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| No Concerns Left
The National
Iranian Copper Industries Company (NICICO) was established about 28 years ago for the
purpose of exploring and exploiting copper mines and manufacturing by-products.
Mohammad-Reza Tavassoli is the executive director and vice president of NICICO. A former
member of the Parliament, Tavassoli uses his legislative experience in making and
implementing policies in the mines & metals sector. When it comes to joint ventures,
Tavassoli attaches the highest significance to the know-how and capabilities of the
companies. He believes, “This is an age of multinational companies and conglomerates.
You can’t simply go to a specific country to choose your partner. The technology now
matters.”
NICICO
welcomes foreign investment to achieve 350,000 tons of cathode copper production before
the end of the Third Development Plan
Sitting
on a Wealth: Iran is situated on one of the world’s four copper belts.
There is an abundance of copper in the region and exploration operations conducted within
the recent years have revealed that over 5% of all the world’s copper reserves occur
in Iran. Still, new reserves are located each time an exploration operation is carried out
and as a result, over 650 copper mines have so far been located in Iran.
After the war and with the first construction
efforts, development of copper industry became a priority on the agenda of the Iranian
Parliament and Cabinet as well as the First Economic Development Plan. Development
projects were then discussed in order to achieve a higher production in a well-devised
development plan.
Approximately, 70% of NICICO products are used domestically and the remaining 30% are
exported.
Foreign Partners: NICICO believes
that in signing a contract, the other party must provide the most advanced technology.
NICICO requires its foreign partners to provide engineering services for high tech
machinery that they import.
In addition to high quality, products must
have a competitive price in the international market. NICICO has taken this issue into
account in its export policies. What the company offers to its partners is the long-term
commitment for cooperation in an expanding market blessed with sufficient raw materials,
skilled and inexpensive human resources and abundant sources of clean and cheap energy. A
sound management to make use of such a wealth will lead to a great level of productivity.
Investment: NICICO hopes to
achieve an annual production capacity of 350,000 tons of copper before the end of the
Third Economic Development Plan (2004), and foreign investment is a preference in this
regard.
Grounds have been provided for investment in the
Iranian copper industry since Iranian legislation stresses on absorption and protection of
foreign investment. The new edition of the Iranian Mining Code and provisions of the Third
Development Plan have left no reason for the foreign investors’ concerns any longer.
Today, a foreign investor can feel confident that he will have sufficient time to fully
exploit a mine. In particular, investment in the Iranian copper industry is a highly
profitable venture given the fact that the investor will be able to make use of the
domestic industries while exploiting the vast copper reserves of the country.
The low costs of labor and energy resources plus low rates of income tax will add to the
profitability of the Iranian copper industry. The new regulations expedite the issuance of
exploration and exploitation permits. Summing up, all the new measures which are being
taken, give promises of an attractive and quick return on investments made in the Iranian
copper industry. |
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