Iran imported 1.1 billion euro worth of goods from Italy in the second half of 2007.

Iran and Italy held a seminar in Milan on Tuesday to explore opportunities for expanding economic ties.
Speaking at the event, Iran’s Ambassador to Italy Abolfazl Zohrehvand told a group of more than 200 Italian businessmen and industrialists that political and economic ties between the two nations are satisfactory. He noted that Iran has appropriate potentials for foreign investment.
He noted that the country has one of the biggest economies in the Middle East with 15 neighboring states which are in need of industrial, technical and tourism cooperation.
Zohrehvand pointed to tax exemption for investment in Iran’s free trade zones, adding that the exemptions encouraged foreign investors to expand economic activities in the country.
“From January to August 2007, commercial ties between the two countries reached to over four billion euros,“ he said.
Zohrehvand also predicted that the figure will reach seven billion euros by the end of 2007.
In an interview with IRIB, secretary general of Italy Chamber of Commerce also described the conference as positive, adding that Italy, after China and Japan, is Iran’s biggest trade partner.
Pierluigi Dakata hoped that the joint meeting would be fruitful in expanding bilateral ties.
Iran imported 1.3 billion euro worth of goods from Italy in the second half of 2006 whereas the figure plummeted to 1.1 billion euros in last six months of this year.
Italy, Iran’s largest trade partner in Europe, invested $24.7 billion, especially in oil and gas sectors, during 2000-2007 in the country, according to the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) data on foreign investments in the Islamic state by major industrial countries.
Many Italian investors have so far declined to bow to US pressure to cut trade ties with Iran.
In mid-November, ENI’s chief executive said that the energy company would continue to do business in Iran amid American pressure for companies to cut investment in the country.
Paolo Scaroni told the Financial Times from Rome that ENI ’will stick to our contracts’, adding that it was not ’appropriate’ for anyone to force ENI to not honor those contracts.
Responding to questions about whether American shareholders would put pressure on the company, Scaroni said he expected them to ’react to a major move on Iran’. “But we are not there yet.“

Mahesh Kapadia of Indo Schottle Co. Photo by Ali Hassanpour

Some major East Asian companies at the ongoing Second International Auto Parts Fair in Tehran are displaying both a variety of wares and wishes to identify and expand areas of cooperation with the rapidly growing Iranian market.
Given the scale and scope of the huge local car market, the keen desire of foreign auto and part makers is understandable.
On Wednesday Iran Daily interviewed managers of two Asian auto part manufacturers to learn about their plans to build mutually beneficial working relations with their Iranian counterparts.
Mahesh Kapadia, one of the senior general managers of Indo Schottle Auto Parts Company said that his Pune-based firm caters to a variety of needs of its clients across the world.
Born in 1986, the company is India’s largest manufacturer of engine valve collets, rocker arm screws, and turbocharger components, he said.
According to the manager, the private company has three plants in the western Indian city and exports almost 60 percent of its production worth $20 million to Britain, France, Italy, Germany, the US and Iran.
“We have been exporting to Iran for nearly a year and five percent of our output is bought by your country.“
On prospects for closer interactions with major carmakers in Iran, Kapadia said Iran Khodro is interested in importing engine parts for some of its sedans including Peugeot.
He, however, noted that Iran’s largest auto company has yet to place specific orders.
On the status of India and Iran in the world auto parts market, Kapadia said the two countries stand after Japan and China in Asia.
“India plans to elevate its standing among the top ten in the world.“
Indo Schottle’s major international clients include Honda, Yamaha, DaimlerChrysler, Tata Motors, Kirloskar Oil, John Deere, Honeywell, Borg Warner and Force Motors.
Meanwhile, head of the pavilion of the Chinese company Free Cars Auto Industrial Company, Wu Qihui stated that her firm produces headlights for trucks and heavy vehicles such as Volvo and Scania.
The company also makes lights and plastic parts for cars such as Xantia, Renault, Hyundai.
Wu stated that Chinese industries, including its auto parts sector, have become a key player in view of the improved quality of products.
She said that in addition to cooperation with Iranian auto manufacturers, the company is also selling to small auto part dealers.
The exhibition provides the company a chance to expand collaboration with Iranian auto part makers, she concluded.
The four-day exhibit opened on Dec. 18 with the participation of 410 domestic and 120 foreign companies.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Building and Housing Research Center and Berlin University on cooperation on sustainable development of future metropolises, announced the center’s director for international and public relations affairs, Mehdi Javadi.
He noted that this is the second agreement signed between Iran’s Housing and Urban Development Ministry and Berlin Technical University, IRIB reported.
Based on the agreement, the two sides will cooperate in optimizing the quality of building construction in terms of energy consumption and climate in urban development centers during 2008-2013.
The center’s first innovative scheme, he said, was to expedite the construction of temporary housing units in disaster-prone areas, adding this new method will improve the quality of buildings.
He stated that the center uses the most advanced equipment to test the strength of building materials, but due to lack of proper publicity in the mass media, the issue has been neglected by related organizations, real state developers and specialists.
Javadi said that the best experts are working with the center, adding they make use of the latest global achievements in the fields of energy consumption and constructional material suited to local climatic conditions.
Building and Housing Research Center, affiliated to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, is a national center for research and assessment of products and systems in the building and housing sectors. Its principal objectives are to study, coordinate, centralize and conduct research projects on building and housing systems, materials and constructional technologies, and the effects of climatic and environmental conditions.

