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Over the last decade, the global market for contemporary Iranian art has witnessed an extraordinary surge in activity and sales. It is not simply international sales that characterize Iran’s art market. Domestic auctions have seen record prices in recent years and the secondary art market in Iran continues to grow and develop in the face of significant challenges.
◢ Post-sanctions trade and investment reporting has focused on three major countries: Germany, France, and Italy.
◢ But other European countries bring opportunities that should not be overlooked. A push to Iran by Poland's Economic Minister Janusz Piechociński reminds us that the story of Iran-Europe economic ties importantly extends to smaller economies as well.
◢ The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action— a document of comprised of 159 pages, negotiated over 23 months—represents a triumph of diplomacy.
◢ Sanctions relief will be operationally challenging. Will this relief lead to investment in the Iranian banks themselves?
◢ The policy community in the US and Europe is very fearful that sanctions relief will provide Iran a dangerous windfall that it can use to expand its interventions in the region.
◢ But these concerns fail to recognize that Iran’s post-sanctions windfall will be domestically driven, will generate private investment, and will transform Iran’s political economy for the better.
◢ British businesses are now receiving advice to explore Iran opportunities —albeit in accordance with standing sanctions regulations — in order to prepare for a Iran's reentry into the global economy.
◢ With the door having been opened, British companies risk losing a key business advantage to their competitors in other Western states such as France and Germany if they do not act quickly.
◢ Most experts focus on growing antagonism between Iran and its Arab neighbors as a risk to regional prosperity.
◢ However, Iran’s large consumer-driven economy and some early success stories suggest that many GCC companies are actually very well positioned to transfer their knowhow to the Iranian marketplace.
◢ In a recent benchmarking study conducted by Frontier Strategy Group, more than 80% of the 28 multinational companies (MNCs) surveyed said they are focused on reassessing their strategic plans for Iran.
◢ These recent survey results indicate an unprecedented interest from EU- and US-based MNCs in Iran as an emerging market.
◢ Saipa, Iran's second largest auto producer, has announced a joint venture with a Chinese company called Brilliance.
◢ The arrival of Chinese designs both underscores the growing technical capacity of the Chinese auto industry, as well as the aggressive position Chinese companies are taking in Iran.
◢ For countries like Italy, Turkey, and Malaysia, tourism is among the main sources of economic value, as measured by contributions to gross domestic product (GDP).
◢ Similarly, Iran has significant tourism potential, particularly in maritime areas. This industry should be developed with international support.
◢ As politicians and analysts consider the wisdom of offering Iran sanctions relief in exchange for restrictions on the country’s nuclear program, a key stakeholder group remains unaccounted for in the debate – the private sector.
◢ Private sector leaders can play three vital roles to help bring a brighter economic and political future to Iran— interlocutors, stewards, and creators.
Iran's higher education sector is one of the country's greatest assets, with 4.5 million women and men pursuing degrees. But for universities to offer more time and attention to its individual students and faculty, increased funding is necessary. Iranian institutions can do more to secure this based on innovative models from other countries.
◢ The global energy industry continues to find greater value in efficiency and clean technology, with a rapidly growing reliance on renewable energy. But Iran lags behind.
◢ Now that Iran prepares to once again open doors to the international business community, the time is right for renewables to have a greater role in the country’s energy mix.
◢ Banks dominate Iran's financial system, largely because capital markets are small and underdeveloped.
◢ Companies have relied on loans to access capital, but over-leveraging and poor lending practices have left banks in a precarious position.
◢ There are approximately 400,000 disabled veterans in Iran, who sustained their injuries during the Iran-Iraq War.
◢ Government agencies like the Social Welfare Organization struggle to meet their needs. Public-Private Partnerships ought to be developed to help address healthcare provision for this important population.
◢ There are very few business-specific books on Iran published in English, and it can be difficult to know where to gather information and insights.
◢ However, certain works by noted economists, political scientists, and other academics contain important lessons and insights for any business leader devising a Iran strategy.
◢ A prospective détente between Iran and the West is dependent not only on the normalization of political ties but also on the realignment of economic ties. It is a matter of political economy.
◢ In order to envision the future role of Iran’s private sector, it helps to look to the past and the historical role of the bazaar, once the center of Iranian political economy.
◢ Bank account closures of British-Iranian citizens underline the deep fear among banks of Iran-related transactions.
◢ Successful sanctions relief will depend on a concerted effort to raise the comfort level of banks with the compliance and regulation around Iran business.
◢ Iran’s commercial opening represents the world’s greatest strategic communications challenge. Both the general public and the business community worldwide continue to understand Iran through unfavorable stereotypes.
◢ Conferences can play a critical role in helping address this communications problem among companies and individuals.
◢ In a post-sanctions world, Iran’s workforce can benefit from new employment opportunities and a revitalized labor market.
◢ Foreign companies seeking to enter Iran will likely poach some of the best talent to run country operations. With this increased competition, Iran’s corporate sector will need to change their approach to human resources.
◢ Access to finance is crucial for Iran's economic reboot, but Iran's markets are still ill equipped to accept new foreign capital.
◢ New securities need to be created in order to attract investors to Iran with a better risk/reward profile.
