TEHRAN - The Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade has approved 73 foreign investment projects valued at about $382.4 million in the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-September 22), IRNA reported.

According to the latest data released by the ministry, of the total number of investment projects in the current year’s six-month period, 93.8 percent was the share of the industry sector, 2.2 percent was the share of the mining sector, while trade-related projects accounted for four percent of the total figure.

Approved foreign investment includes all applications, including investment to create new projects, purchase of shares of existing companies, as well as foreign investment in the form of contractual arrangements.

Out of the 73 cases of foreign investment in the mentioned sectors, 24 cases had 100 percent foreign investment, 34 cases were joint ventures and 15 cases were in the form of civil partnership, mutual sale, or build-operate-transfer (BOT).

The highest volume of foreign investment approved in the industry, mining, and trade sectors in the period under review was in the categories of wood and wood products, extraction of minerals, manufacture of chemical products, and basic metals.

Afghanistan, China, Turkey, India, the United Arab Emirate were the top five countries with the highest volume of investment, while Fars, South Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, Hormozgan, and Tehran were the top five provinces in terms of the volume of approved foreign investment.

Back in April, the Iranian government approved a new resolution to facilitate foreign investment in the country.

According to the Investment and Economic and Technical Assistance Organization of Iran (OIETAI), the main purpose of this resolution was to encourage investors from other countries, especially from neighboring countries, to invest in Iran.

EF/MA