Archives for January 2016

Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi said Iran currently has just 150 operational planes out of a fleet of more than 250, AFP reported. He added that Tehran is seeking to modernize its ageing passenger plane fleet as soon as possible, as it has been hit by a shortage of parts due to trade bans.

The first batch of new planes is set to arrive in Tehran by March 21, the minister said.

Iran President Rouhani to visit France, Italy in 1st Europe trip since sanctions lifted

Akhoundi noted that the deal “will be signed between Iran Air and Airbus” when President Hassan Rouhani is in Paris on Wednesday, Iranian media reported. The trip follows the implementation of a long-awaited nuclear deal with world powers that curbs Tehran’s atomic activities in exchange for the lifting of stifling economic sanctions.

“Iran needs $250 million in new investments for purchasing its aviation systems and foreign companies operating in this sector, except the ones which are affiliated to the Zionist regime, could make investments in Iran,” Akhoundi said, according to IRNA news agency.

Ali Abedzadeh, chairman of the Iran Civil Aviation Organization (IAIO), said Tehran needs at least 500 commercial aircraft over the next 10 years, of which 300 should be widebody twin-engine jet airliners.

Speaking at the Iran Aviation Summit 2016, Tehran’s first major post-sanctions gathering said to be attended by 85 airplane supplier companies, including Airbus, Abedzadeh invited foreign businessmen to invest in the country’s aviation industry.

“The IAIO is willing to ink cooperation agreements with foreign firms to modernize the fleet. The organization welcomes foreign direct investment to serve its expansion,” he said on Sunday, according to Fars news agency.

Tehran is also interested in negotiating with Boeing. Iran currently has no deals in place with the American manufacturer “because of problems with negotiating with the US,” Akhoundi said on state television, Reuters reported.  

An Iranian official attributed the US company’s absence at the Tehran Aviation Summit to the US Treasury Department’s possible refusal to give it permission to attend the gathering.

Speaking to Tasnim news agency, the secretary of the aviation summit, Ahmad-Reza Bayati, said Boeing may have failed to obtain official permission to participate in the summit.

Bayati reportedly said that the US manufacturer may need to put pressure on the US administration in order not to lag behind other corporations.

READ MORE: Tehran to recoup $32bn in unfrozen assets as sanctions lifted

Iranian assets worth about $107 billion have been frozen overseas since the US and the EU issued economic sanctions against Tehran nearly four decades ago. An executive order revoking sanctions imposed by Washington was issued by US President Barack Obama. However, the US has so far lifted only “secondary sanctions” against Iran, which means American citizens are still banned from trading with the country, according to the US Department of Treasury. Although some 400 Iranian companies and individuals are to be removed from the sanctions list, 200 others will remain blacklisted.

Sanctions against Tehran were officially lifted on January 16, after the UN nuclear watchdog said Iran had fulfilled all of the measures required under its deal with six world powers.

Iran will get access to $32 billion of unfrozen assets as part of the lifting of Western sanctions, AFP cited Iranian Central Bank Chief Valiollah Seif as saying earlier this week. It’s hoped that re-establishing links to the world’s financial networks will make it easier for foreign companies to take part in privatizations in Iran. Following the lifting of sanctions, most Iranian banks have been allowed to reconnect to the SWIFT financial-transactions system.

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/329965-airbus-boeing-deal-iran/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

The order issued by the Iran Trade Promotion Organization (TPOI) said that re-exports in Russia of Turkish goods which fell under tough sanctions by Moscow after Ankara downed an Su-24 bomber in Syrian skies, is against the country’s export policies and priorities.

Tehran to recoup $32bn in unfrozen assets as sanctions lifted

“According to a decree issued by the Iranian Trade Minister Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, re-export of Turkish products to Russia from Iran’s soil is forbidden,” Iran’s IRNA news agency quoted the official as saying.

According to TPOI Deputy Director Mohammad Reza Movadvadi, Iranian businessmen should make use of the good political relations between two states and capitalize on bilateral production and trade, IRNA news agency reported. At the same time, Movadvadi warned that if goods originating from Turkey continue to end up on the Russian market via Iran, Moscow could eventually impose restrictions on exports from Iran, which would only damage the cooperation.

