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AHK Iran Newsletter
Business News
AHK News
Dear ladies and gentlemen,
on 4th October the 5th session of the
German­Iranian Joint Economic
Commission ended. The Minister of
economy and energy of the Federal
Republic of Germany, Sigmar
Gabriel, went with a delegation of
more than 120 businessmen to
Tehran. In the business forum in the
Iran chamber attended about 500
participants. After that the minister
Gabriel and his Iranian counterpart
Ali Tayebnia signed agreed minutes
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and there were also signed many
MOUs between German and Iranian
companies and organizations.
With kind regards
René Harun
Managing Director
Iran, Germany Sign
10 Business Deals
Please visit our website for more
Source: Financial Tribune
newsletter reports about the trade
delegation Joint Economic
German firms have signed 10
Commission (GWK) lead by
the German Vice Chancellor,
business agreements with Iranian
partners during the fifth session of
Iran­Germany Economic
Economy and Energy Minister
Sigmar Gabriel:
Commission in Tehran.
PRESSECLIPPINGS GWK (English
The European country’s Vice
Chancellor and Economy Minister
and German)
Sigmar Gabriel and his Iranian
counterpart Ali Tayyebnia attended
PRESSECLIPPINGS GWK (Persian)
the session. Several German
Mittelstand firms, the small­ to
medium­sized companies that form
the backbone of the economy, had
signed deals with Iranian partners,
including SMS group, a builder of
steelmaking plants and INTRA
industrial solutions, Reuters cited
German Economy Ministry as
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Upcoming
Delegations
BMVI / LAG Delegation (21. ­ 24.
Okt. 2016)
Niedersachsen (05. ­ 09. Nov. 2016)
Hamburg (11. ­ 12. Nov. 2016)
BWVI (13. ­ 17. Nov. 2016)
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saying.
Berliner Unternehmen (10. ­ 13.
Dez. 2016)
Mitsubishi Germany signed a
contract to modernize a gas­fired
For further information please
plant, while plant constructor Keller
HCW wants to build a brickyard in
contact:
Mrs. Niaz Khanafari
Iran. Both countries’ central banks
have also agreed to a technical
Tel: +98 21 8133 1500
Fax: +98 21 8866 3211
cooperation deal. There was no
detail on the size of the agreed
E­Mail: [email protected]
deals.
Mr. Alireza Ebrahimian
Tel: +98 21 8133 1203
Industrial giant Siemens AG and
automaker Daimler will be among
Fax: +98 21 8866 3211
E­Mail: [email protected]
the first German firms to benefit from
opportunities in Iran, but they are
Or visit our website!
proceeding carefully and only after
legal reviews. The German banking
sector has been reluctant to
underwrite business deals for fear of
falling foul of remaining US sanctions
imposed on Iran over non­nuclear
issues.
Reminder to the US
Speaking at the opening of an
Upcoming
Training Seminars
Effective
Communication and
Professional
Negotiation
economic forum at Iran Chamber of
Commerce, Industries, Mines and
Agriculture headquarters in Tehran,
Gabriel said Germany wanted to
“remind the United States of the
commitment to get to an effective
dismantling of sanctions”. “Germany wants to help Iran push
ahead with reforms,” he said, adding
that he believed the Islamic Republic
was a reliable credit partner. “Our
aim is to support the current
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government with its path to opening
up to the world.” The visiting German
minister stressed, “Iran was a
reliable credit partner that kept
agreements as a rule.”
“Iranians have always thought highly
of German people,” said the head of
ICCIMA, Gholamhossein Shafei,
adding that his country is after
improved economic, cultural and
technologic relations with the
European country.
The Balancing Act
As many as 37 business
representatives from prominent
German companies, including
Siemens AG and Volkswagen,
accompanied the minister on the
flight to Iran and more joined him
once the plane landed in Tehran,
Deutsche Welle reported. For further information please
contact:
Ms. Shahrzad Moshir Akhbari
Tel: +98 21 8133 1502
Fax: +98 21 8866 3211
E­Mail: [email protected]
Or visit our website!
Another 37 journalists will be on
hand to record how the minister, who
is also the head of Social
Democrats, manages a 48­hour
balancing act. The purpose of the trip
Investing in
Germany
is to “position the German economy
one year on from the nuclear
agreement”, said Rudolf Gridl, who
specializes in the Middle East and
North Africa at the Economy Ministry.
“We are very confident that contracts
or letters of intent will be signed.”
Germany’s relations with Iran have
changed dramatically in the past
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year. After years of Iran’s economic
sanctions, negotiations between Iran
and the five permanent members of
the UN Security Council (Russia,
China, the United States, France and
Britain) plus Germany succeeded in
a wide­reaching easing of sanctions
in return for the country’s pledge to
scale back its nuclear program and
submit to international inspections.
