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IPF Exclusive / May 2003 |
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Third Iran
Petrochemical Forum | Summit 2001 |
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Values and Visions
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Held in the year of "Dialogue among Civilizations",
IPF 2001 was a clear indication that before extending a hand for
partnership, you must have a mind for dialogue |
In a country that has spent years and
years ‘selling’ natural resources and ‘buying’ equipment and know-how, it is a
true challenge to plant the seeds and see the growth of the plants of economic
and industrial partnership. Switching from oil exports to developing
industrial products at global standards means taking a long road where ‘word’
is the origin and ‘practice’ is the destination.
Iranian petrochemical industry’s world
market share stands at around 0.5% to 0.6%. NPC hopes to boost this figure to
2% by the end of its development plan through the implementation of ongoing
projects. This means a fourfold growth in a world which is progressing forward
and not waiting for Iran to catch up. These are the challenging tasks that the
Iranian petrochemical industry has embarked on.
For the Value of Collaboration:
Few Iranian organizations are ahead of the National Petrochemical Company (NPC)
in launching fruitful cooperation in international levels. That may be owing
to the experience and a feeling of responsibility in the top management of NPC,
a policy of the Ministry of Petroleum to switch to those exports that bring
added value according to the Third Development Plan, and more importantly as
declared by international partners of NPC, knowing the requirements while
negotiating with potential partners.
Abundance of feedstock for petrochemical
plants, inexpensive and expert workforce at home, convenient access to
developing markets in Iran and the region, availability and reasonable cost of
energy sources, advantages offered in special energy and petrochemical zones,
among other facilities, are merits described in greater detail by Iranian
authorities.
In addition, the role of previous forums
to promote the Iranian petrochemical sector on an international level must not
be underestimated. IPF ’99 broke the ice, IPF 2000 reiterated a willingness
for global cooperation, and IPF 2001 set a new standard for ‘petrochemical
dialogue’.
Masterminding a Transition:
What were the ‘New Visions’ from an
NPC perspective? What was NPC trying to achieve in the Third IPF? As a matter
of fact, what the company is seeking as new ways and new visions falls under a
few main categories.
Improving the status of management has
been mentioned as a high priority by the President of NPC. Industrial
management and international operations are governed by rules and principles
that have to be complied with should a country look for a more serious
presence in international markets. Marketing and financial issues form another
significant part. We have to be able to administer our companies toward the
same direction that the world is heading, for instance mergers and
amalgamations.
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IPF ’99 broke the
ice, IPF 2000 reiterated a willingness for global cooperation, and IPF
2001 set a new standard for ‘petrochemical dialogue’ |
And then there is the challenge of
enhancing the capacities. NPC is aware of the fact that it must concentrate on
large capacities, and set up and invest in economical and world-class
industrial units in order to enhance capacities in the future.
International and global cooperation in
the areas of marketing, investment, research, development and training is
another new vision which has to be developed for the administration of NPC. In
today’s world, individual growth and development would not bear much fruit;
instead a synergy should be achieved through collective work and mutual
cooperation.
During the past year the volume of
contracts executed stood at $2.7 billion. NPC predicted a volume of $3.5
billion; however, after tenders were called, the volume reached $2.7 billion
due to the competition which arose. Domestic production and engineering are
included in the foreign exchange volume because their contracts are also
financed from abroad and therefore signed in foreign exchange.
The Iranian petrochemical sector is
currently experiencing an integration of the buy-back and finance schemes
called ‘structured finance’ which started a few months ago and offers more
advantages than buyback alone.
A Hand for Partnership, A Mind for
Dialogue: It was great to
see dialogue emerging and growing naturally at IPF. But to advance the
dialogue from words into action, as noted in the forum title, you have to have
a "vision". A vision to listen to the world; a vision to speak out your mind
objectively; a vision to welcome other people’s expert advice and experience,
no matter what nation and country they come from; a vision on how to work with
your neighbors; and a vision to appreciate partnership. That is when we will
achieve a long-sought "value"; the value of effective use of natural
resources; the value of granting, and being granted, a long-term commitment
for cooperation; the value of learning from others who have already taken the
pain and the path to development; the value of being a recognized member of
the global economy; the value of being integrated into the circle of global
players who have found the benefits; and last but by no means least, the value
of mobilizing all values for the welfare of a nation who deserves nothing less
than prosperity.
Held in the year of "Dialogue among
Civilizations", IPF 2001 was a clear indication that before extending a hand
for partnership, you must have a mind for dialogue. |
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CURRENT ISSUE |
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IPF Exclusive
May 2003 |
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