TEHRAN - Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade’s data show that 167 trillion rials (nearly $3.97 billion) has been paid to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and semi-finished industrial projects with an over 60 percent physical progress during the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20).

The mentioned payments were made in the form of bank loans paid to 5,044 projects and production units, IRIB reported.

As reported, about 15,182 manufacturing units and semi-finished projects with physical progress of over 60 percent in 31 provinces and free zones had registered to receive facilities in the previous year.

Back in November 2020, the Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry had announced that 51.48 trillion rials (over $1.225 billion) had been paid to production units as part of a program for supporting domestic production during the first seven months of the previous Iranian calendar year (March 20-October 21, 2020).

Based on the mentioned program, 201.299 trillion rials of facilities (about $4.79 billion) were planned to be paid to production units to support domestic production and maintain or create job opportunities in the previous year.

Central Bank of Iran (CBI) defined supporting production as its major plan in the previous Iranian calendar year, which was named the Year of Surge in Production.

CBI Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati has several times stressed that supporting production units to flourish production is the priority of the country’s banking system.

In early May 2019, Hemmati had outlined CBI plans for neutralizing or relieving the impact of U.S. sanctions on the country’s economy and mentioned providing liquidity and working capital to maintain and boost domestic production as one of those plans.

CBI’s plans take two major approaches, one of which is to secure finance for production activities and also to provide the working capital needed for such activities.

EF/MA