The Head of the Investment and Economic and Technical Assistance Organization of Iran, in a brainstorming session with the managers of investment agencies, examined the main challenges and capacities for attracting foreign investment.
Issuance of permits and entry of investment
Heidari referred to the main challenges of foreign investment in this meeting and said: "Last year, permits were issued for about $17 billion in foreign investment, but only about $1 billion entered the country." He added that reducing this gap requires facilitating processes and reducing administrative barriers. Agencies can play an effective role in introducing projects and identifying investors.
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Readiness of applicants and investment projects
The Head of the Investment Organization also explained that the issuance of foreign investment permits does not guarantee the principal investment or profitability of the project, but rather ensures the possibility of transferring the principal and profits at the request of the investor within the framework of regulations. Heidari referred to the process of issuing permits for investment agencies and stated that about 70 applications have been received, of which the documents of 35 applicants were complete and permits have been issued for 12 cases.
He also announced the collection and standardization of information for about 300 investment projects and said: "The organization's goal is to increase this number to about 800 projects." Standard introduction packages have been prepared for the projects, and information on investment opportunities will be placed in the organization's comprehensive system. Heidari announced the identification of about 150 important projects in the country with a total value of about $300 billion, covering areas such as oil and gas, mining, logistics, energy, and technology.
Follow-up on driving projects and new financing tools
He referred to the organization's "20 Plan" and said: "20 important and driving projects with a total value of about $110 billion are being specially pursued." Heidari considered the Azadegan oil field as one of the most important projects being pursued by the organization and said: "After years of delay, this project has entered the implementation phase, and the financing of $2 billion has been approved from the National Development Fund."
Heidari also reported on the follow-up of projects in the fields of oil, gas, and transportation and added: "To develop financing tools, the establishment of the 'Mana' currency fund in collaboration with Bank Mellat and the launch of a private investment fund are being pursued." He emphasized the necessity of using new technologies in the organization's activities and said: "The use of artificial intelligence and up-to-date language models can be effective in processing information and introducing investment opportunities."
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