BIM, Foreign Banks in Financing Talks

EghtesadOnline: The Bank of Industry and Mine is currently negotiating with three foreign banks to attract funds for Iranian projects, the bank’s chief executive said.

News ID: ۷۷۵۶۶۷

23 April 2017

“Negotiations are currently underway with Chinese, European and Russian banks to receive long-term credit lines to finance national and infrastructure projects,” Ali Ashraf Afkhami was also quoted as saying by IBENA.

The official, who was speaking in a meeting with India’s Ambassador to Iran Saurabh Kumar, said his bank has a high capacity to provide finance for infrastructure projects, especially in power plant, railroad and aviation sectors.

Afkhami noted that in the past four years, seven power plant projects have been implemented using 12.15 trillion rials ($322.6 million) worth of loans provided by BIM, according to Financial Tribune.

“During the same period, three petrochemical projects of Kavian, Lorestan and Mahabad were implemented using BIM credits, four petrochemical projects are underway and capital allocation for another project has been approved,” he said.

Noting that his bank is credited with 50% of loans for steel sector, Afkhami said BIM is currently bankrolling 11 steel projects and has an active credit line for a railroad project connecting Tehran to Isfahan.

In the meeting, Kumar stressed that the Chabahar project is very important to India. The agreement for the project has been signed by the Export Development Fund of India and the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran, in which BIM has been named as the agent bank of the project valued at $150 million.

Both officials also agreed that a delegation consisting of representatives of the Exim Bank of India and the state-owned UCO Bank would soon travel to Iran to finalize the proceedings required for PMOI to be able to use loans provided by the Exim Bank of India.

BIM and the Exim Bank of India have had dealings in the past. Following the lifting of international sanctions on Iran, BIM received a $400 million credit line from the bank.

The bank also extended a credit line worth $150 million to Iran in February for supplying 150,000 tons of rail tracks.

In September, Afkhami announced that BIM is negotiating a $3 billion credit line with a consortium of six European banks to “boost BIM’s lending power, in line with plans to finance industrial units across the country”.