TEHRAN- The Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade has approved 58 foreign investment cases valued at $832.6 million in the first three months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-June 20), the portal of Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) reported.

According to the latest data released by the Industry Ministry, of the total number of foreign investments approved in the mentioned period, 26 cases or 45 percent were attracted into the industry, mining and trade sectors.

Based on the data, 68 percent of the ministry’s foreign investment was attracted by the industry sector, followed by mining and trade with 20 percent and 12 percent, respectively.

The largest volume of foreign investment in the mentioned period was attracted by the groups of manufacturing chemical products, Internet businesses, and coke manufacturing, as well as oil products.

Accordingly, the first four countries in terms of the value of investment were Germany, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Austria, and China, and the largest number of investments were made by Afghanistan with eight cases, followed by China, UAE, and Germany.

Also, Sistan-Baluchestan, Tehran, and Alborz provinces were the top three provinces in terms of the volume of approved foreign investment.

Back in June, the Industry Ministry published the foreign investment data for the first two months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-May 20), based on which the figure increased by 5.4 percent compared to the same period last year.

As reported, the total foreign investment approved by the ministry in the mentioned two months amounted to $417.3 million, registering a $21.4-million rise compared to the $395.9-million for the last year’s same period.

As previously reported by the Industry Ministry, Iran expects a 10-fold increase of foreign investment in industry and mining sectors by the end of the Sixth Five-Year National Development Plan (2021).

EF/MA