TEHRAN – Iran’s top companies are going to invest $6.1 billion in the country’s industrial, mining and trade development projects, Director General of Planning and Financing Office of the Ministry of Industry, Mining, and Trade Alireza Hadi announced.

According to Hadi, the mentioned investment is going to be realized as part of a new program dubbed “Resilient Economy with Top Enterprises” in which the Industry Ministry defines new projects for the country’s top companies to invest in.

As the first stage of the said program, the Industry Ministry has signed memorandums of understanding (MOU) worth $6.1 billion with five major enterprises including Sepahan Oil Company, Almahdi Aluminum Company, Shirin Asal Food Industrial Group, and Chadormalu Mining and Industrial Company, the official announced.

Aimed at encouraging major companies to participate in the country’s development for achieving the goals of the resilient economy, these MOUs cover 62 projects in the fields of mining and mineral industries, food industry, machinery, and refining industries, Hadi stated.

Earlier this week, Deputy Industry Minister Saeed Zarandi said that the Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry has implemented the “Resilient Economy with Top Enterprises" scheme for promoting investment in the country’s industrial sectors.

According to Zarandi, as a preparation for the mentioned program, the Industry Ministry has been identifying pioneering industries and promoting the establishment of public joint-stock companies over the past two years for guiding public capitals towards such industries.

“We believe that the country’s economic development, in line with the policies of the resilient economy, requires increasing productive investments based on competitive advantages and completing the value chain in various industries,” Zarandi said.

Considering the technical, financial, and effective executive records of large and successful companies in the field of production and export, their role in the realization of this goal is of special importance, he added.

According to the official, every year, the country’s top companies are ranked according to their performance in the fields of production and export, job creation, and value-added, and 100 main companies of the current year have already been identified.

“This ranking is done among the country’s industrial, trade, and mining companies, and finally the top 100 companies are identified and selected to implement important projects; 39 of these companies are active in the petrochemical and chemical sectors, 21 companies are in the non-metallic sector, 20 companies in the mining sector and 20 companies are active in the manufacturing of machinery,” Zarandi explained.

The official noted that for each one of the mentioned companies, a certain project has been defined and an MOU will be signed with them to determine their obligations regarding the fulfillment of their investments.

EF/MA