Iran expects leap in foreign investments

Direct foreign investments in Iran are expected to increase six-fold by next March, a local trade official said here on Sunday.

Annual foreign investments in Iran stood at about two billion U.S. dollars in the past two years, according to Feriyal Mostofi from Tehran Chamber of Commerce, private Tasnim news agency reported.

A series of international deals under negotiation, if finalized, will attract 12 billion U.S. dollars of foreign investments to the Islamic republic, Mostofi said.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Iran attracted 2.05 billion and 2.10 billion U.S. dollars of foreign investments in 2015 and 2014 respectively.

On Tuesday, the National Iranian Oil Company and a consortium involving France's Total, China National Petroleum Corporation and Iran's Petropars signed a major deal worth 4.8 billion U.S. dollars to develop the second phase of the country's South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf region.

A nuclear agreement, reached between the world powers and Iran in July 2015 and implemented in January, has led to the lifting of most if not all international sanctions against Iran's energy and financial sectors, thus raising its hopes to reengage in the global economy and attract foreign investments. Endit