interests of some investors.
He promised to prevent what he called was ’manipulations in prices’, saying the TSE is working to reduce investment risks in the capital market.

TABRIZ, East Azarbaijan, April 19--Commercial attachŽ of the Turkish Embassy in Tehran, Volkan Berker here on Monday called for increasing the volume of trade between the two neighboring states, reported IRNA.
Speaking at a meeting to coordinate efforts to hold a series of consecutive trade exhibitions, Berker pointed out that the current trade exchanges between the two countries stand at about $2.8 billion annually and given the potentials, this figure can be increased considerably.
“Based on agreements, the volume of trade and commercial transactions between Tehran and Ankara would reach $5 billion by the beginning of 2006.“
Berker reiterated, “According to plans, and given the bright economic and business prospects in the two countries, it is expected that the volume of Tehran-Ankara annual transactions would exceed $10 billion by 2007.“
Although the series of Turkey’s trade exhibits have been designated ’Silk Road and Trade’, it is the harbinger of peace and friendship for regional and neighboring countries, he stated.
Elaborating on the exhibition, he said the event will be officially opened on April 29 in the presence of Turkey’s deputy trade minister and a number of other Turkish and Iranian officials and businesspersons in Tabriz.
Berker hoped that in addition to boosting business and trade ties, the exhibit will improve the level of cooperation between the two Muslim nations in tourism and cultural fields and strengthen ties between the two neighbors.
Some 70 Turkish firms will present their goods and services in fields such as textile industries, auto spare parts, garments and foodstuff at the mobile exhibition that is scheduled to be held later in Tehran and Mashhad, before leaving Iran for the Central Asian republics.

TEHRAN, April 19--A senior gas industry official said here on Tuesday that the Iran-India gas pipeline will become a reality by next March.
“This year (March 2005-2006) the agreement on Iran’s gas export to India (via a pipeline which will cross Pakistan) would be finalized,“ said the managing director of National Iranian Gas Exports Company.
Rokneddin Javadi told Fars news agency that New Delhi has agreed to let the pipeline cross Pakistan on its way from Iran to India, implying that the last obstacle in the way of implementing the giant project has been removed.
Asked whether the United States could dissuade India from participating in the project, the official said nothing is impossible in the world of politics.
“Both America and India are amongst the world’s powerful countries and the US is regarded as a big trading partner for India,“ he said, adding, however, that it would be too costly for India to import gas from Qatar or Turkmenistan.
“Gas imports from Qatar, if Iran allows the use of its territory, would cost 15 percent higher for India while imports from Turkmenistan would be 20 percent more expensive,“ he said.
Tehran, New Delhi and Islamabad are negotiating seriously over the pipeline originating at the South Pars gas field in Iran, crossing Pakistan, delivering much needed natural gas to western India.
The proposed $4 billion pipeline still faces significant hurdles. Tehran needs to offer New Delhi a reasonable price for natural gas. Washington opposes any project that would benefit Iran. New Delhi needs to be satisfied that Islamabad will not turn off the tap, and Islamabad may not be able to assure supplies even if it wants to, since the pipeline would cross the restive province of Baluchistan, where it could become a magnet for tribal grievances.

TEHRAN, April 19--Labor House secretary general said here on Tuesday that the Iranian laborers will celebrate Labor Week in May, stressing that job security will top slogans at the event.
Alireza Mahjoob told ISNA that the workers would speak out for permanent jobs against the ever-increasing contract-basis short-term employment during Labor Week.
“There has been a 60-percent increase in the number of laborers working on short-term basis in the March 2004-2005 period,“ he said, criticizing the government for ignoring workers’ calls for significant increase in wages.
He said the workers will hold protest gatherings against low wages during Labor Week, when exemplary workers will be awarded.
Mahjoob said workers are the champions of production, stressing that their high social status has to be appreciated by the government.
He said the Labor House has proposed several schemes for improving the workers’ living conditions and guaranteeing their job security to the government, the Seventh Parliament and the Labor Ministry.

I
ROME, April 19--Iran’s Deputy Industries and Mines Minister and Managing Director of the Light Industries and Industrial Townships Company Valiollah Afkhami arrived in the Italian city of Pisa at the head of a delegation Monday, IRNA reported.
The visit is taking place at the invitation of the Italian Industrial Development Organization.
During its five-day visit, the delegation will study Italian experience and expertise in industrial development in different areas of the country and get acquainted with the ’industrial clusters model’ applied in Italy, aimed at promoting light and medium-sized industries in Iran.
The two countries signed an agreement to this effect last year in Tehran.