05.01.12 Iran Strategic Focus
Investors cool on South Pars bonds
Informed sources say that investors have purchased only 14 per cent of rial
bonds that the Ministry of Petroleum sold through domestic banks across the
country
from 26th November to 1st December to attract funds for South Pars projects.
From the total investment of 5 trillion rials ($4.5 billion) expected to be
attracted through selling bonds, only 700 billion rials ($630 million) was
raised.
Accordingly, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) announced that the bond offer would continue until the end of working
hours on 4 December.
Experts believe that this cold shoulder results from an unpredictable gold and
foreign exchange market, which attracts more funds and cash inputs. It could
also
suggest a lower level of overall liquidity in Iran's economy as investors have
been attempting to deal with rising inflation.
The oil industry upstream sector in particular has been facing serious financial
issues in recent years, which will be aggravated if bonds continue to sell
poorly in further phases.
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