Once the agreement was reached,
Gabriel became the first EU minister
to visit Iran and other German
politicians have been quick to revive
the previously good relations
between the two countries. “There’s
a very large interest from the
German side,” Gridl said. “All the
German federal states have already
sent delegations separate from this
trip happening now.”
The main lingering problem is that
the United States has only partly
For further information please
contact:
Ms. Shahrzad Moshir Akhbari
Tel: +98 21 8133 1502
Fax: +98 21 8866 3211
E­Mail: [email protected]
Or visit our website!
relaxed its sanctions. Iran can export
oil and gas again, as well as access
long­frozen assets, but a US
embargo remains in place. That
makes international banks and
Corporate discounts
for AHK members
business, including some in
Germany and France, hesitant to
invest in Iran.
A dozen years of sanctions have
resulted in Iran’s banks lagging
behind international standards. “The
federal government tries to provide
Iran technical help with regard to
bringing its banking sector up to
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speed,” Gridl said. There are high
expectations, especially in the
power, transport and health care
industries. Many of Iran’s hospitals
are dilapidated and require
international knowhow.
Bilateral Trade
Managing Director of Iran­Germany
Chamber of Industry and Commerce
Rene Harun said trade between the
two countries is expected to reach
€5 billion in 2017 and €10 billion in
the coming years.
Speaking at the first meeting of the
joint chamber in Tehran last week,
Harum said bilateral trade stood at
€2.5 billion in 2015, IRNA reported.
He said Germany is willing to
become Iran’s top trading partner,
replacing China whose trade with
Iran topped $22 billion in the last
Iranian year (March 2015­16).
According to the Islamic Republic of
Iran Customs Administration, trade
between Iran and Germany stood at
For further information please
contact:
Ms. Fatemeh Ziaee
Tel: +98 21 8133 1904
Fax: +98 21 8866 3211
E­Mail: [email protected]
Or visit our website!
Advertisements
$2.13 billion in the last Iranian year,
down 25% over the previous
year. IRICA’s latest stats show
bilateral trade is already witnessing a
rebound. Iran exported 10,400 tons
of non­oil goods, worth $87 million to
Germany in the first four months of
the current Iranian year (started
March 20), registering a %1.4
increase compared with last year’s
corresponding period. Pistachios,
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Contact Person:
Mrs. Jutta Marin
Tel: +98 21 8864 1627, ­28 Fax: +98 21 8978 4893
E­Mail: J_Marin@marin­consult.com
Web: http://www.marin­consult.com/
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carpet, caviar, saffron and dates
were among the main exports.
More than 419,000 tons of goods
valued at $671.3 million were
imported from the European country
during the same four­month period,
indicating an 18% rise year­on­year.
Imports mainly included industrial
machinery, grain, pharmaceuticals
and steel products.
Contact Person:
Mr. Javad Bahreh
Tel: +98 21 8810 3537
Fax: +98 21 8810 9032
E­Mail: J.Bahreh@mammut­
systems.com
Web: http://www.mammut­
systems.com/
Siemens signs Iran
rail contract as
Germany drums up
business
Source: Reuters
Contact Person:
Mr. Wolfgang Rexroth
Tel: +98 21 8878 4937
Germany's Siemens signed a
contract to upgrade Iran's railway
Fax: +98 21 8879 0012
E­Mail: [email protected]
Web: http://www.rexroth­
network on Monday, one of several
deals agreed by German firms
beratung.de/
during a two­day visit to Tehran by
Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel.
Gabriel has flown to Iran with a
planeful of 120 managers who are
keen to re­establish business
relations with the Islamic Republic
after it reached a landmark deal with
world powers last year to scale back
its disputed nuclear program. But
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political concerns, and a range of
U.S. sanctions still in place, have so
far held back a hoped­for business
boom.
Siemens said it will supply
components for 50 diesel­electric
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.
The economy ministry said several
firms from the Mittelstand, the small­
to­medium­sized companies that
form the backbone of the economy,
had also 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
gas­fired 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.
There was no detail on the size of
the agreed deals. Iran's Deputy
Economy Minister Mohammad
Khazaei said earlier that 10
economic agreements would be
signed on the sidelines of Gabriel's
visit. "I hope that this will smooth the
way between both countries," he
said.
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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.
While industrial firms such as
Siemens are keen to benefit from
opportunities in Iran, Gabriel has
warned Tehran that to normalize ties
it must accept Israel's right to exist
and stop what he called Iran's
decisive role in the Syrian civil war,
where it has intervened to support
President Bashar al­Assad against
Western­backed rebels.
The German banking sector has
been reluctant to underwrite
business deals for fear of falling foul
of remaining U.S. sanctions imposed
on Iran for what Washington says is
Tehran's money laundering, support
for terrorism and human rights
abuses.
Gabriel said earlier that Germany
wants to help Iran push ahead with
reforms, and promised to remind the
United States of its commitment to
reduce sanctions against Iran. He
also said that Iran was a reliable
credit partner that kept agreements
as a rule.