After the lifting of international sanctions under a historic nuclear deal earlier this month, Iran is looking for ways to expand into world markets. The Iranian delegation is already in Moscow looking to secure new economic contracts with Russia. Leading the delegation, that has already met with representatives of more than 50 Russian companies, is Mina Mehrnoush, the head of planning at the Organization for Trade Development of Iran.

“First, the international sanctions imposed on our country are now gone. Secondly, Russia’s relations with a number of its traditional trading partners are not good, which gives the Iranian firms a chance to establish a foothold in the Russian market,” Mehrnoush told Sputnik.

Mehrnoush said that his country wants to secure business ties in construction and construction materials, oil refinery and textiles, in addition to food products. “Iran wants to find a niche for itself in all these segments of the Russian economy,” Mehrnoush stressed.

The Iranian delegation that is in Moscow as part of the Russian-Iranian Trade Council, also extended its country’s welcome to Russians wishing to visit Iran to resurrect the country’s tourist industry.

Russia updates sanctions against Turkey

Earlier, the Director of the Organization of Industry, Trade and Mines in the Iranian province of Mazandaran, Mohammad Mohammadpour noted that Persian producers are ready to replace products previously offered by the Turkish side. The director noted that Iran is one of the market leaders in pistachios, dates and saffron.

“Our climate enables farming all year around. That is confirmed by the figures: Today Iran is among the ten largest producers of fruits and vegetables in the world,” Mohammadpour told Sputnik. In a separate interview with Sputnik, Hedayat Asghari, the executive director of the Iranian Trade Association said that Iranian food products will include fruit, meat and fish.

At the same time, Mohammadpour noted that Iran is not exploiting the tense political climate between Ankara and Moscow in its rapprochement with Russia. Rather, he argued, a potential increase in trade volume stems from historic ties.

“Those who say Iran is solely using the current political environment and seeking to conquer the Russian market in this way, are wrong,” he argued. “The history of relations between our peoples goes back to the distant past. We are geographically separated, but economically united by the Caspian Sea.”

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/329943-iran-turkey-re-export-russia/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

The order issued by the Iran Trade Promotion Organization (TPOI) said that re-exports in Russia of Turkish goods which fell under tough sanctions by Moscow after Ankara downed an Su-24 bomber in Syrian skies, is against the country’s export policies and priorities.

Tehran to recoup $32bn in unfrozen assets as sanctions lifted

“According to a decree issued by the Iranian Trade Minister Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, re-export of Turkish products to Russia from Iran’s soil is forbidden,” Iran’s IRNA news agency quoted the official as saying.

According to TPOI Deputy Director Mohammad Reza Movadvadi, Iranian businessmen should make use of the good political relations between two states and capitalize on bilateral production and trade, IRNA news agency reported. At the same time, Movadvadi warned that if goods originating from Turkey continue to end up on the Russian market via Iran, Moscow could eventually impose restrictions on exports from Iran, which would only damage the cooperation.

After the lifting of international sanctions under a historic nuclear deal earlier this month, Iran is looking for ways to expand into world markets. The Iranian delegation is already in Moscow looking to secure new economic contracts with Russia. Leading the delegation, that has already met with representatives of more than 50 Russian companies, is Mina Mehrnoush, the head of planning at the Organization for Trade Development of Iran.

“First, the international sanctions imposed on our country are now gone. Secondly, Russia’s relations with a number of its traditional trading partners are not good, which gives the Iranian firms a chance to establish a foothold in the Russian market,” Mehrnoush told Sputnik.

Mehrnoush said that his country wants to secure business ties in construction and construction materials, oil refinery and textiles, in addition to food products. “Iran wants to find a niche for itself in all these segments of the Russian economy,” Mehrnoush stressed.

The Iranian delegation that is in Moscow as part of the Russian-Iranian Trade Council, also extended its country’s welcome to Russians wishing to visit Iran to resurrect the country’s tourist industry.

Russia updates sanctions against Turkey

Earlier, the Director of the Organization of Industry, Trade and Mines in the Iranian province of Mazandaran, Mohammad Mohammadpour noted that Persian producers are ready to replace products previously offered by the Turkish side. The director noted that Iran is one of the market leaders in pistachios, dates and saffron.

“Our climate enables farming all year around. That is confirmed by the figures: Today Iran is among the ten largest producers of fruits and vegetables in the world,” Mohammadpour told Sputnik. In a separate interview with Sputnik, Hedayat Asghari, the executive director of the Iranian Trade Association said that Iranian food products will include fruit, meat and fish.

