Falling output over the past two years has made clear the limits of the Iranian government’s ability to grow the automotive sector without foreign partnerships and new investment.
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All tagged FDI
Falling output over the past two years has made clear the limits of the Iranian government’s ability to grow the automotive sector without foreign partnerships and new investment.
◢ There is a growing sense that Iran has squandered its chance to join the ranks of the BRICs—Brazil, Russia, India, and China—which count as the great emerging markets of the world. As sanctions return, as the rial sheds value, and as protests become routine, Iran is increasingly portrayed as an economic basket case where state collapse is just around the corner. But comparing Iran’s macroeconomic performance with Brazil, another country that has contended with widespread protests and economic angst for over three years, paints a very different picture.
◢ This month, the European Commission approved an initial tranche of EUR 18 million in development funding from an larger package of EUR 50 million that has been allocated to support projects in Iran. This represents a highly significant, “first-of-its-kind,” intervention to support Europe-Iran trade and investment. However, the funding is not primarily intended as an attempt to mitigate the effect of returning U.S. secondary sanctions. As made clear in the “action document” which details how the development funding will be distributed, the European Commission has allocated the funding “in line with the European Consensus on Development” to provide “targeted support in the areas of Prosperity, Planet and People.”
◢ Renewable energy has been one of the brightest sectors in the Iranian economy, achieving 70 percent growth in the last Iranian year according to official data. But this encouraging growth is now in doubt. The Trump administration’s unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA nuclear deal has brought economic uncertainty for local investors and made foreign direct investment increasingly difficult. While there are steps the government can take to reassure local and foreign investors, as with other sectors of Iran’s economy, the withdrawal of European investors from Iran’s solar industry may mean that “Chinese money turns out to be the only option.”
◢ A Swedish investment company is “on course” to make a landmark investment in Moheb, the leading manufacturer of plastic and laminate tubes in Iran and the Middle East.
◢ Serkland will take an approximately 40 percent stake in Moheb with its investment, and will receive two of five board seats.
