September 2006
Iran’s private sector gets a new lease of life
Iran’s authorities are looking to invigorate the country’s private sector with plans to sell up to $110 billion-worth of state assets over the next 10 years. Can the programme attract the foreign investors it needs to succeed? And can Iran’s government learn from past mistakes? Euromoney reports.
The role of ‘Justice’ shares
ON JULY 3 2006 Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, issued an executive order demanding a stepped-up approach towards privatization of core industries, including even the oil and gas sectors. The leader took this approach as a result of obstacles impeding economic growth including a lack of foreign investment, persistent unemployment and high inflation. This order requires an 80% divestiture in all state-owned enterprises by the government including banking, mining, transportation and heavy industry. Certain key activities and entities are excluded from this process.
The urgent need for such action shows the economic hurdles still facing the country despite high oil prices. Political issues are largely responsible for an economic downturn due to systematic domestic and foreign pressures. The country faces a mounting budget deficit exacerbated by high inflation and government subsidies.
In an interview with Isna news agency on July 23, the chairman of the...
You must be a Level 2 subscriber to access this archived content.
If your subscription includes access to the archive, please log in now to view.
To gain access to this content visit the subscription page or call our hotline on +44 (0)207 779 8999.
Subscribe online now and save up to 30% on your subscription.
If you are a trialist or subscriber, please enter your username and password at the top right-hand side of euromoney.com
Subscribers to Euromoney benefit from:
Level 1:
- Online access to the past 12 months content
- Tailored RSS news feeds direct to your desktop
- News delivered directly to your mobile device or PC
- Personalised email newsfeed of 'Top stories' and 'Breaking news'
Level 2:
- Exclusive access to euromoney.com - Read the latest issue early online, search for specific developments by region or sector, interrogate the results of Euromoney's benchmark polls, and view the archive dating back to 2000
- 12 monthly issues of Euromoney magazine
- More than 30 specialist research guides free
- The results of Euromoney’s polls and surveys
- Tailored RSS news feeds direct to your desktop
- News delivered directly to your mobile device or PC
- Personalised email newsfeed of 'Top stories' and 'Breaking news'
Click here to subscribe