Iran's Petrochemical Commercial Co Opens London Office

"Our priority is to open new credit lines for investment funds to raise funding for petrochemical projects inside Iran," Mehdi Sharifi-Niknafs, chief executive officer of PCC, was quoted as saying by NIPNA, the official news agency of National Petrochemical Company.

He added that a team of experts from the PCC opened talks with European banks and investors to fast-track the funding of Iranian development projects, according to Financial Tribune.

"The PCC banking channels in Europe have been reopened and we can now perform money transfers," Sharifi-Niknafs said, adding without elaboration that Spanish investors have agreed to finance petrochemical projects through PCC.

"We expect one or two memorandums of understanding to be signed with several European companies on financing and supply of equipment," he said. The official also sought to ensure that Iran has been fully remunerated for its petrochemical exports to South Korean companies.

The lifting of international economic sanctions against Iran last year has prompted the oil and gas-rich country to open up its petrochemical industry to foreign investors. 

Iran aims to attract more than $70 billion for dozens of new petrochemical plants in line with plans to double its petrochemical production capacity in five years. 

Nominal petrochemical output capacity exceeded 60 million tons in the fiscal 2016-17 (ended March 20, 2017) and is slated to reach 72 million tons by March next year.