TEHRAN – The loans paid by the banks to the knowledge-based companies during the first ten months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2021-January 20, 2022) have been 127 percent more than the loans paid to these companies in the same period of time in the past year.

According to the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) data, Iranian banking system has paid 509.4 trillion rials (about $1.959 billion) of facilities to 1,176 knowledge-based companies during the ten-month period of this year.

Bank Melli Iran (BMI) accounted for the biggest share of the paid facilities with 82 trillion rials (about $315.3 million), followed by Bank Saderat Iran (BSI) with 68.6 trillion rials (about $263.8 million) of offered facilities.

The Islamic Republic has developed plans to support and empower knowledge-based companies as a step forward to materialize the goal of the year which is “Production: Support and Elimination of Obstacles”, as the economy is fighting the U.S. sanctions.

The law for promoting and supporting knowledge-based companies was approved by the Majlis (Iranian parliament) in 2010, paving the way for a jumpstart in the march toward scientific progress.

Over the past couple of years, the concept of ‘knowledge-based company’ has changed to ‘knowledge-based society’, meaning that supporting knowledge-based companies will lead to many social and economic advantages for the public.

The number of knowledge-based companies has increased from around 50 in 2013 to more than 5,700 in the previous Iranian calendar year.

Currently, many knowledge-based companies are active in different fields, ranging from information and communication technology to health, agriculture, and energy.

Various knowledge-based companies have made advancements in different fields, however, the level of progress in the fields of health, ICT, agriculture, and energy has been more noticeable. Of course, other sectors such as the automotive industry have removed many bottlenecks so far.

MA/MA