TEHRAN – Iranian Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Farhad Dejpasand said 10 quadrillion rials (over $238 billion) is needed to reach a desirable economic growth, IRNA reported.

Speaking in the inauguration ceremony of a single-window system for businesses at Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA) in Tehran on Saturday, Dejpasand said: “part of these required resources is going to be provided through government resources as well as the banking system.”

Emphasizing that the banking resources should be used to meet the needs of the private sector, the minister said "We should also attract micro-resources into the capital market to provide the necessary funding for a minimum growth."

Investors should be encouraged to invest and contribute to domestic production, he stressed.

Referring to the Leader's close attention to the economy and domestic production, Dejpasand said: "In the past decade, the Leader of the Islamic Republic has underlined economy, economic growth, and surge in domestic production in the slogans chosen for the years."

The Economy Minister added that in the last nine years the country has not had a good condition in terms of investment growth, saying: “We should try to minimize the obstacles to economic activities while our country is facing all kinds of sanctions and pressures.

“We need to provide desirable conditions for investment and production to reduce the unemployment rate, improve the country's position in the global economy, and boost domestic production, he emphasized.

Earlier this month, Dejpasand had stressed the need for achieving acceptable economic growth in the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 20), saying that public, private, and cooperative sectors all could play an important role in this regard.

Iran is following a comprehensive program for rising capital through attracting public resources into the stock market, so the government has been encouraging bot private sector and state-owned companies to offer their shares in the country’s stock market.

In early March, Dejpasand said offering the shares of state-owned companies, which are planned to be privatized, would be sped up.

The minister further highlighted that Iran’s stock market is reaching its real status, adding, “People are gradually getting acquainted with the capital market’s potential and welcoming it.”

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has also stressed the need for the expansion of the privatization program.

EF/MA