TEHRAN, Feb. 25--Based on financial statements for March 2005-06, the ’100 top Iranian corporations’ were ranked and announced in a conference.
Talking to IRNA on Sunday, an economic expert in charge of the rankings, Behzad Ranjbari said the main index considered was the sales of companies. “Sales figure indicates the growth of a corporation,“ he explained.
According to Ranjbari’s survey, while 67 percent of the firms have experienced a decline in profit margin, car manufacturers, cement factories, investment institutions and banks have had an increase in the same index. The Iranian year March 2005-06 was a good year for these industries, he added.
Meanwhile, the Persian daily Ettelaat named the top five corporations as follows: Industrial Development and Renovation Organization ranking first with an asset of 112,658 billion rials followed by Iran Khodro Industrial Group with an asset of 65,971 billion rials, Iran Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization with 52,184 billion rials, Saipa car factory with 40,528 billion rials and National Petrochemical Company with 32,024 billion rials.
They were followed by SAPCO, Bank Melli, Bank Saderat, Mobarakeh Steel Mill and Bank Mellat taking the sixth to tenth positions.
The assets of the top 100 Iranian corporations add up to $86 billion which is less than that of a corporation such as Microsoft.

TEHRAN, Feb. 26--Iran remains the third-largest oil exporter in the world, said Oil Ministry’s director for international affairs Hojatollah Ghanimifard, reported the Persian daily Kayhan.
A UAE website claimed recently that the UAE has replaced Norway as the world’s third largest oil exporter, as declining output had pushed the northern European country down to fifth place.
It added that a Norwegian Energy Ministry spokesman said that Saudi Arabia topped the list, with Russia second. Iran is presently in fourth position.
Ghanimifard noted that a portion of Iranian oil in the world market is exported from Iran directly and its hard currency revenues are deposited in the State Treasury.
The second portion is oil swap with some Caspian Sea littoral states in northern part of the country. Its revenues belong to companies which import oil from Caspian states (excluding Azerbaijan) to Neka, but nothing is paid to them because, based on the agreement, Iran exports the same amount of oil from the Persian Gulf.
He said that the volume of Iran’s oil swap reached 155,000 bpd in certain months of the year March 2006-2007, therefore only the first portion is regarded as Iran’s oil export while practically both direct exports and swap should be accounted as Iran’s crude trade in international market.

Some 17,212 square meters of carpet were produced during March 2006 to January 2007.

TEHRAN, Feb. 26--Managing director of Iran’s Carpet Company has announced that Persian carpet production increased by about 13 percent during March 2006 to January 2007.
Speaking to reporters, Jalaloddin Basam referred to the production of 17,212 square meters of carpet during the 10-month period and said that the number of carpet weavers has also increased by about 10.6 percent, Fars reported.
He said that about 5,790 sq.m., or roughly 98.5 percent of a carpet ordered for Sheik Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, UAE has been woven and the work will be completed in June.
Another contract has been concluded with Oman under which Iran’s Carpet Company will weave 11 carpets totaling 231 sq.m. worth $432,000, he said adding, “This carpet is currently being woven in Tabriz and 37 percent of the job has been completed.“
Basam added that Saderat and Eqtesad-e Novin banks will offer hand-woven carpets as prizes for depositors holding non-profit savings accounts.
Commenting on the plan which envisages the replacement of old carpets with new ones, he said that some 6,884 sq.m. of carpet has so far been replaced.
He said that training workshops on carpet-weaving will be held in the provinces of South Khorasan, Khuzestan, Ilam, Lorestan, Kohkiluyeh- Boyerahmad, Kermanshah as well as the city of Chabahar.
“Carpet exhibitions will be organized in Kish, Tehran, Mashhad, Tabriz, Isfahan and Qom in September,“ he said.

TEHRAN, Feb. 26--About 10.3 million Iranians are currently living below the poverty line, although this figure has been disputed by a number of officials, wrote the Persian daily Tehran Emrooz.
The plan to determine the poverty line in Iran, which was finally completed by the Welfare Ministry in cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance, is currently under review at the High Welfare Council and will soon be placed before the parliament for review.
Head of the project, Ali Emadi, who is in charge of the Office for Social Studies and Poverty Eradication at the Welfare Ministry, said last year some seven million people were living below poverty line in Iran.
However, Fatemeh Alia, head of the women’s faction in the parliament, has said the figure is 10.3 million, adding that 17 million Iranians also need welfare services.
On the other hand, a number of lawmakers argue that the figures announced on the poverty line are not accurate as they do not have reliable statistics.
Alia further said many needy people are awaiting assistance from State Welfare Organization and Imam Khomeini Relief Committee, adding that many women breadwinners need help but they never receive it.

If the plan to sell gasoline at 1,500 rials per liter receives final approval, the costs of airline companies will also go up by 90 percent.

TEHRAN, Feb. 26--The government plans to do away with subsidies for aviation fuel from the Iranian year March 2007-2008, which means air fares will also go up, according to the Persian daily ’Ayandeh No’.
Iran Airtour Managing Director Mehdi Sadeqi said that the rise in fares will have to be based on expert views and all matters in this respect should be discussed with the airline industry and companies.
He added if the plan to sell gasoline at 1,500 rials per liter receives final approval, the costs of airline companies will also go up by 90 percent.
He however welcomed the decision by the Majlis to increase gasoline prices, adding that these costs have been imposed on the airline companies although part of their revenues are usually secured by increasing fares.
Sadeqi maintained that it is impossible to upgrade and modernize the aviation industry without adequate income and profits, or even by eliminating fuel subsidies. “Profits of the airline industry are very low and that explains why few people are willing to invest in this sector. It is not that easy to invest in the airline industry either, in which the main source of revenues is the sales of tickets.“
Some nine million domestic and four million foreign passengers travel on Iranian airliner annually. The country needs to buy at least 138 new aircraft to allocate a seat for every 3,500-3,600 persons.

