| Reaching a Collective Wisdom
“In my
personal view the new vision on our agenda is finding ways for coming to a collective
wisdom. It would be the utilization of the collective wisdom by all civilizations,”
says Mohammad-Hadi Rahbari, managing director of NPC International.
Rahbari’s background in the petrochemical industry, in his words, is a
“strange” one. He majored in architecture from Tehran University and spent 20
years in private business. His career in the government sector started at the Plan &
Budget Organization and then Ahvaz Steel Company. Rahbari later moved from the steel
industry to the petrochemical industry where he is still serving.
In the following interview, Rahbari speaks of international partnership as viewed by the
Iranian petrochemical industry.
After
hosting two international conferences, the Iranian petrochemical industry has another
opportunity to address its international audience in the year of dialogue among
civilizations. What is the message?
What we try to tell the whole
world is that we are part of the global team acting in the same environment as they are,
and try to demonstrate the capabilities of the country in order to operate and enhance the
results at an international level. Previously, because of war, because of the conflict of
views, because of certain sanctions, we haven’t been represented in the global
market. What we are trying to achieve is attracting the world’s view in order to tell
them how we think and how we are prepared to go with the others. In different conferences,
I personally have tried not to bring very particular points to the attention of the
audience, but rather to provide them with a clear picture of Iran and leave the judgement
to others. I think this is what we should do. When we are discussing the agenda we should
sit around a table and discuss inter-activity and the issues of the day in order to find
out whether we can cooperate, in which areas we can cooperate and how we can do that. The
reason for this is that not only in the petrochemical business, but also in many other
sectors across the world activities have become so complex and integrated that they
necessitate cooperation between different entities and even between countries. This
cooperation is not political but commercial and economic.
If
you don’t want to be swallowed you have to be able to join hands with others, and if
you want to be in mergers you have to be competitive. We want to prove that
Iran has a competitive position in the future petrochemical market. |
The issue of the day
is changing competition into cooperation. Companies that competed with each other for long
periods in the past can now be seen together, merging and joining hands. We have to face
this challenge. How can we cooperate within an environment where competition, which was
the drive for better achievement in the past, is reducing? We must come up with solutions
to overcome this issue. This means that we have to learn to cooperate and find out in the
first place whether we can cooperate or not. If you want to challenge anybody in any area
you have to be competitive with your partner. Your business volume and knowledge should
somehow be competitive. If you are small you will be swallowed. If you don’t want
this to happen you have to be able to merge and join hands with others, and if you want
the merger to take shape you have to be competitive. Competitiveness is the driving force
in today’s existing economy and has its own meaning in any area. It is something we
need to look at in this economic environment. We want to prove that Iran has a competitive
position in the future petrochemical market.
This is where competitive advantages
become very important. What competitive advantages does NPC offer its potential partners?
I think most of the advantages one can
think of are offered. The point is that whether we can materialize them. We think we are
approaching the materialization of these advantages. We have held very long discussions
with different international business leaders. We have been talking to more than 20
reputable international industrial leaders during the past two years and have concluded
with some of them certain agreements in order to materialize some investment within the
petrochemical industry. We hope that by IPF 2001 we can announce the materialization of
some of them.
NPC has certainly had its own
pre-requisites for choosing partners. The prospective partners would like to know the
preferences of NPC. What are your conditions?
In order to be successful in the global
petrochemical market an investment should meet certain basic criteria. They include
abundance of feedstock, strong market at both ends and in between, the most reasonable
investment cost, plus state-of-the-art technology. The partner will come here for the
abundant feedstock that we have. The market is something which requires joint efforts by
both partners. The reasonable investment is based on the competence of the developers as
well as the environmental situation. We have said repeatedly in the past that we enjoy
competitive resources. What remains is the technology. What drives us to choose investors
here is their technology and the position of that technology in the market. NPC is talking
to some of the key players in the market. The criterion is therefore that the investor
should be among the top players in the market. Another criterion is the management
capabilities of the people we would choose to cooperate with.
What
drives us to choose investors here is their technology and the position of that technology
in the market |
Their pre-requisite is low-cost feedstock.
Then come other issues. When foreign investors come to Iran they start from the
scrutinizing stage during which they go to every angle of the details which might cause
slight defects in the smooth operation in the future. They want to make sure that
everything goes smoothly from day one. They are prepared to take the risk because it is
part of their business. But they want to know and understand what the risks are;
otherwise, they would not be able to judge. We have encountered difficulties whenever we
have been unable to provide them with information, which is very important to their
decision-making. There is undoubtedly a difference between claiming something and being
able to crystallize our claim and give foreign investors tangible results. The purity,
correctness, reliability and consistency of the information are things that they need.
Speaking of numbers, what is NPC’s
current status in production and sales? What is the company aiming for?
This year, NPC will produce seven million
tons of various products with revenues amounting to over $1.8 billion. Exports will
constitute a record $800 million of our revenues. We are aiming to increase this capacity
to 22 million tons by 2005. The total sales, depending on the prices and the volatile
market, will stand at about $7 billion to $8 billion dollars per year.
How do you describe your targets and
ambitions within your NPC office?
With our joint venture side we are
presently working on three clean products for the clean environment. We are competing with
the whole world because those companies licensing us are the technology holders of these
products. They are considering different markets to decide where to go. I hope we would
succeed in this connection.
I very much like to achieve things in a way that when the young generations enter the
scene they would not blame us for what we have and have not done. |
