By Xinhua,
Tehran : Iran will begin to allow foreign firms to purchase Iranian state-run companies, with the possibility of obtaining full ownership, Iran’s satellite Press TV said on Monday.
Iran will allow foreign companies and nationals to purchase unlimited shares of state-run enterprises which are in the process of being sold off, director of Iran’s Privatization Company Gholamreza Heidari Kord Zangeneh was quoted as saying.
The move is designed to attract greater foreign investment and is part of the country’s sweeping economic liberalization program, Kord Zangeneh said.
Iran will no longer make a distinction between domestic and foreign firms that wish to purchase state-run companies, provided that the combined ownership of foreign firms in certain industry does not exceed 35 percent. For example, a foreign firm may purchase an Iranian steel company but it would not be allowed to buy every business enterprise in Iran’s steel industry, he said.
Among the new incentive measures announced, foreign firms may transfer their annual profit from their Iranian company out of the country in any currency they wish, he said, adding that three years after their purchase or investment they may also transfer their original capital out of Iran.
In May, Iran approved the purchase of its state-run Razi Petrochemical Company by a Turkish consortium in a bid to further privatize its industries.