TEHRAN- Iran attracted $3.8 billion of foreign investment during the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-October 21), Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Farhad Dejpasand said.

The attracted investment is expected to be spent on various projects in the current year and the next year.

The official noted that in order to realize the current year’s motto which is “surge in production”, the activities of the production sector should be facilitated by the government to encourage investment in this area.

He further mentioned the country’s single-window system for starting businesses, and said: “starting a business in Iran would have taken 73 days before but now with this system, it only takes 73 hours to launch a new business in the country.”

Dejpasand had earlier said that materializing the motto of “Surge in Production” requires an investment of 7-10 quadrillion rials (about $166.6-$238 billion), and the attraction of foreign investment can play a significant part in this regard.

He also said that Finance and Economic Ministry has outlined a plan for facilitating and expediting the attraction of Iranian expatriates’ investment, based on which some incentives and guarantees will be allocated to those investors.

Emphasizing that attracting investment is definitely better than receiving loans, Dejpasand said in early October that foreign investment acts as a window through which technology, employment, and production enter into the country, so the executive bodies should make their most effort to attract foreign investment.

“The other advantage of foreign investment attraction is that the investor becomes a supporter of our country’s interests in his/her country, and in this way, the relations between the two countries will be strengthened”, the official added.

He also mentioned attracting Iranian expatriates’ investment making in Iran and stressed the necessity for removing the problems in this due and facilitating the processes for those investors.

EF/MA