Iran's 'delicious pie': Everyone wants a piece

(Baonghean.vn) - European businesses are eager to jump into Iran after sanctions imposed on the country were lifted. However, according to many media sources, challenging the position of Russia and China will "not be easy".

Iranian President and Italian Prime Minister review honor guard in Tehran on April 12. Photo: Reuters.

The Australian website The Conversation likened the Iranian market to “a big pie, but everyone wants a piece of it”, as the country is opening its doors to Western countries after sanctions related to Tehran’s nuclear issue were lifted.

Among the big names willing to invest here are German industrial giant Siemens, oil and gas company Shell, French automakers Peugeot and Renault, and Airbus.

In addition, news channels also reported in depth on the visit to Iran last month by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and businesses in the energy, transport and defense sectors, as well as the visit by the high representative of the European Union (EU) with business representatives and seven EU commissioners in charge of transport, energy and industry.

These are all signals of a very high level of interest in restoring economic relations with Iran.

Iran's foreign minister and EU foreign policy chief at a press conference in Vienna on January 16. Photo: AFP.

However, there are clearly still many barriers that put Europe at a disadvantage compared to China and Russia, two countries that have benefited from sanctions and are now “firmly positioned” in the Iranian market.

“The Iran frenzy is being held back by lingering sanctions that are not related to the nuclear deal, and could easily be applied to European companies,” the website noted.

These include sanctions on missile technology and conventional weapons, terrorist list sanctions and sanctions targeting anyone linked to supporting terrorism, ballistic missiles, human rights abuses and regional destabilization, including in Syria and Yemen.

According to the White House guidelines, the website also said that anyone found to have ties to those on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list would “risk being cut off from the U.S. financial system, including foreign financial institutions that risk losing their trust accounts with U.S. banks.”

In another analysis on the same issue, Bloomberg emphasized that for the same reason, Europe's largest banks want to stay away from Iran, "unwilling to get close to businesses related to Iran for fear that they will run into remaining US sanctions in this country."

Among those “not ready to do business in Iran” are France’s Societe Generale SA, Germany’s Deutsche Bank AG, Credit Suisse Group AG in Zurich, ING Groep NV in the Netherlands and Britain’s Standard Chartered Plc.

Therefore, it can be said that “the issue of funding has become the focus of diplomacy in the financial sector”.

An Iranian military truck carrying part of the S-300 missile system. Photo: AFP.

This once again paves the way for Chinese and Persian Gulf lending institutions to “profit from the performance of companies’ investments in Iran.”

Russia and China are now firmly entrenched in the Iranian market. China has been supplying Iran with goods that it cannot import from the West. “Chinese President Xi Jinping wasted no time in visiting Iran in January, signing a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between China and Iran, announcing 17 agreements in the fields of energy, trade and industry,” The Conversation reported.

Iran plays a key role in China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative, bringing Beijing's markets closer to Central Asia and the Middle East.

For its part, Russia is focused on restarting arms sales and the nuclear industry in Iran. Moscow is said to be “holding a stronger position” in this potential land. Based on such analysis, both media outlets come to the conclusion: “This is not a simple matter for European businesses.”

Phu Binh

(According to Sputnik)