Having the JCPOA clinched, Iran could convince foreign investors to (re)enter Iran's lucrative market; however, after the unilateral withdrawal of the US from the nuclear deal and imposing new sanctions on various Iranian sectors, foreigners preferred to postpone their presence in Iran to safer and more comfortable circumstances.
As of 2018, i.e. US withdrawal from the JCPOA, Iran has sought to rely on its domestic financial resources for running its projects in various sectors and the country seems to continue the policy on its way to full economic independence and self-sufficiency.
In its latest measure, the Iranian ministry of industry, mine, and trade has been working on the systematic attraction of domestic investments, in particular in the industrial sector.
The Iranian ministry identified 100 top Iranian companies, including 39 chemical petrochemical companies, 20 mining companies, 20 machinery manufacturing ones as well as 21 manufacturing non-metallic products, to attract their investments in the industrial and mining sector.
From among 23 Iranian companies that announced readiness for making new investments on 80 defined industrial and mining projects, five companies including Chadormalu Iron Ore Processing Plant, Machine Sazi Arak (MSA), Almahdi Aluminum Company, Shirin Asal, and Sepahan Oil Company could manage to sign MoUs in this regard with the ministry to invest $6.1 billion in the intended projects.
The five companies are meant to compensate for sanctions and the withdrawal of foreign companies from the Iranian market.
However, the presence of domestic companies and their investments must not be translated as the total absence of foreign ones.
During the first 10 months of the current Iranian calendar year 1399 (ended on December 19, 2020), as the Iranian industry ministry released data shows, 104 industrial, mining, and commercial projects at the value of $1.477 billion have been approved by the Iranian Foreign Investment Board to attract foreign investments.
The figure shows a 31.6 percent increase compared to the 79 projects approved in the same period in the preceding year.
The value of the ratified projects, i.e. $1.447 billion, registered an increase of 89.4 percent compared to the previous year's figure of $780 million approved in industrial, mining, and commercial projects.
According to the ministry's published data, the largest volume of foreign investment in the said time was attracted to manufacture chemicals as well as communication, printing, and publishing equipment in Iran.
The first four countries in terms of approved foreign investment value were Germany, China, Turkey, and the United Kingdom and their investments were made in the industrial sectors of provinces of Khuzestan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Tehran, Kermanshah, and Qazvin.
The point about Iran's economy is its non-stop effort for survival while the West seeks its collapse.
No one can belittle the undeniable impact of the US draconian sanctions on the country but the same sanctions on any other country would bear to desirable results of the embargo imposers even in the short-run.
The story of Iran is a different one, however.
"Changing threats to opportunities" is not just a repeated slogan of Iranian officials. It is a motto put into practice by Iranians despite the toughest economic conditions.
The Statistics Center of Iran (SCI) announced back in early March that economic growth with the country's oil revenues taken into account stood at 0.8% despite being under the US sanctions and the pandemic restrictions.
HJ/
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