Iranians look for investment from international industry

Abstract

After a prolonged war with Iraq during the 1980s and limited trade because of international sanctions, Iran is looking for investment in its petrochemical industry. At a one-day seminar held in London on investment opportunities in the Iranian petrochemical industry, executives from National Petrochemical Co. (NPC), based in Tehran, presented a picture of a country and industry that has decided to welcome outside investment. The seminar was remarkably well attended by an audience mainly made up of members of the financial community and representatives of engineering and construction companies intrigued by this rare look into a hitherto closed world. The attraction: an industry that, whatever the political views one might hold, is too large, with too much potential, to be ignored. Iran has the second largest natural gas reserves in the world, after Russia. And with a population of more than 60 million, it is potentially a far larger domestic market than that of Saudi ...