Foreign direct investment in Iran surpassed $4.8 billion in 2012, a record high for the Islamic Republic according to a new U.N. report. Global foreign direct investment fell 18 percent to $1.35 trillion in 2012 while investment in Iran actually grew 17 percent. Iran was the second largest recipient of foreign investment in South Asia in 2012. About 76 percent of foreign investment went to Iran’s oil sector — despite international sanctions.
“We are among the six countries that have had a constant increase in attracting foreign investors. It shows that Iran has a good economic capacity to attract foreign companies and the domestic private sector,” Deputy Minister of Economy Behrouz Alishiri said on June 30. State media reported that Iran attracted some $24.4 billion in foreign investment during President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s tenure (2005 - 2013), more than under previous presidents. Tehran attracted $10.452 billion under Mohammad Khatami (1997 – 2005) and $350 million under Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (1989 – 1997), according to government statistics.
The following are excerpts from the 2013 World Investment Report by the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development.
