Japanese companies are willing to invest in Iran’s petrochemical sector, Japanese Ambassador to Tehran Koji Haneda has said, FARS News Agency reported.
During a tour of Ilam petrochemical complex in Western Iran, Mr. Haneda said Japanese firms are interested in entering into joint ventures with Iranian petrochemical firms.He expressed confidence that there would be growth in investments and the development of the petrochemical industry in Iran. He emphasized that he would try to persuade Japanese entrepreneurs to raise their investment in the petrochemical sector.He said the signing of the deal between Iran and world powers in November last year would lead to further improvement of relations between Japan and Iran. Earlier this month, Abbas Sheri-Moqaddam, managing director of the National Petrochemical Company (NPC), a subsidiary of the Iranian Petroleum Ministry, said around US$ 8 billion worth of foreign investment is required for the development of the country’s petrochemical sector and the NPC is trying to attract investment from foreign investors.
He informed that an international conference will be held in Tehran in late May 2014 in order to share investment opportunities in Iran with investors from other countries.Mr. Sheri-Moqaddam said the NPC is also determined to attract private investors and facilitate their presence in development projects. According to him, Iran’s petrochemical production capacity will increase by around seven million tons in the next calendar year that begins on March 21, 2014. In the ongoing Iranian calendar year that ends on March 20, 2014, Iran’s petrochemical exports are likely to cross the $10 billion mark.