Governor of Central Bank of Iran (CBI) said that it is not possible to implement the plan to lop off three zeros from the national currency, rial for at least the next two years.
Tahmasb Mazaheri declared that the initiative is not a CBI priority, MNA reported.
He pointed out that a member of CBI General Assembly made the suggestion at its gathering last September, adding the proposal is under study.
The official explained that lopping off the zeros is an idea which might not bear fruit soon and needs plenty of preparations.
Mazaheri, a former economy minister, reiterated that if CBI concludes that the advantages outstrip the disadvantages, some questions would come to the fore: whether one, two or three zero(s) should be dropped and if such an action is taken, which choices would make more sense.
Also, making the public ready for the scheme will be of high importance, he pointed out.
Comments by a member of the Money and Credit Commission, Gholamreza Mesbahi-Moqaddam sparked protest by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance.
Mesbahi-Moqaddam, also a parliamentarian, stated on Monday that the ministry’s Economic Division was in favor of the proposal.
In reaction, the ministry Tuesday denied the report, stating that it has not made a decision in this regard yet. “Preliminary expert studies indicate that the chances of the Majlis or the Cabinet approving the initiative are low,“ the ministry statement said.
The report which was published in newspapers quoted the lawmaker as saying that it is merely his verbal recommendation, the statement said, adding expert studies on the issue are continuing.
Once a decision is made, the Central Bank of Iran will notify the public, it concluded.

Shares of Fanavaran Petrochemical Company will be floated in the bourse next week, head of Privatization Organization said.
Speaking on the sidelines of Biennial Iran Economy Conference, Gholamreza Heidari Kord-Zangeneh told reporters Wednesday that the company will be the first affiliated to Oil Ministry whose shares are to be transferred to private sector as per Article 44 of the Constitution.
The official, who doubles as deputy economic affairs and finance minister, added that equities of insurance companies such as Alborz, Asia and Dana will also be offered in the stock exchange by March 2008, IRIB reported.
“Shares of Mellat Bank, country’s third largest bank, will be floated in the bourse one week after the bank’s extraordinary general assembly next week to endorse
its new articles of
association.“
In the first stage, he said, five percent of bank’s shares will be made available for evaluating the price.
Meanwhile, managing director of Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI), Saber Feizi, stated that the company’s shares will be offered in the stock exchange late December.
Meanwhile, 10 power plants will also be ceded to the private sector, first deputy energy minister said.
According to Hamshahrionline.ir, Hamid Chitchian noted that the articles of association of the power plants have been submitted to the Guardians Council and the list of these entities will be notified to the Privatization Organization following GC approval.
Eight thermal and two wind power plants will be up for privatization, he added.
The official declared that the construction permit for a 30,000 MW power plant has been ceded to the private sector, adding so far a great number of power plants have been constructed by this sector.

Iran exported $255 million worth of commodities to Russia during March-November, deputy commerce minister said, adding that the figure showed a two-million-dollar decline compared to the value of exports for the same period last year.
Speaking at a specialized meeting on expansion of Iran-Russia cooperation in auto parts industry, Mehdi Ghazanfari stated that Tehran imported an estimated $395 million worth of goods from Moscow during the same eight months. The figure was $502 for the same period last year.
Citing international statistics, the official, also head of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran, stated that Iran supplied 0.15 percent of goods used by the Russians in 2005, while Russian commodities met 1.2 percent of the demand in Iran, reported IRNA.
Russia imported meat, sugar, cereals, fish, citrus fruits, juice, medicines, industrial machineries construction materials, cars and furniture.
Iran’s imports from Russia included plastic products, ironware, steel, electric industrial devices, petrochemical products, papers and cardboards and corns.
Iran faces a deficit in its trade with Russia, the official said, calling for removal of problems in expanding bilateral transactions.
Ghazanfari listed problems in banking, poor knowledge of Iranian businesses of Russian markets and Iran’s export potential as obstacles for boosting bilateral trade.
Both nations can boost trade by investing in oil, gas and petrochemical, food and agricultural, auto, auto parts, carpet, leather and textile industries, the official suggested.

Farmers can produce 15,000 tons of shrimp next year provided banks support them.

The ban on shrimp export to the European Union was lifted through efforts by Agricultural Jihad Minister Mohammadreza Eskandari and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Managing Director of Iran Seafood Farm and Exports Cooperatives Arsalan Qasemi.
Recently, Eskandari disclosed that the problems pertaining to shrimp exports to EU were removed after five years. The minister told IRIB that that the ban was lifted with the commissioning of Veterinary Organization’s special laboratory and cooperation between ministries of agriculture and foreign affairs.
He elaborated that following the European ban on shrimp imports from Iran five years ago, a special committee was set up by the two ministries and the monitoring plans were presented to the European Union Food Safety Commission.
This, he said, led to the inclusion of Iran on the list of shrimp exporting countries to EU.
Qasemi pointed out that if the case was followed up without the involvement of the two ministries and solely through Veterinary Organization, the ban would have lasted longer, ISNA reported.
He explained that the Veterinary Organization was unaware of the decision even 17 days after the removal of the ban.
A session was held at the Veterinary Organization in Tehran with the participation of its deputy head, officials of Fisheries Organization, Fisheries Research Institute and private sector to discuss on how to remove the ban, he said.
This is while the ban had been removed earlier, he added.
The official said that with the lifting of the ban, other obstacles to the development of the industry should be removed in an effort to make optimum use of the potentials.
He said that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a letter has ordered the banks to reconsider lending rates and fines imposed on shrimp farmers’ who had defaulted in payments. Qasemi pointed out that the letter has been notified to all banks by deputy commerce ministers for banking affairs. If banks support shrimp farmers, output could reach 15,000 tons, he predicted.