At the same time, Mohammadpour noted that Iran is not exploiting the tense political climate between Ankara and Moscow in its rapprochement with Russia. Rather, he argued, a potential increase in trade volume stems from historic ties.

“Those who say Iran is solely using the current political environment and seeking to conquer the Russian market in this way, are wrong,” he argued. “The history of relations between our peoples goes back to the distant past. We are geographically separated, but economically united by the Caspian Sea.”

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/329943-iran-turkey-re-export-russia/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

The euro also gained on the Russian currency, trading at over 88 rubles, but below Black Tuesday’s 100 mark.

On 16 December 2014, the ruble fell to 80.10 against the greenback and 100.74 against the euro.

Falling oil prices are continuing to put pressure on the Russian currency. In intra-day trading at ICE, Brent crude fell below $28 per barrel, but has rebounded slightly and was trading at $28.14 as of 11:30am GMT. US crude benchmark West Texas Intermediate was trading at $27.57 a barrel.

Record $6bn run on Russia’s biggest bank was planned provocation – chairman

The 2014 currency crisis led to a multibillion-dollar bank run in Russia. According to Herman Gref, chairman and CEO of Russia’s Sberbank, depositors panicked which destabilized the financial situation in the bank and the whole country.

READ MORE: Ruble plummets losing more than 20% in a day, hitting new dollar and euro lows

“Unfortunately, we could not avoid the panic. You saw what happened. But I can only say this: first, the attack was coordinated, thousands of text messages were sent in each region, including a large number of mailings done from foreign websites. The target was to destabilize the country’s largest bank and financial situation in the country,” he said in May 2015.

The Central Bank’s emergency interest rate hike to 17 percent failed to stop the ruble’s slide against major currencies, only temporarily calming the ruble’s sharp decline. Since then, the key rate has been gradually cut to 11 percent. However, according to the Central Bank First Deputy Governor Ksenia Yudaeva, the regulator may increase the key interest rate if inflationary risks, caused by the ruble devaluation continue to have a negative impact on the economy.

According to the Central Bank of Russia head Elvira Nabiullina, the ruble is close to its fundamental level and the regulator sees no threat to financial stability in Russia.

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/329535-ruble-record-low-dollar/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

This is the third consecutive year the Russian leadership has ignored the Davos Forum. Vladimir Putin or Dmitry Medvedev used to attend the WEF every other year (2009, 2011, 2013), but in 2014, Russia’s delegation was headed by Deputy Prime Ministers Arkady Dvorkovich and Dmitry Kozak and in 2015 First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov.

Merkel to skip Davos forum over Cologne attacks

This time the government made a rather unexpected decision by choosing Yuri Trutnev, who given his post, seems to be intended to embody Russia’s pivot to Asia.

Moscow wants to demonstrate to Asian investors its readiness for the joint development of various infrastructure projects in Russia’s Far East.

According to Prime Minister Medvedev’s spokesperson Natalya Timakova, Trutnev will also discuss Asia-Pacific Region issues.

The white elephant in the room is presumed to be Western sanctions against Moscow which resulted in a significant drop in investment in Russia.

“Russia has no common agenda with the West aimed at the development of bilateral economic ties. And the appearance of Trutnev is a signal that Russia continues its pivot to the East,” a ministerial source told online daily Gazeta.ru.

This year in Davos, Russia has only one session called “Russia Outlook”, where Trutnev, ex-Finance Minister Aleksey Kudrin and VEB Chairman Vladimir Dmitriev will talk about how “macroeconomic pressure and low energy prices” affect the country’s economy.

Russian business will be represented by the country’s biggest private oil company Lukoil CEO Vagit Alekperov, Sberbank CEO Herman Gref, industrial tycoon Oleg Deripaska and others.

There will also be WTO ministerial negotiations on the sidelines of the Forum, where Russia will be represented by Economic Development Minister Aleksey Ulyukaev.

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/329522-davos-kremlin-russia-delegation/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to suspend the free trade treaty with Ukraine, starting this year. He said Kiev’s move to open its borders to the EU compromises Russian interests and economic security. Moscow is concerned that without such a barrier, Ukraine could illegally supply embargoed European goods to Russia.

Trade war with Moscow reveals another unpleasant surprise for Kiev

The Kremlin also banned food imports from Ukraine in response to the country joining anti-Russian sanctions.

