The Business Year’s first-ever Iran Special Report out now
A first for the The Business Year, which has just released its Special Report on the Iranian economy.
Tehran, 20 November 2018–The Business Year (TBY) has been hard at work in Iran to produce a new format: its first-ever Special Report. The report, which combines interview insight with editorial coverage, was completed in partnership with the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade, and the Investors Group Iran (IGI).
Determined to get over its dependence on petrodollars, Iran is trying to show that it has more to offer the world than hydrocarbons. With that in mind, the special report opens with a focus on nonoil exports, in particular, plastics, chemicals, and manufacturing. As Seyed Kamal Seyed Ali, Managing Director, Exports Guarantee Fund of Iran, puts it in his interview, “Despite unilateral sanctions imposed by the US, we expect an increase of 15-20% in Iran’s export volume.” Moreover, Iran’s ambitions to boost exports via human development are explored by Pedram Soltani, Vice President, Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mine, and Agriculture (ICCIMA). “Our ultimate objective is to train a generation of more global-minded business people who are well versed in international trade.”
Elsewhere, the report looks at Iran’s diversification efforts through the prism of a growing tourism industry. Iran is now greeting tourists with open arms, not to mention with more permissible visa policies, better creature comforts, and a great deal of novelty. These factors likely to added to the 7% growth in the contribution of the tourism sector to Iran’s GDP that the World Travel and Tourism Council has predicted for Iran by the end of 2018. “We want to turn Iran into a tourism hub for regional countries as well as European and American countries,” says Dr. Golamheidar Ebrahim Bay Salami, Managing Director, Tourism Holding of Social Security Organization (HEGTA). “The “100 Hotels, 100 Businesses” project seeks to provide accommodation across Iran, enabling tourists across the globe to visit Iran in a comfortable way.”
TBY Analytics Iran Special Report, TBY’S unique methodology used to translate C-level opinion into real-time statistics, also highlights the impact of sanctions across the board according to interviewees. 25% of interviewees said sanctions were having a positive impact, including boosting innovation, domestic production and strengthening human talent. On the other hand, 75% highlighted negative impacts such as low access to finance, and a loss of interest among international investors. The industry hardest hit by sanctions was the energy sector, with 20% of interviewees expressing their concern.
The Special Report includes chapters on export opportunities, finance, oil & gas, IT, industry, education, tourism & construction, and media & entertainment. Interviewees featured include: Ramin Rabii, CEO, Turquoise Partners; Saied Rafeiefar, Secretary General, Iranian Oil, Gas, and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union (OPEX) Hojatollah Saydi, CEO, Bank Saderat; Mehdi Mirmoezi, Managing Director, Pasargad Energy Development Company (PEDC); Amir Hossein Kaveh, CEO, Sadid Industrial Group; and Mehran Ghodrati, CEO, CIP.
Peter Hovson, TBY’S Editorial Director, spoke on the occasion of the launch, “as Iran’s place on the global economic stage looks set to change, never has information on the business environment on the ground been in such high demand. Needless to say, it is at times like these when information becomes scarce. TBY’S Special Report aims to uncover some of the complexities facing the country as it enters 2019.”