TEHRAN – The volume of foreign investment attracted by the Iranian industrial and mining sectors reached $388 million in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-August 22), accounting for 80 percent of the total investment attracted in the said period.

According to the latest data released by the Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry, 68 foreign investment projects valued at about $485 million were approved in the mentioned five months, IRNA reported on Saturday.

Based on the said data, of the total number of investment projects in the said period, 97.9 percent was the share of the industry sector, 2.1 percent was the share of the mining sector, while trade-related projects did not attract any foreign investment.

The highest volume of foreign investment approved in the industry, mining, and trade sectors in the period under review was in the categories of home appliances and communication devices, chemical products, base metals, paper, and paper products.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, Afghanistan, Hong Kong, and Germany were the top five countries with the highest volume of investment, while, Kerman, Markazi, Tehran, East Azarbaijan, and Alborz provinces were the top five provinces in terms of the volume of approved foreign investment.

Afghanistan, Turkey, China, the United Arab Emirates, and Germany were also the top five investors in terms of the number of approved projects.

As previously reported by the Industry Ministry, Iran expects a 10-fold increase of foreign investment in the industry and mining sectors by the end of the Sixth Five-Year National Development Plan (March 2022).

The Ministry of Industry, Mining, and Trade approved 158 foreign investment projects valued at about $2.469 billion in the past Iranian calendar year 1399 (ended on March 20), up 189 percent compared to its preceding year.

The number of approved projects in the previous year also increased 92 percent year on year.

The Industry Ministry had approved 82 foreign investment projects with a total investment of $854 million in calendar year 1398.

EF/MA