SME Archives - Iran News Daily

+$2.3b of facilities paid to SMEs, semi-finished projects

mahla — Sun, 20 Jun 2021 12:25:07 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade’s data show that 99.161 trillion rials (about $2.36 billion) has been paid to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and semi-finished industrial projects with an over 60 percent physical progress during the first two months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-May 21).

The mentioned facilities, which are provided for renewing machinery, equipping production units, or completing semi-finished projects, have been paid in the form of bank loans to 1,512 projects and production units, IRNA reported.

The program for offering bank facilities to the SMEs and semi-finished projects was kicked off in February 2019 by the Industry Ministry in collaboration with the Central Bank of Iran, and since then over 7,660 production units and SMEs have registered for receiving the mentioned loans of which 2,766 cases have received the facilities.

Based on the mentioned program, 201.299 trillion rials of facilities (about $4.79 billion) were paid to SMEs and semi-finished projects to support domestic production and maintain or create job opportunities in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20).

CBI has defined supporting production as one of its major plans over the past two years.

Former CBI Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati has repeatedly stressed that supporting production units to flourish production is the priority of the country’s banking system.

In early May 2019, Hemmati had outlined CBI plans for neutralizing or relieving the impact of U.S. sanctions on the country’s economy and mentioned providing liquidity and working capital to maintain and boost domestic production as one of those plans.

CBI’s plans take two major approaches, one of which is to secure finance for production activities and also to provide the working capital needed for such activities.

The post +$2.3b of facilities paid to SMEs, semi-finished projects appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Banks finance over 27,000 SMEs in a year

mahla — Sun, 13 Jun 2021 10:18:52 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iranian banking system has provided 856.48 trillion rials (about $20.3 billion) of financial facilities to 27,084 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) over the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20), the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) announced.

As IRNA reported, the bank has it on the agenda to continue the program for financing SMEs in the current Iranian calendar year as well.

This program aims to pave the way for developing domestic production in order to fulfill the slogan of the year which is “production: support and elimination of obstacles” considering the country’s special economic conditions and the U.S. sanctions.

Back in April, the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade had announced that 167 trillion rials (nearly $3.97 billion) was paid to SMEs and semi-finished industrial projects with an over 60 percent physical progress during the previous Iranian calendar year.

The mentioned payments were made in the form of bank loans paid to 5,044 projects and production units, according to the ministry data.

CBI has defined supporting production as one of its major plans over the past few years.

CBI Former Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati has repeatedly stressed that supporting production units to flourish production is the priority of the country’s banking system.

CBI’s plans take two major approaches, one of which is to secure finance for production activities and also to provide the working capital needed for such activities.

The post Banks finance over 27,000 SMEs in a year appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Iran, China establish center for joint cooperation of SMEs

mahla — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 13:21:50 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization (ISIPO) and Shanghai International Cooperation Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have launched a center for joint cooperation of the two countries’ SMEs.

The center was inaugurated in an online ceremony attended by Iran’s Consul-General in Shanghai Ramezan Parvaz and ISIPO Head Ali Rasoulian on Monday, IRIB reported.

The two sides also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for expanding cooperation and exchange of experiences between the two countries’ SMEs.

Speaking in the online ceremony, Parvaz said the new center should facilitate the exchange of information and sharing of experiences to resolve the problems of the two sides’ SMEs.

Highlighting the role of SMEs and industrial parks in the promotion of ties between Tehran and Beijing, he said Iran’s market has suitable economic parameters that have turned it into an attractive and promising market for the Chinese companies.

Further in the meeting, ISIPO Head Ali Rasoulian said: “Small industries play an important role in the production of wealth and its distribution in the economy, and all countries have given this sector a special priority and place in the sustainable development of their economies.”

“One of the challenges that countries face today is the unfair distribution of wealth in the world, and one of the ways we can overcome this challenge is to strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises,” the official added.

Stating that the Islamic Republic of Iran has had successful experiences both at the governmental and corporate levels in this sector, he suggested that the members of the joint center share their experiences and provide solutions for resolving the problems of SMEs.

The official further underlined the significant role of SMEs in Iran’s economy and said: “Considering the role and importance of SMEs and the fact that about 92 percent of the country’s industries are small industries, ISIPO tries to help SMEs become more resilient by providing them the necessary infrastructure.”

Rasoulian pointed out that so far more than 900 Industrial parks and zones have been established across Iran and nearly one million people are employed in more than 49,000 industrial units located in these parks.

According to the official, SMEs account for 48 percent of Iran’s total industrial units and more than 10 percent of the SMEs are active in high-tech industries.

The post Iran, China establish center for joint cooperation of SMEs appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Iranian SMEs Exports Rise by 50%

reporter 1222 — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 13:35:48 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iranian SMEs exports worth 1.50 billions in the first seven months of the current local calendar year (March 21- October 22), which shows about 50% increase in comparison with figures from the last year.

Deputy Managing Director of Iran’s Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization (ISIPO) Asqar Masaheb said on Monday that Iranian SMEs exports worth $1.5 billion in the first seven months of the current year, adding that the figure stood at $1,040,000,000 in the corresponding period in last year.

This volume of products was exported by 900 industrial and production units based in industrial parks, he added.

As compared to the same period of last year, the number of exporting companies has reduced this year due to the export restrictions but their export volume registered a hike, Masaheb added.

Some $1,030,000,000 worth of products were exported by SMEs in the first half of the current year (from March 21 to Sept. 22), showing more than 30 percent hike as compared to the last year’s corresponding period.

Food products, home appliances, polymer and plastic materials, chemicals and leather products were of the main products exported by these companies in this period, he added.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he pointed to the knowledge-based companies and startups in industrial parks and put the number of knowledge-based firms in these parks at 312.

He further noted that ISIPO has thrown its weight behind knowledge-based companies and startups in three fields of infrastructure, development of technology, commercialization and market development.

On Saturday, Iranian Vice-President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari censured the country’s dependence on oil revenues, and urged for more technology-oriented economic activities.

Speaking on a visit to the Northern province of Mazandaran, Sattari criticized oil economies for their incapability, saying that nowadays, the price of a barrel of oil is lower than a bottle of perfume.

“Development with an oil economy is impossible, and we must all realize that dependency on oil revenues will get nowhere,” he added.

The official urged for a technology-based economy, saying that “today, no country is going to oil-rich countries for technology”.

The vice president pointed out that pharmaceuticals is one of the most important areas that knowledge-based companies are involved in Iran, adding that 98% of the country’s human medicines are produced domestically.

He added big steps have been taken by the knowledge-based firms in the area of veterinary pharmacy and nutrition industry.

Last month, Governor of the Central bank of Iran (CBI) Abdolnasser Hemmati announced that the country has further reduced its reliance on oil revenues to bring the share of the income earned though crude sales in the budget to less than 30 percent.

The post Iranian SMEs Exports Rise by 50% appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Iran attracts $2bn foreign investment to SMEs

reporter 1222 — Sat, 23 Dec 2017 11:44:14 +0000

TEHRAN– Iranian Industry Minister Shariatmadari has reported on absorbing of foreign investment worth two billion dollars for the country’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Mohammad Shariatmadari, Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade of Iran, said his ministry requires an annual recruitment of at least $ 54 billion in foreign investment in order to realize the envisaged economic growth of eight per cent.

“On the basis of international statistics for the year 2016, growth in Iran’s foreign investment was close to 64 percent; however, to achieve the goals stipulated in the Sixth Five-Year Economic, Cultural, and Social Development Plan for 2016 – 2021, there still exists a need for extraordinary advancements, both domestically and internationally,” he stated.

The official noted that “over the first 100 days after the incumbent government took office, Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade managed to attract more than two billion dollars of foreign investment resources for 37 projects in the country’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).”

Shariatmadari said the amount of foreign investment attracted indicates that in the post-JCPOA era, despite all the pressure from the US, various countries have maintained their interest in investing in Iran.

At the end of his remarks, the Iranian industry minister called for facilitation of rules and regulations for attraction of foreign resources.

The post Iran attracts $2bn foreign investment to SMEs appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Supporting SMEs to raise production, employment

reporter 1222 — Sat, 09 Dec 2017 10:30:58 +0000

SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) are enterprises whose personnel numbers fall below certain limits. According to the European definition, SMEs are enterprises which employ fewer than 250 persons and which have an annual turnover not exceeding €50 million, and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding €43 million.

Today, SMEs are some key drivers of economic growth in many developed and underdeveloped countries through high contribution to production and job creation.

As Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union (EU), wrote on its website, SMEs are a focal point in shaping enterprise policy in EU. The European Commission considers SMEs and entrepreneurship as key to ensuring economic growth, innovation, job creation, and social integration in the EU.

In Iran, unfortunately, lack of liquidity and also other barriers such as bureaucracy and red tape are impeding the fruitful role these enterprises can play in economic sector’s growth and employment.

It is while one of the strong strategies to tackle unemployment could be all-out support to the SMEs, as Morteza Allahdad, the vice chairman for economic affairs in Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA), says unemployment will be resolved in the country once the SMEs flourish, “The government should try to downsize itself.”

Also, Roya Tabatabaei Yazdi, the head of National Iranian Productivity Organization (NIPO), says supporting SMEs has become a main mission of all economies in the world and stresses the significance of SMEs management in promoting productivity in the country.

Such views have led to taking some supportive measures toward SMEs in Iran, as the national budget for the current Iranian calendar year (March 2017-March 2018) has allocated 200 trillion rials (about $4.796 billion) banking facilities to support SMEs specially in deprived regions and Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Governor Valiollah Seif says that supporting SMEs is the priority for banking system.

Also, a memorandum of understanding was signed in late October between Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization (ISIPO) and Export Guarantee Fund of Iran (EGFI) to support small enterprises in line with materializing the objectives of the country’s 20-year outlook plan for promotion of non-oil exports.

Exports from Iranian SMEs stood at $1.142 billion during the first eight months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-November 21) which seems satisfactory for materializing the target of their $2-billion exports by the yearend (March 20, 2018).

But, apparently these supports have not been enough and there is no doubt that the methods and policies of supporting SMEs should be revised to remove barriers in the way of their activity so that by flourishing SMEs domestic economy will develop and grow at a lower cost.

Offering facilities besides the current banking loans, for example tax exemptions to these enterprises can pave the way for their activity.

Establishment of industrial clusters and making contacts between them, facilitation of advertisement condition for the SMEs to introduce their products and services, and appointing some representatives from these enterprises in the evaluation committees of the banks can be other strategies to support them.

The post Supporting SMEs to raise production, employment appeared first on Iran News Daily.