Ukraine introduced retaliatory sanctions against Russia for a number of goods and intends to expand the list.

According to Russian Economic Development Minister Aleksey Ulyukaev, measures from Moscow do not violate WTO rules.

Russia also changed transportation rules for Ukrainian goods exported to Kazakhstan through Russia. Ukraine must now transport goods to Belarus in sealed containers. The freight must have GLONASS navigation system installed when the goods enter Russia. The tracking system is to be removed as soon as the cargo leaves the territory of Russia. 

Kiev insists that as a result, all Ukrainian exports through Russia have been halted. This seriously complicates Ukraine’s exports to Central Asia. Last week, Kiev announced it will try to deliver the goods bypassing Russia through the Black Sea to Georgia and the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan. 

“This week we will launch a pilot shipment Ukraine – Georgia – Azerbaijan – Kazakhstan, which is an alternative way of supplying the Ukrainian goods to Asian countries, where they have always been present,” said Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk.

According to Kiev’s Minister of Economy and Trade Aivaras Abromavicius, who was granted Ukrainian citizenship in December 2014, Ukraine doesn’t intend to halt transit of Russian goods through its territory.

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/329450-ukraine-wto-russia-embargo/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

EU, US lift Iran sanctions as UN watchdog says Tehran ‘has kept nuclear promises’

According to him, $28 billion would go to Iran’s central bank and $4 billion “will be transferred to the state treasury as the government share.”

Iranian assets worth about $107 billion have been frozen overseas since the US and the EU issued economic sanctions against Tehran nearly four decades ago.

Last summer the US released about $3 billion as a sign of good faith during the negotiations over Iran’s controversial nuclear program.

Following the sanctions lift, most Iranian banks have been allowed to reconnect to the SWIFT financial-transactions system. According to a senior Iranian official, re-establishing links to the world’s financial networks will make it easier for foreign companies to take part in privatizations in Iran.

Sanctions against Tehran were officially lifted on Saturday after the UN nuclear watchdog said Iran had fulfilled all of the measures required under its deal with six world powers.

READ MORE: Key points of historic nuclear deal reached by Iran and 6 world powers

As part of the deal Iran agreed to shrink its atomic program. For 15 years Tehran will carry out enrichment only at the Natanz facility and will only enrich uranium up to 3.67 percent. The country will modify the Arak nuclear reactor with the help of the international community. The reactor will be used for peaceful research and isotope production.

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/329413-iran-frozen-assets-release/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

“The preliminary data says the Gross Domestic Product of China amounted to 67.67 trillion yuan in 2015 (about $10.3 trillion), which is 6.9 percent more than last year. In particular, the annual GDP growth in the first quarter amounted to seven percent, in the second – seven percent, in the third – 6.9 percent and 6.8 percent in the fourth,” said a report from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Alibaba’s New Year’s resolution – to change its cheap knock-off reputation

The fourth quarter saw the weakest pace of expansion since the first quarter of 2009, when growth tumbled to 6.2 percent.

However, China’s overall results were still considered good by some economists despite Beijing’s failure to reach its goal of seven percent growth.

“This is a good number,” Jahangir Aziz, head of emerging Asia economic research at JPMorgan, told CNBC. “We’ve known for the last three years that the Chinese authorities are slowing down the economy. This economy is going to slow down,” he said.

Chinese consumption has grown to 66.4 percent of GDP growth in 2015, compared to 46.3 percent in 2010. Retail sales have doubled from 15.7 trillion yuan ($2.39 trillion) in 2010 to 30.1 trillion yuan ($4.57 trillion) last year.

“Meanwhile, though, consumption continued to expand robustly, supported by solid wage growth. This is supporting light industry and the service sector, where pricing power vastly exceeds that in heavy industry,” said Louis Kuijs, head of Asia economics at Oxford Economics.

However, some experts doubt the data from Beijing.

“Chinese statistics are really used to project some sort of perception. We know their statistics are not very accurate. Look at the economy fourth quarter. Electricity became more negative. Housing starts last year were about 14 percent down, so half of the economy is actually negative,” Andy Xie, an independent economist, told CNBC before the statistics were released. “The economy is not growing much, possibly not in recession, but certainly not growing at 6-7 percent.”

China’s goal for 2016 is 6.5 percent GDP growth.