TEHRAN, Feb. 26--Iran’s capacity to generate electricity from natural renewable sources of energy including wind and solar power can be multiplied, PressTV reported.
Abdorrazzaq Ka’bi-Nejadian, who is in charge of Iran’s solar energy programs, put the current capacity for wind-generated electricity at 34.2 MW, adding the amount can be increased to 100 MW.
“To encourage further investment in generating electricity from wind power, the government will purchase wind origin electricity during peak hours,“ he said.
He pointed to applications of solar power as another new and renewable source of energy in Iran and said, “The most important usage of solar energy is in the telecommunication sector as well as electricity production.
Currently, electricity required by four rural districts as well as Taleqan, near Tehran, (450 MW) is generated from solar power.“
Referring to the advantages of solar power, the advisor on renewable energy sources said solar energy which is free of charge, can be obtained in abundance and entails no pollution.
“New energies will meet 30 percent of the total global demand for energy by 2025,“ he said, regretting that new and renewable energies have no share in future projections of Iran’s energy supply.

KHWAF, Khorasan Razavi, Feb. 26--Construction of a railway line to link national railway network to the Afghan city of Herat began in a special ceremony here on Sunday.
Deputy head of Construction and Development Department of Railway, Airports and Ports at the Roads and Transportation Ministry told the Persian daily Qods that the railway line will extend a total length of 202 kilometers, adding that 77 kilometers of the route will be in Iran.
He said that in the year to March 2008, a plan will be undertaken to lay 125 kilometers of railway lines from the Iranian border to Herat. The railway line will start from Torbat Heidarieh Station and will be linked to the national railway via Mashhad-Bafq route. The Torbat Heidarieh-Bafq railway line which is around 12 kilometers was made operational with an average cost of four billion rials per kilometer.
The official further said the construction project of Iran-Afghanistan railway line within Iranian borders will be implemented by Nasr Institute, an affiliate to Khatamol Anbia Base, and the remaining section within Afghanistan will also be undertaken by an Iranian contractor.
The Iranian railway network stretches a total length of 8,300 km. The government has decided to modernize 5,600 km of the lines and also plans to lay out another 3,500 km of electrified railway lines. The objective is to transport 3.5 percent of the country’s total passenger and 8.5 percent of the total freight by rail. The government is interested in developing the East-West corridor.
The government has announced Iran’s railroad system will soon link up with those in neighboring countries as stipulated in the Fourth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2005-2010).
Under the plan, the railway system will be fully equipped with security systems to upgrade rail transportation safety.
The government says it is on course to reduce transportation burden by ceding it to foreign investors in the coming years.
Director General of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways Company
Mohammad Saeednejad says fuel subsidies are responsible for the railway system’s meager share in the overall transport sector.

THRAN, Feb. 26--Iran’s major auto manufacturing company Saipa announced Sunday it plans to set up auto assembly lines in five countries by 2011.
Mohsen Javan, the company’s Export Manager, told Fars that Saipa’s current assembly lines in Venezuela and Syria will become operational soon. The company has already built an assembly line near the Syrian capital, Damascus.
“Feasibility studies are underway on constructing three more assembly plants in North Africa and Central Asia,“ Javan said.
The company currently exports Saba, Nasim and Saipa 141 models to several Asian and African markets. It also markets products to Libya, Algeria and Sudan.
“Syria is our main target market,“ Javan added, saying the company also plans to export to Iraq.
Saipa exported $50 million worth of cars and auto parts since last March.
However, Javan said that regional crises, including the war waged by Israel against Lebanon which devastated that country last summer, hindered the company’s export to Middle Eastern markets. “We managed to export 2,200 cars to regional countries last month,“ he said.
Saipa, established in 1966, has assembled the two-cylinder Citroen mini passenger car, the Jyane, and manufactured licensed versions of the original Renault 5, Renault 21 and the Kia Pride.
Production of Saipa Pride continued until 2005 when it introduced an updated model called the Saipa 141 while continuing to sell the older version of the Pride under its new names, Saba and Nasim.
Saipa also manufactures the Citroen Xantia under license and assembles sedan models of the previous generation Kia Rio. The company’s latest product is the Citroen C5.

Revision of strategies and the use of scientific breakthroughs can prevent further bread wastage.

TEHRAN, Feb. 26--About 30 percent of bread production is wasted, according to Bahram Amir Ahmadian, an advisor to commerce minister.
Speaking in a panel discussion in Ardebil on ways to achieve productivity and improve bread distribution and consumption, he said that low quality, inexpensiveness, inappropriate consumption patterns and inappropriate control are the main reasons for the problem.
According to Persian daily Abrar, he noted that revision of strategies and the use of scientific breakthroughs can prevent further bread wastage, adding this would not only decrease the government’s costs but would also prepare the ground for export of the same amount of wheat.
He said that despite the fact that bread is highly valued in Iranian culture, proper attention has not been paid to its consumption patterns, adding social and religious leaders should help solve the problem.
The official noted that some 30,000 billion rials in subsidies is allocated to bread production but this needs revision.
Referring to bread problem as a national issue, he said that in addition to benefiting from efficient baking methods used in foreign countries, wheat production cycle should also be modified.