MBN-Company

In the meeting, Head of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways Mohsen Pourseyyed-Aqaei reported on the successful transfer of experimental goods on the India-Iran-Russia route, stating "the containers reached destination within 22 days indicating that all transit barriers on Iran's corridor have been removed".

Mamuka Bakhtadze, director general of Georgian Railways said his company, in collaboration with Azerbaijan Republic, has embarked on a project to transfer European containers as of November.

"A German firm is negotiating with commodity owners to transport cargos from Georgia to Azerbaijan and later to Tehran via sea in the second half of November," he continued.

The official noted that Georgia is looking for venues to expand the route hence more importance lies on the development of Amirabad port as well as efforts to remove duties on trucks passing through Azerbaijan via Astara.

Also at the meeting, Andre Hempel, managing director of Trans Eurasia Logistics (TEL), said talks have been launched with Romanian firms and will later begin with Polish firms. "The ultimate goal, however is to encourage German customers to carry chemical products and other types of goods.

"Transit time holds great significance and customers' attention can be attracted if the time is slashed."

He noted that the transit process can be accomplished within seven days although it could last for one more day longer if customs document need further clarification.

Iran's railway chief reassured that no limitation exists on supplying and organizing trucks to carry containers in Astara as 40 to 41 trucks will be deployed in accordance with envisaged timetables.

Also speaking at the quartet meeting, Javid Gurbanov, chairman of Azerbaijan Railways, reiterated that the Caspian Sea is replete with cargo and passenger vessels for maritime transport. He called for more attention to Astara as a hub for goods transit.

"The main source of delay in container transit is that Thursdays and Fridays are the weekend in Iran though they are considered as weekdays in other states," underscored the official recommending that Iran runs customs services on these two days.

Pourseyyed-Aqaei promised that the holiday issue between Iran and Azerbaijan will be resolved by having customs administrations work 24/7 given the similar conditions at the Sarakhs border."

Following an agreement on transit duties, the Iranian side voiced readiness to join the unified tariff and discount plan. Iran and Azerbaijan also agreed to reach a final deal on the cost of transshipment for which a draft contract will be prepared.

iran-railway-transit-contract-agreement-asia-germany-equipment-export-import

www.mbncompany.com

"The Eutelsat company seeks cooperation with the Iranian Space Agency and is preparing a draft of its proposals to participate in the tender for building a satellite," Sénémaud said in a meeting with Iranian Communications and Information Technology Minister Mahmoud Vaezi in Tehran on Saturday.

He said that Eutelsat and the French telecommunications operator, Orange, are also in talks with the Iranian firms to increase mutual cooperation.

Sénémaud also underlined the necessity for a meeting of Iran-France joint economic commission before the end of the current year, and submitted an invitation letter from the French ICT minister for Vaezi to visit Paris.

Vaezi, for his part, stressed the need for resolving the banking problems that are still in place in violation of the US undertakings under the Vienna nuclear deal.

Last month, Vaezi had underlined the enthusiasm of all the major network operator companies to cooperate and invest in Iran.

"Despite all the negative propaganda of some Western media against Iran, today we are witnessing that all large operators of the world have come to Iran to negotiate on investment and cooperation in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)," Vaezi said, addressing the 'Iran-Connect 2016' Conference in Tehran.

Iran-Paris-Contract-Information-Minister-Cooperation-Investment-Telecommunication

www.mbncompany.com

The rise was in line with expectations following the lifting of US and EU sanctions after January's confirmation that the country had honored a UN Security Council nuclear agreement made in 2015, cphpost.dk.

Blooming trade

"Bilateral trade is really blooming," Annan told Tehran-based AVA Diplomatic.

"If you look at the first five months of 2016 and the total result of 2015, so far there has been a 66 percent increase in Danish exports to Iran. It is my clear expectation that our bilateral trade will continue to the benefit of Iran and Denmark."

In January, the Danish embassy in Tehran described the Iranian market as one with "rising purchasing power, a young population and good export opportunities".

Pharmaceuticals as king

"If you look at our trade statistics, the area where we actually have the highest amount of trade is in pharmaceuticals, as 54 percent of Danish exports to Iran is pharmaceuticals," Annan said.

"The biggest pharmaceutical company in Denmark, Novo Nordisk, is investing $80 million to build a factory in Iran. At the moment, they have about 170 employees and the number will more than double in the coming years. Other Danish companies are in the process of establishing themselves in Iran. That will help contribute to Iran’s growth and job creation.

"Food production is another area we have talked about before. Machinery, equipment and ingredients are good areas for cooperation."

Encouragingly, David Lipton, first deputy managing director of the IMF, in a speech to the Central Bank of Iran said: "Future sustainable growth will depend increasingly on the performance of the non-oil sector."

However, looking ahead, Annan recommends a cautious approach — particularly given the international banking relations that make it hard for Iranian banks to interact with ones in Denmark.

"We have to remember we are talking only some months since the lifting of sanctions," he said.

