Iran spurs Japan on $10 billion investment plan

A senior Iranian official has called on Japan to move faster on rolling out a credit package worth $10 billion for investment in Iran.

Japan signed a bilateral investment treaty and an agreement for a $10 billion debt guarantee for Iran in February after Tehran reached a nuclear accord with the US, EU, China and Russia.

“It is expected that the $10 billion credit line which Japan intends to allocate to various sectors of the Iranian economy will be put into effect sooner,” Amir-Hossein Zamaninia, Iran's deputy minister of petroleum for commerce and international affairs, said on Saturday.

Petroleum and other energy sectors are viewed as a key target of the Japanese investment, with the debt guarantee allowing its companies to invest without significant risk.

Tokyo lifted sanctions against Tehran in February to allow Japanese companies to invest in Iran's oil and gas sector after the nuclear agreement was reached.

Zamaninia lauded Japan as a “good partner” for Iran, saying the Asian country planned for “an active presence in Iran’s petroleum industry” after the lifting of the sanctions. 

“The Japanese intend to invest in various oil industry sectors including petrochemicals and LNG,” he told the official IRNA news agency.

Iran will also provide financing in Japanese yen which is very important to facilitating investment, as international transaction in US dollar with the Islamic Republic is still prohibited under remaining American sanctions.

“The Japanese are currently assessing the situation in order to decide how to invest in Iran’s petroleum industry,” Zamaninia said.

SS