A recent string of “financing agreements” that various governments and international banks have signed with Iran indicates that Tehran is finding solutions to leave behind the bottlenecks in financing its international projects. The question at this stage is whether or not such deals will facilitate the planned expansion of trade and investment with international — and especially European — companies.
The series of agreements started in August with a number of credit lines issued to Iran, including 8 billion euros extended by South Korea’s Export-Import Bank (Kexim), followed by a $10 billion line by China. The process continued when two mid-sized European banks, Austria’s Oberbank and Danish Danske Bank, signed framework agreements with Iranian entities to finance the exports of Austrian and Danish companies to Iran. Similar agreements are in the works with Japan and Italy. Furthermore, the Central Bank of Iran and the Export Insurance Agency of Russia (EXIAR) have also signed a memorandum of understanding to finance joint projects between the two countries.