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/329403-china-gdp-slowdown-growth/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Brent crude slipped to as low as $27.67 per barrel on Monday – its lowest since 2003 – before paring back to $28.16 at 8am GMT. US WTI crude was down 64 cents at $28.78 per barrel, not far from a 2003-low of $28.36 earlier in the session.

EU, US lift Iran sanctions as UN watchdog says Tehran ‘has kept nuclear promises’

“Iran’s additional crude shipments have the potential to further depress prices, perhaps to as low as $25 a barrel,” Gordon Kwan, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Nomura, told Bloomberg on Sunday. Tehran is aiming to raise shipments by 500,000 barrels per day after the removal of sanctions, adding to a global glut that’s dragged down oil prices since July 2014. Prices have fallen from $115 to $28 per barrel since then.

“Major producers are currently delivering 2-2.5 million barrels per day more than demand, so the question is how long they can continue to overproduce for at that level,” said Stuart Gulliver, CEO of HSBC on Monday, speaking at the Asia Financial Forum in Hong Kong.

The Saudi stock market Tadawul was down 5.44 percent on Monday. The largest Arab exchange is down 20.79 percent this year, plummeting 33.42 percent in the last 12 months.

READ MORE: Saudi Arabia reports record high $98bn budget deficit on low crude prices

Russia’s dollar-denominated RTS Index was down almost one percent, while the ruble-traded MICEX was slightly up, as of 11:30am MSK. The ruble was down to 78.48 against the greenback and 85.29 against the euro.

READ MORE: Russian ruble nosedives on falling oil

On Sunday, Qatar’s index plummeted 7.2 percent as drilling rig provider Gulf International Services, the most heavily traded stock, went down 8.6 percent. Stocks in the country continue to slide on Monday, trading 1.41 percent down, almost 20 percent in the red since the beginning of the year.

“Ambiguity is high and all of the surrounding news is bad, with Iran sanctions easing and how their oil production and reserves are expected to flood the oil market,” Mohammed Alsuwayed, the head of capital and money markets at Adeem Capital in Riyadh told Bloomberg.

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/329277-iran-sanctions-oil-stocks/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

The Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (IGZP) in Vizag on the coast of the Bay of Bengal was devastated during Cyclone Hudhud in October 2014 along with the adjoining Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary.

The World Bank is now extending a helping hand of $20 million to help reconstruct the zoo as part of the $370 million Andhra Pradesh Disaster Recovery Project, which the bank will help finance to the tune of $250 million from 2015-2020.

Neha Vyas, senior environment specialist at the India country office of the World Bank who is actively involved in this eco-development project, told The Times of India this is “the very first time in the history of the World Bank that it is directly involved in a zoo”.

According to a damages needs assessment report by the World Bank following the cyclone, almost 40 per cent of the complex’s trees were flattened and an even larger number were damaged.

In addition, 180 birds and animals escaped from their enclosures, as their cages were badly damaged, and 11 animals died. About 57 of the zoo’s 67 enclosures suffered damages in the storm.

“Unfortunately for the zoo, the eye of the cyclone Hudhud passed right over it causing widespread devastation in the zoological park,” Vyas said.

“The endeavour is to demonstrate how a disaster resilient zoo can be scientifically re-modelled”, according to Deepak Singh, senior disaster management expert at the World Bank’s India office.

“The zoo plays an important part in the education, recreation and conservation and it fits in nicely in the concept of having a smart Visakhapatnam,” he added.

The World Bank has a portfolio of about $26 billion in India, where it partners in about 89 projects. Disaster management and recovery are becoming a big part of the World Bank’s activities in India, where it is providing assistance of about $2.2 billion for 10 projects.

It is currently in talks with the Smithsonian Institution, which runs the world famous National Zoo in Washington DC, to see if their expertise can be tapped to redevelop the Vizag zoo as a model 21st century “ecological park.”

The World Bank is a source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world with a mission to reduce poverty and support development.

It has come in for criticism, however, for human rights abuses and has been accused of ignoring the environmental and social impact of projects it supports.

In 2014, it was forced to backtrack on a controversial investment in Corporación Dinant, a palm oil company implicated in serious human rights abuses in Honduras.

Critics also point to the role the World Bank has played in exacerbating the high debt of developing countries due to the interest it charges.

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/329259-world-bank-gone-wild-zoo/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS