Investment opportunities in Venezuela up for grabs for Iranian firms
By Sadeq Dehqan &
Reza Abesh Ahmadlou
Staff writers
The head of the Iran-Venezuela Joint Trade Committee said that there are great investment opportunities in Venezuela for Iranian investors.
Amir Mehr-Pourian also told Iran Daily that the Venezuela enjoys a strategic position which can become Iran’s economic, political and social strategic partner in Latin America.
After the sanctions on Venezuela were lifted partially by the United States, the country got allowed to export more oil even to the United States.
“Export of non-oil commodities to Europe and other countries helped a rise in the GDP of Venezuela as inflation decreased considerably.”
By keeping this trend, it is expected that Venezuela will find an eye-catching situation in terms of liquidity and economic growth in upcoming one or two years.
He pointed to Venezuela as a country with very rich natural and mineral resources and explained: Now time is ripe for Iran to invest in the country, especially in the field of transformation industries, as the country can become a base for the re-export of Iranian products in the Latin American region.
“Due to its rich resources, Venezuela is the best place for Iran to invest in the Latin American region.”
Latin American countries are a very suitable market for products such as clothes and home appliances, so our products could be welcomed there, but considering the distance between Iran and Latin America, shipment of finished goods to this country will increase the cost of the products, Mehr-Pourian said.
“In the past, we did not have a very successful experience in the field of selling finished products in Venezuelan market due to the distance, as Iran’s Etka store there could not be as successful as expected,” he not explaining that it takes 50 days to send goods to Venezuela, so it is not cost-effective to send some goods to the country.
“If we want to export finished goods to Venezuela, they must be special and unique goods, as we can produce other goods in the Latin American state with Iranian technology. Iran’s new technology-based firms (NTBFs) can help us in this field,” the senior businessman noted.
Iran enjoys the potential to operate in the field of exporting technical engineering and medical services in Venezuela, as the Latin American country is in need in these fields.
“Venezuela has rich mines and rich crude oil and has many gold, copper and urea mines, the country is one of the largest producers of wood in the world, and it can meet Iran’s needs in the field of many primary and raw goods, thus bringing economic benefits to Iran.”
If Iranian investors can be more active in the field of establishing transformation industries in Venezuela and send raw products of the country into final products with higher added value, it will be more profitable for Iran which leads to an increase in the economic prosperity, he stated.
“Iran enjoys considerable infrastructure in the field of main industries, as big Iranian companies such as Esfahan Steel Company and Mobarakeh Steel Company can invest in Venezuela and establish their reginal branches there,” Mehr-Pourian noted.
The private sector of Iran has not been seriously active in the Latin American country, asmost of Iran’s large state-run companies, such as Saipa and Iran Khodro, and Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company, have entered the Venezuelan market, but Iran’s private sector has just started its activity in Venezuela which could be developed in the future, he concluded