UN report confirms FDI growth in Iran

The foreign direct investment (FDI) in Iran recorded a 17-percent increase in 2012 as compared to the year before that, a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) disclosed. According to the UNCTAD's report titled "World Investment Report", Iran attracted a total of $5 billion of foreign direct investment in 2012 showing a 17-percent growth as compared with the year before which sets a record. The report noted that Iran ranked second after India in terms of FDI attraction. Last month, Iranian Deputy Economy Minister Behrouz Alishiri announced that the country’s foreign investment attraction reached $4.85 billion ceiling in the last year. Iran enjoys high capacity for attracting foreign investment in its oil and gas industries. In April 2012, Iranian First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi invited domestic and foreign capital holders to make investment in the country's oil and gas industries, and said Iran is among the most secure countries for investment in the energy sector. Iran, which sits on the world's second largest reserves of both oil and gas, is facing western sanctions over its civilian nuclear program. Iranian officials have dismissed US sanctions as inefficient, saying that they are finding Asian partners instead. A large number of Chinese, Indian and other Asian firms have negotiated or signed up to oil and gas deals with Iran.