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Iran’s economy ministry looks to raise $600mn from property auctions
major cities would be brought in by March 21, 2017, but that deadline was missed as vested interests made efforts to dodge the tax.
The Raisi government, in power since last year, has begun a new round of mass homebuilding in an effort at addressing the stark housing shortage.
The price of each square metre of land in Tehran, meanwhile, increased from Iranian rial (IRR) 300mn ($1,067 at the free market exchange rate) in August last year to over IRR350mn in March. An inability to pay such prices has forced many city inhabitants to move to faraway satellite towns, causing knock-on traffic problems when they commute to work or journey to the city for other reasons.
Around 2,500 residential and commercial properties with an officially estimated value of approximately $600mn are to be auctioned by Iran’s economy ministry in a bid to raise funds for the government, Tehran’s Financial Tribune has reported.
Some of the property assets, dating from before Iran’s 1979 revolution, are available because of mergers between ministries over the years that left office space free. In central Tehran there are such buildings that have been left empty for decades. Only in the past decade have there been significant sales of abandoned buildings of this type to private developers. The developers mostly look to turn them into luxury flats or business centres.
“These properties have been recognised as excess and are ready for sale, and have all the legal ownership documents,” Fateme Dadgar, a spokeswoman for the economy ministry was quoted as saying by news portal shada.ir, in reference to all the assets to be auctioned.
The economy ministry has plans to raise close to Iranian rial (IRR) 1,000tn ($3.5bn at the free market exchange rate) in all from property sales nationwide and equity to be sold on the stock market, the official added.
However, successive Iranian governments have struggled to offload old assets to the private sector due to overpricing of estate. According to the Supreme Audit Office, both the former Rouhani government, which was in power for two terms until the summer of this year, and the Raisi administration, which came into office in August, have struggled in selling off assets, with government departments unwilling to play ball.
9.1.12 Metallurgy & mining sector news
Iran remains world’s 10th largest steel producer says WSA
Iran 11-month steel exports up 17% y/y
Iran remains the world’s 10th largest crude steel producer, according to data for January-March released by the World Steel Association (WSA). Iranian crude steel production reached 6.9mn tonnes in the first quarter, down 4.4% y/y, the WSA said. Production by the top 64 global steelmakers was 456.6mn tonnes, a decline of 6.8% y/y.
Iran's production in March was 2.3mn tonnes, down 6.1% y/y.
Iran has plans to become the world’s seventh biggest crude steel producer by early 2025.
According to the "Vision Plan" of the Islamic Republic, by 2025, Iran’s total steel production capacity should reach 55mn tonnes/year, with the export volume expected to reach 10-15mn tonnes.
Iranian steel exports have increased 17% year on year in the 11 months to February 19, the Iran Steel Producers Association (ISPA) reported on March 15.
Steel is one of the product categories that Iran could also export to the EU once US sanctions are lifted in time for the new Persian year on March 20 as
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