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Germany eyeing
€3bn investment in
Iran
Source: PressTV
Iran says Germany is preparing to
implement an action plan to invest
€3 billion in different industries of the
Islamic Republic. Ali Majedi, Iran’s ambassador to
Germany, said the investments will
be made through a consortium
comprising six German
banks. Majedi emphasized that the
related agreements for this will be
signed during the visit to Tehran by
the German Vice Chancellor and
Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel.
He added that Iran and Germany
have over the past months devised
fast track economic cooperation
plans and that those plans include
the development of power plants and
generation of electricity. A recent agreement that Germany’s
Siemens signed with Iran’s MAPNA
Group to transfer the technology of
gas­powered turbines is an example
of such plans, the Iranian envoy
said. Others, he added, concern
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producing electric and diesel
locomotives as well as train cars and
providing the signaling systems for
Tehran­Isfahan ­ and probably
Tehran­Mashhad – tracks. Majedi further emphasized that
Germany’s Volkswagen plans to
transfer the technology to Iran to
produce two of its models – what he
said will be part of the same fast
track plans devised by the two
countries. Gabriel is expected to arrive in
Tehran on Sunday evening heading
a major business delegation. He has
already announced that a German­
Iranian business commission will
meet for the first time in 15 years
during his stay in the country,
emphasizing that concrete business
deals will also be announced. The German minister was one of the
first high­ranking foreign officials to
visit Iran immediately after a series
of economic sanctions against the
country were lifted in January. He
canceled a scheduled trip to Iran to
attend a meeting of Iran­Germany
Economic Commission for the first
time in 15 years early May, citing
poor health.
Iran’s Energy Minister Calls for German
Power, Water Coop.
Source: Financial Tribune
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Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian called on German companies to participate in
Iran's power plant and renewable projects, expressing concern over the
banking constraints between the two countries.
Chitchian made the statement in a meeting with Germany’s Minister for
Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel in Tehran late on Monday, Mehr
News Agency reported. Stressing that Iranian and German companies have a
long and cherished history of cooperation, Chitchian said Gabriel's sessions in
Tehran should help pave the way for both countries to deepen ties in the key
areas, namely power and water industries.
He noted that after the lifting of the international sanctions, Iran is no longer a
consumer of only imported products, stressing on meaningful cooperation in
technology transfer and the financing by the Germans of key energy projects.
Referring to the two countries’ banking relations, which has not been restored
“as expected”, the minister hoped that the government in Berlin will help
remove the financial and banking hurdles that have inhibited mutually­beneficial
trade. “Iran insists on building the foundation of its future economy on energy
resources that emit less carbon dioxide. Thus, investment in renewables can be
a shared ground for mutual collaboration,” the minister said. Chitchian noted
that closer ties in environment­friendly sectors will not only benefit both sides,
but also help curb greenhouse gas emissions.
Iran is one of the 195 nations that signed the historic Paris Agreement in
December last year that aims to cap the global emission of greenhouse gases
and limit global warming to well below 2°C. The country has vowed to curtail its
harmful emissions by 4% by 2030, but some officials and environmentalists say
emission cuts can be increased to 12% if certain conditions are met.
“Iran and Germany can establish broad­based relations in issues such as
setting up power distribution posts, waste incineration plants, water treatment
plants, satellite imagery of water resources and development of smart water
networks,” Chitchian noted.
Gabriel, who also is a vice chancellor, said at the meeting that about 120
delegates from various economic sectors accompanied him in the his two­day
visit, "which indicates Germany’s strong interest in establishing deep bilateral
ties with Iran." “Some German banks intend to make investments in Iran and
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we are trying to guarantee their investments to ease ties between the two
countries,” Gabriel was quoted as saying.
IMF Says Iran Economy 'Rebounded
Strongly' Following Lifting Of Sanctions
Source: DPA
German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel (right) and Iran's Economy Minister
Ali Tayebnia arrive for a conference in Tehran on October 3. Gabriel flew to Iran
with a planeful of 120 managers who are keen to reestablish business relations
with the Islamic republic.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Iran’s economy has “rebounded
strongly” over the first half of the year, while authorities are undertaking reforms
to boost growth.
In a statement issued on October 3 after a visit to Iran, IMF staff said oil
production and exports "rebounded quickly" to presanction levels, as an array
of international sanctions targeting Iran were lifted in January following a
nuclear deal with world powers that curbed the country’s controversial nuclear
program.
Meanwhile, “increased activity” in agriculture, car production, trade, and
transport services has led the recovery in growth in the nonoil sector. The
government has followed "prudent" monetary and fiscal policies, helping to
contain consumer inflation, and is implementing “far­reaching, ambitious,
reforms” to support a sustained acceleration in growth, IMF staff also said.
Economic growth, adjusted for inflation, is projected to grow at an annual rate
of at least 4.5 percent through 2017. But IMF staff warned of emerging
"vulnerabilities" that could erode Iran’s economic achievements, including a
growing budget deficit and falling foreign exchange reserves.
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