TEHRAN - The vice president of France's main business lobby group Medef says French companies have availed themselves of investing in agrobusiness, health, infrastructure, environment, oil and gas, and services in general once the sanctions against Iran are lifted following the landmark nuclear.

Talking to the Tehran Times on the sidelines of a joint gathering of the Iran Capital Market and French Economic Practitioners in Espinas Hotel on September 22, Thibault de Silguy said that all size French companies will be active in Iran’s market: small companies for small sized projects and for specific purposes, big sized companies for bigger projects.

The nuclear deal between Iran and great powers, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which puts temporary limits on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for lifting of sanctions, is expected to go into force in the first quarter of 2016. Iran and its negotiating partners have already started talks on implementing the JCPOA on the sidelines of annual UN General Assembly in New York.

The delegation who visited Iran from September 21-23 was comprised about 150 firms, including top companies such as Total and Peugeot. The business team was also accompanied by the French trade and agriculture ministers.

On the objective of the big French economic team in Iran, de Silguy noted that the representatives of the companies are here “to find contacts, to see some potential partners, to try to understand the needs of this country and to see whether they can provide services.”

De Silguy, who is also the vice-president of construction company Vinci, said prior to the sanctions French companies were present in Iran but their presence declined tremendously after 2011.

According to the Financial Tribune, Renault was selling nearly 100,000 cars a year in Iran before sanctions and its rival PSA Peugeot Citroen also sold 458,000 cars in Iran in 2011.

“However, today the French companies in line with application of the agreement of the 14th of July in Vienna [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)], which calls for progressive and conditional lifting of sanctions, have restarted contacts with Iranian market.”

“If the timetable is respected, we can expect the lifting of sanctions before June or July of 2016, meaning we have 8 months to prepare [to get into Iranian market],” he asserted.

De Silguy also admitted that there would be a strong competition between European companies in the Iranian market. “That it is just the rule.”
He expressed hope that once sanctions are lifted, the French companies will be ready to compete for certain projects in Iranian market.

Commenting on the problem of financing projects by French companies in Iran, de Silguy said, “The problem would be the French companies’ ability to set financing of the projects.”

“We not only have to present technical proposal for the bids but also to be able to come up with financial proposal for them as well,” he said, adding that French companies have to work on the latter point for there is still no banking system due to sanctions.

Pointing to another French delegation which was sent to Iran some 15 months ago, he said since the economic and political climate was different then “we expect to see different economic needs in the country after the agreement now.