Page 4 - Financial Tribune No 638

LATEST NEWS Tayyebnia
in brief 4 www.financialtribune.com/economy
Shahid Bahonar DECEMBER 5, 2016
Port Operations
Increase
Exports from Shahid
Rajaie Port in southern
Iran amounted to 5.3
million tons worth more
than $1.6 billion during
the eight months to
November 21, registering
a 47% and 33% increase
in weight and value
respectively, the
director general of the
port’s Customs Office
announced.
“Steel sheet, livestock,
iron ore, aluminum, fruit,
vegetable and iron ingots
were the main exported
items,” Mehdi Rezaei was
also quoted as saying by
IRNA.
Rezaei noted that during
the same period, over
208,000 tons of goods
worth $371 million were
imported into the port
and the main imported
commodities were
automobiles, fabric,
computers and iron ore
pellet.
“Bahonar Customs Office
earned over 3.5 trillion
rials (close to $90 million
at the market exchange
rate) in revenues during
the eight-month period,”
he said.
About 5% of Iran’s port
activities are carried out
at Shahid Bahonar Port.
Bird Flu
Hampers
Chicken, Egg
Exports
Chicken and egg exports
have come to a halt due
to an outbreak of the
highly contagious H5N8
bird flu virus at farms
located in the Tehran
region, according to
the chairman of the
Association of Producers
of Egg-Laying Hen.
“Afghanistan has banned
the import of chicken and
eggs from Iran since last
Thursday. Iraq has also set
up a ban on their imports
over a week ago,” Nasser
Nabipour was also quoted
as saying by Mehr News
Agency.
Last week, Azerbaijan
and the Iraqi Kurdistan
banned the import of
poultry and related
products from Iran.
The H5N8 virus has never
been found in humans
but has infected wild
birds and farms in several
European countries over
the past weeks.
Kermanshah
Exports Hit
$1.3 billion
Kermanshah exported
close to 3.9 million tons
of goods worth nearly
$1.3 billion during the
eight months to Nov. 21,
according to the director
general of the western
Iranian province’s
Customs Office.
The main exported
commodities were
tomato and tomato paste,
cement, plastic products,
sheep, urea, melamine
dishes and watermelon.
“Iraq was the main
destination of these
exports among 30
countries,” Khalil Heydari
was also quoted as saying
by IRNA.
Iranian Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Ali Tayyebnia met with Brazilian Minister of Mines and the meeting. Trade between Iran and Brazil stood at $475.4 million in the last Iranian year (March 2015-
Meets Brazilian Energy Fernando Coelho Filho in Tehran on Sunday to discuss ways of broadening economic ties. 16), which indicates a 4.5% decline compared with the preceding year. Iran’s imports stood at $451.8
Minister “Trade between the two countries is limited to agricultural products and livestock. We can expand million, showing a 33% rise. Exports amounted to $23.6 million, down 70%, according to the Islamic
our ties to construction and engineering services,” the Iranian minister was quoted as saying by ILNA Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
during the meeting. Cooperation in oil and gas sectors was also among the topics discussed during
IRANIAN ECONOMIC DAILY
Carpet Exports Up 17% corresponding period of last year, according to the Iran’s carpet exports were hard hit as a result of Sanctions were lifted mid-January as part of a
head of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran. sanctions imposed on the country over its nuclear landmark nuclear deal the country signed with world
Iran exported $166 million worth of hand-woven program. The United States—the biggest importer of powers last year. Iran agreed to limit the scope of its
carpets during the seven months to October 21, “The US, Germany, the UAE, Pakistan and Lebanon Iran’s handmade rugs—banned the import of Iranian nuclear activities. Now that the sanctions are gone,
registering a 17% increase compared with the are the main export destinations for Iranian carpets,” carpets, among other products, in September 2010. exports are slowly gaining momentum.
Mojtaba Khosrotaj was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
Budget Bill Sent to Parliament
The total amount of the
budget is 3,711 trillion
rials, which puts it
10.6% over the 3,354-
trillion-rial budget for
the current year
1 President Hassan Rouhani submitted the budget bill for the March 2017-18 fiscal year to parliament on Sunday.
OPEC’s third largest crude oil exporter is assuming
an average oil price of $50 a barrel, up from the president had cited 3,200 trillion rials, which IRNA Taxes are projected to rise by 1,130
current $40. Iran and other oil-producing countries reported as the general budget figure. However, the trillion rials, up from last year’s
recently agreed to limit production in order to drive up 3,200 trillion rials exclude 511 trillion rials in revenues 1,010 trillion rials
prices. made by ministries, which must be added to the latter
With the $50 crude and 33,000 rial dollar, the to arrive at the total budget. We apologize for the
administration expects 1,100 trillion rial revenue
from oil exports including export of natural gas and inadvertent erroir.
condensates.
Also, taxes are projected to rise 1,130 trillion rials,
up from last year’s 1,010 trillion rials figure.
As for the 620 trillion rials earmarked for
investment, the “government projects deemed
profitable will get funding,” the president told
lawmakers on Sunday. Eligible projects will be
funded jointly by the government, the National
Development Fund of Iran, a sovereign wealth
fund that receives part of the country’s oil
revenues, commercial banks and private
contractors
The administration has made special provisions
for investment in jobs, railroad development, water,
sewage, and environmental projects, Rouhani told
reporters earlier.