"And some of the banks have not done all the research yet. It takes time, and I am quite convinced that at the end of the year, we will see a much better picture than what we are seeing today."

Iran-Trade-Danish-Denmark-Export-Import-Equipment-Deputy-Company-Product-Pharmaceutical

www.mbncompany.com

Vodafone, the world’s second largest carrier by subscribers after China Mobile Ltd., said the agreement to help modernize HiWEB's network and IT infrastructure would also benefit its multinational corporate clients when they travel to Iran.

Many European companies have sought to capitalize on the opening up of the region's second largest economy since US sanctions were lifted on Jan. 16 after Iran agreed to curtail its atomic energy program, Reuters reported.

With a young population and high levels of mobile ownership, Iran is seen as an opportunity for telecoms companies seeking to expand into frontier markets.

"Vodafone's corporate customers will get the benefit of quality network services in the country and HiWEB will be able to access Vodafone's global expertise," Vodafone Partner Markets Chief Executive Diego Massidda said in a statement on Tuesday.

While Iran has a higher mobile-phone penetration rate than the US or Germany, its mobile data consumption lags, underlining a well of opportunity for investment in mobile Internet services as the country catches up.

Vodafone's French rival Orange (ORAN.PA) said at the end of August it was in talks with the Mobile Telecommunication Company of Iran, the country's largest mobile operator.

Orange, France’s largest telecommunications company, already has a technical-assistance contract with the Iranian company, The Wall Street Journal said.

“All operators around the world are looking for a form of cooperation with Iran,” said Bruno Mettling, Orange’s deputy chief executive for the Middle East and Africa, in an interview in London in July.

The agreement with HiWEB fits into Vodafone’s strategy of focusing on fast-growing emerging markets, which also include India, Turkey and South Africa.

“It enables us to have on the ground a partner that can serve our multinational corporate clients,” a Vodafone spokesman said.

Privatized in 2009, HiWEB got a nationwide license to supply mobile Internet services in 2014 and has won a government contract to provide high-speed Internet exclusively to 25,000 villages across the country for a decade. 

It is also looking to expand its mobile and fixed services in cities with a focus on business clients.

More foreign companies coming in

Other British companies entering Iran include British Airways, which resumed direct flights to Tehran in September, and BP (BP.L) which was reported to have bought crude from the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) this month.

A host of foreign investors, including Boeing Co., Airbus Group SE, Peugeot-maker Groupe PSA and German industrial giant Siemens AG, have also signed deals in Iran since the lifting of sanctions in January.

Earlier this month, the US Treasury loosened restrictions on Iran’s ability to trade in the US dollar, and widened the pool of potential business partners in Iran for non-American investors. Washington ruled that non-American investors can partner with Iranian entities even if those entities are still on the US sanctions list, as long as the entities weren’t controlling shareholders in any new venture. That opens the door for a host of fresh deal-making.  

The Vodafone spokesman said “the recent lifting of restrictions on dollar trading is helpful” but the wider lifting of international sanctions in January “was the main driver”.

Vodafone said it would assist HiWEB in marketing, distribution and sales, including the provision of Internet of Things (IoT) services which involve enabling Internet connectivity for cars and other objects.

British employers' group the CBI welcomed the news, saying Britain needed to develop its export links more than ever following the June vote to leave the European Union.

"Businesses recognize there are emerging opportunities in Iran," the spokesman said. "As with other Persian Gulf states, Iran has a growing middle class and infrastructure, energy and educational projects in need of foreign investment."

Tuesday’s move by Vodafone is another significant vote of confidence. HiWEB began in 2003 as a subsidiary of Iran’s Ministry of Industry and Mine, according to its website.

vodafone-mbn co-mbncompany-vodafone-iran

www.mbncompany.com

Also on Monday, Iran's deputy oil minister welcomed a preliminary agreement by Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries nations to limit output to between 32.5 million and 33 million barrels per day. The deal was reached in late September, with the aim reducing a global glut that has depressed oil prices for over two years, AP reported.

Deputy Oil Minister Amir Hossein Zamani-Nia told reporters in Tehran that the agreement was "small step, but in the right direction".

Iran has been trying to restore its oil industry since emerging from international sanctions over its nuclear program earlier this year. The country, with an oil output of 3.85 million barrels per day, initially said it would only consider a ceiling after it reaches four million barrels per day — its pre-sanctions level.

Meanwhile, Iran's Oil Ministry announced on Sunday it will invite foreign companies to bid for oil and gas projects for the first time. Also on Monday, the ministry released details, saying this would include 29 oilfields and 21 gas fields.

The ministry said foreign companies should submit their applications by November 19, and that successful companies would be announced on December 7.

Iran had earlier said that priority for exploration and production for foreign companies would be given to neighboring countries with which it shares border fields. The country has 28 joint offshore and onshore gas and oilfields with those countries.

Iran hopes to attract more than $150 billion in foreign investment for its oil, gas and petrochemical industry by 2020. It has already upgraded its model for oil contracts, allowing for a potential full recovery of costs over almost two decades. Earlier this month, Iran signed the first such contract with a local oil company.

