Tehran, Iran, Feb. 4
By Kamyar Eghbalnejad – Trend:
The Export Development Bank of Iran has established corresponding ties with 132 banks across the world, a senior official said.
“Over the current Iranian fiscal year (starting March 20), the bank has concluded several finance agreements with Russia, China and South Korea, as well as Austria,” Ali Salehabadi, CEO of Export Development Bank of Iran, told reporters Feb. 4.
Elaborating on the details of the financial agreements, he said that the finance contact with Russia is limitless for funding Russian backed projects in the country.
Saying that Exports Development Bank over the current year has cemented LC deals with South Korea and China worth of $10 billion, he added that the bank’s LC agreement with Austria valued one billion euros.
Ali Salehabadi also stated that his bank enjoys 38 active accounts in several banks across the world and Development Bank pays priority to those countries that have established economic ties with Iran.
The country, in general, over the past two years has conducted several financial agreements with several international banks with a total cost of $46 billion.
The Islamic Republic’s latest agreement in this regard was a $6 billion investment agreement with Italy inked in mid-January.
China has been among the most important investors in the Islamic Republic over the past two years, as several Chinese institutions, including Sinosure (export and credit insurance corporation) alongside with CITIC Trust and China Development Bank, have agreed to put more than $30 billion in the Iranian economy.
South Korea is another eastern partner that has agreed to put investments in the Middle Eastern country through an €8-billion credit line from Eximbank.
In addition to an "unlimited finance deal" with the Eximbank of Russia, the Russian government has decided to grant two state loans to Iran amounting to €2.2 billion to finance construction projects there.
India has also grabbed the chance to invest in Iran’s southern port of Chabahar as the two traditional partners inked a pact back in 2016, under which India agreed to equip and operate two berths in Chabahar Port Phase I with a capital investment of $85.21 million and annual revenue expenditure of $22.95 million on a 10-year lease.
Oberbank announced in September 2017 that it had signed a deal worth of one billion euros with Iran, enabling it to finance new ventures there and making it the first European bank to do so since sanctions were eased.
Following the Austrian Oberbank, Denmark's Danske Bank became the second European lender to ink such an agreement with Iran signing a €500-million finance contract with 10 Iranian banks last September.
The financial developments came following the implementation of the country’s nuclear deal in January 2016 which was agreed between Tehran and the six major powers to lift nuclear-related sanctions on the Islamic Republic in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities.