Iranian fund inks €3b deal with Hyundai Engineering

An Iranian investment fund signed a deal with South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering Co yesterday for a €3 billion (RM14.3 billion) petrochemical project, which is awaiting financing by Korean banks, said the Oil Ministry’s website, Shana.

A subsidiary of the Oil Pension Fund Investment Company signed the agreement which covers the construction of the second phase of the Kangan Petro Refining Company, Shana reported.

“The financing of this project will be finalised within nine months at the rate of 95 per cent ... by South Korean banks,” said Asghar Arefi, the Iranian official who signed the accord, according to Shana.

Arefi said the first phase of the Kangan project was 30 per cent completed with an investment of nearly €120 million.

Despite the lifting of international sanctions against Iran in January last year, Iranian officials have complained that remaining United States sanctions have frightened away trade partners and robbed Iran of the benefits it was promised under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.