Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 11
By Rahim Zamanov - Trend: Iran's north-eastern Khorasan Razavi province has absorbed $3 million worth of foreign investment in the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year which started on March 21, head of the Economy and Commerce Organisation of the province said on Monday.
"Six projects have been approved to attract foreign investment in the aforementioned period," Seyed Ali Shahabi said, the IRIB News Agency reported.
Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Behrouz Alishiri said earlier this month that Iran plans to absorb $2 billion of foreign investment in the current Iranian calendar year which started on March 21.
"Some $1.5 billion worth of projects have been approved so far this year," the Fars News Agency quoted Alishiri as saying.
"Iran has secured some 50-60 per cent of the aforementioned amount so far," he explained.
"Some other $0.5 billion worth of projects will also be approved in the near future," Alishiri said.
Alishir,who is also head of the Organisation for Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran, went on to note that the oil and gas industries and housing are the three top sectors which absorb the most foreign investments.
Iranian Industry, Mine, and Trade Minister Mohammadreza Nematzadeh said in October that Iran will increase the value of foreign investments in the country by $8 billion in the next four years.
He expressed hope that the international sanctions would be lifted in the previously mentioned period, the IRNA News Agency reported.
"Based on international studies, each one dollar of foreign investment will bring two dollars of profit for the host country," Nematzadeh said.
"Iran needs to absorb foreign investment to carry out high-tech projects," he added.
Alishiri said in July that the volume of foreign investment in the country has witnessed a remarkable growth.
"Iran attracted $4.85 billion in foreign investment in the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2013)," he underscored.
He noted that the figure hit $2.60 billion and $4.60 billion in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
According to the latest world investment report released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Iran absorbed nearly five billion dollars' worth of foreign investment in 2012 which is 17 per cent more than 2011.