Clarification: The Tribune mistakenly reported a
4.6% contraction in the budget on Saturday, based
on Rouhani’s remarks in Mashhad on Thursday. The
French Aviation “Objectives of the trade mission are to explore Paris opened the first major European trade office of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and Government
Mission in Tehran business opportunities with main airlines and local “Business France” in Tehran back in September Spokesperson Stephane Le Foll.
suppliers/MRO companies,” according to the head of 2015 during the visit of a French delegation led
Representatives of French firms are in Tehran this Business France Tehran office, Romain Keraval. by Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Tourism and The office, located at the country’s diplomatic
week to offer solutions in the fields of aerospace French Nationals Overseas Matthias Fekl and Minister mission in Tehran, seeks to facilitate bilateral
maintenance and airport infrastructure. French companies are keen to provide additional commercial relations.
aerospace services, as Iran has been trying to
“French experts will travel to the city (Tehran) to renovate a decrepit fleet with more than 200 new
meet with airlines, MRO (maintenance, repair and jetliners from Airbus and Boeing. The multibillion
operations) centers and the organizations that run dollar deals signed in late-January are expected to be
local airport infrastructures,” reads a report emailed finalized soon.
by Business France, the national agency for the
international development of French businesses, “A number of collaborative projects have been
which is the organizer of the mission. launched in the aerospace sector with Airbus which, in
addition to supplying aircrafts to local companies, will
Firms active in MRO of aircraft, manufacture of parts offer training and operational support services. This
and equipment, airport security, aeronautics and ground is also the case in the airport sector, with French and
support equipment, such as Aerotech Pro, Dedienne Iranian firms having already signed contracts for the
Aerospace, Laselec, LOGYX, PGA Electronic, Reel, development of several airports,” the report added.
Techman Head and Toulouse Air Spares, are willing to
“mark themselves out through innovation” in the “highly IKIA Airport City Company has been negotiating a
competitive” Iranian market. joint venture with French construction firm Bouygues
and French airports operator Aéroports de Paris to
According to the report, these firms will present construct a new passenger terminal in a $2.8 billion
“pioneering solutions offering real advantages to deal that would increase airport capacity to 20 million
Iranian companies seeking to develop and perfect passengers per annum in the first phase.
their processes”.
Three more phases have been planned, which
The mission is scheduled to visit Iran Air, Aseman would help the airport handle 90 million passengers
Air, Civil Aviation Organization of Iran, Iranian Aviation per annum.
and Space Association, and Payam Cargo Airport and
Special Economic Zone, it said. The Ministry of Roads and Urban Development
established the IKIA Airport City Company in 2015
to serve as the contracting party in public-private
partnerships for airport city development.
Iran-Russia Economic Commission to Convene
$40b Trade Target on Agenda
The 13th meeting of Iran-Russia Economic Commission will be held in During Vaezi’s visit to Moscow, other key issues, including Russia’s of national currencies in two-way trade, were also discussed.
Tehran on December 13. plan to open a $5 billion credit line for Iran, the idea of establishing a joint The Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration’s data on Iran-
bank, Iran’s membership in the Eurasian Development Bank and the use
The two sides will survey ways of enhancing bilateral cooperation in a Russia non-oil trade during 2005-15 show mutual commerce peaked
wide range of fields, including energy, agriculture, banking, transportation, in the Iranian year to March 2009. The figure started a downtrend for
education and aerospace, IRNA reported. two consecutive years after the European Union and the US intensified
sanctions on Iran in 2010.
The previous meeting of the joint commission was held in Moscow
on November 12, 2015, when Iran’s Minister of Communications Despite a rebound in trade during the Iranian year to March 2014, the
and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi and Russia’s Energy figure declined during President Hassan Rouhani’s administration.
Minister Alexander Novak, who co-chaired the session, signed several
agreements on energy, maritime and banking cooperation. IRICA’s latest statistics show bilateral non-oil trade saw a 50% rise
during the seven months to October 21, owing to increased imports from
“The MoUs concerned air-sea search and rescue, fighting marine Russia.
pollution, exploration of water resources, interbank financing and
cooperation in electricity generation among others,” Vaezi said in a Iran exported 150,000 tons of non-oil goods worth $86.5 million to
rundown on his Russia visit. Russia during the seven-month period, registering a 6% decline in value
compared with the similar period of a year before. Food supplement,
Around 280 Russian organizations and companies, and 60 fruit and vegetable, raisins, dates, tomato paste, pistachio, carpets,
representatives from Iran’s public and private sectors held meetings on petrochemicals and cement were among the main exported commodities.
the sidelines of the joint commission from November 10 to 12, 2015.
Meanwhile, 890,000 tons of goods worth $1.1 billion were imported
According to the Iranian minister, the two sides vowed to raise bilateral from the Caspian neighbor, recording a rise of 235% in value year-on-
trade to an ambitious rate of $40 billion per year based on a roadmap year. The main imports included electronic devices, grain, corn fodder,
devised on the final day. wood, paper and vehicles.