Raising gas output

Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh told an energy conference on Monday that Iran hopes to boost its natural gas production to Qatar's level by early next year.

He said Iran's priority was developing the giant South Pars Gas Field which it shares with Qatar, as well as shared oilfields.

Iran plans to increase its crude oil production to four million barrels per day in 2019 and 4.28 million bpd in 2020, while boosting condensate output to one million bpd as early as 2018, Zanganeh said at the conference.

.OPEC members will meet next month to seek agreement on how to put into effect a planned cut in the group’s output.

Iran-Oil-Gas-Ministry-Export-Import-Agreement-Company-Equipment-National

www.mbncompany.com

According to a fax sent to Iran Daily, Iranian Association of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering will hold the events in cooperation with Kish Free Zone Organization and Europort Company.

On the first day of the conference, 10 specialized meetings will be held on construction and designing of floating as well as five workshops on maritime and marine transit.

Other meetings on the second, third and fourth days of the conference will focus on offshore industries, oil, fishery, tourism, environment, oceanology, atmospheric sciences and military industries as well as, training and research vessels.

The exhibition aims to present the latest capabilities and achievements of firms involved in the maritime industry's international cooperation and development.

Romania, Turkey, Russia, Singapore, France, Italy, Greece, United Arabic Emirates, the Netherlands, China, Belgium, Norway, Germany, Britain, Aust

mbnvo-kish Island-conferance

ralia, Croatia, Estonia, Portugal, Spain, India, South Korea and Ukraine will have stalls in the event.

Siemens said it will supply components for 50 diesel-electric locomotives to Iran. It did not disclose the value of the contract, but based on comparable deals, it could be in the low hundreds of millions of euros, Reuters reported.

As part of the deal agreed with Iran’s industrial MAPNA Group, Siemens plans to supply components for diesel-electric trains to be developed locally for the country’s state-owned railway system, the company said.

The agreement comes on the heels of a series of contracts signed last March between Siemens and MAPNA to develop Iran’s energy infrastructure, including a license agreement under which MAPNA would acquire the technological know-how to manufacture Siemens F-Class gas turbines. Siemens also has plans to partner with MAPNA to help modernize Iran’s power and electrification system, the firms have said, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Since the lifting of international economics sanctions on Iran in January, German companies moved quickly to rekindle longstanding commercial ties.

In the first six months of this year, German exports to Iran climbed by 15%, to €1.13 billion ($1.27 billion), according to the German Federal Statistical Office. But the figure, compared with total German exports during that period of €603.2 billion, fell far short of expectations.

German business officials who expected the lifting of sanctions would trigger a bonanza for German firms in Iran have blamed the shortfall on remaining US sanctions that complicate financial transactions. While the situation has eased since last year, it is still difficult for many Western companies to receive payments from Iran, experts say.

Accompanying 120 managers, Gabriel flew to Iran where they signed several economic agreements with Iranian companies.

The German Economy Ministry said several firms from the Mittelstand, the small-to-medium-sized companies that form the backbone of the economy, signed deals with Iranian partners. These included SMS group, a builder of steelmaking plants, and INTRA industrial solutions.

In addition, Mitsubishi Germany has signed a contract to modernize a gas-fired plant, while plant constructor Keller HCW wants to build a brickyard in Iran, it said. Both countries' central banks have also agreed to technical cooperation.

Germany, which has commercial and cultural ties with Iran that go back to the 19th century, was for decades a major trading partner of Tehran before the sanctions allowed China and several other nations to overtake it.

Iran-Germany-Agreement-Transaction-Mitsubishi-Mapna-Ministry-Economics-Export-Import-

www.mbncompany.com

Markit's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing, which accounts for about a fifth of the economy, rose to 54.3 from 53.6 in August, Reuters reported.

That was in line with a flash reading and well above the 50 line that separates growth from contraction. The PMI average

reading for the third quarter as a whole stood at 53.9, the highest quarterly reading since the start of 2014.

"Germany's manufacturing sector ended the third quarter on a positive note," Markit economist Oliver Kolodseike said.

Firms increased production to satisfy rising demand and hired staff at a pace not seen since the start of 2012, he said.

He added that inventories fell at the strongest rate in over 6-1/2 years, suggesting manufacturers are likely to further

increase output in coming months to replenish stock.

"Industry should therefore have a positive contribution to GDP growth in the third quarter," Kolodseike concluded.

The survey was another positive sign after Ifo's closely watched business climate index showed last week that morale among executives improved far more than expected in September.

Both surveys give some relief after weaker-than-expected output data for July raised concerns that the economy could be

heading towards a sharp slowdown in the second half.

The economy grew 0.7 percent in the first quarter and 0.4 in the second. For the year as a whole, economic institutes predict a growth rate of 1.9 percent, mainly driven by soaring private consumption and higher state spending on migrants.

Market-Iran-Equipment-Germany-Export-Import-Increase-Private-Demand-Firm

www.mbncompany.com