Changing international sanctions regimes continue to create an environment of uncertainty for foreign companies aiming to participate in Iran’s energy industry. Mehrnoosh Aryanpour, managing partner of the Tehran office of Gide Loyrette Nouel, outlines a path forward for ensuring stability in projects undertaken by Iranian-foreign joint ventures.
• On Iran’s attractiveness for investment: “Foreign entities have a chequered past of cutting and running under the threat or actual incidence of sanctions against Iran, but time and again it has been shown that those very same foreign parties which checked out of their project ventures are the first ones to return under any functional relaxation, such is the compelling nature of Iran as a destination for foreign capital.”
• On the benefits of an SPV: “In the case of a joint venture, an SPV incorporated in a jurisdiction less likely to be adversely affected by reimposition of sanctions would allow for a more flexible platform to facilitate intelligent structuring solutions such as exit and re-entry options, trustee or agency relationships and contingent sale-repurchase strategies to prepare for the worst outcome of a sanctions scenario which may force out a foreign party from its Iranian investment.”