TEHRAN CHANGING POLICY TO ATTRACT FOREIGN INVESTMENT

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBAI 001873 SIPDIS SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D C O P Y - CLASSIFICATION CHANGED FROM CONFIDENTIAL TO SECRET E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/1/2016 TAGS: IR ECON EFIN PGOV PINR SUBJECT: TEHRAN CHANGING POLICY TO ATTRACT FOREIGN INVESTMENT REF: 05 DUBAI 4989 DUBAI 00001873 001.3 OF 002 CLASSIFIED BY: Jason L. Davis, Consul General, Dubai, UAE. REASON: 1.4 (b),(c),(d) 1.(C) Summary: In a bid to inject capital into the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE),Iran will allow up to 10 percent foreign investment in the market. The Iranian Majles (Parliament) has also recently approved a bill to allow foreign capital for the energy sector. According to one theory, Rafsanjani and his circle deliberately pulled out massive funds from the market following Rafsanjani's defeat to Ahmadinejad in an attempt to cause a crash, hoping that this might force Ahmadinejad and his supporters out of office. End summary. Seeking Foreign Capital to Boost Failing Economy -------------- --- 2.(C) According two Dubai-based Iranian businessmen, Ahmadinejad announced in late December that Iran would allow ten percent foreign investment -- equivalent to $40 billion -- in the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE). According to Western press reports from late-January 2006, the head of the TSE, Ali Salehabadi, told an Iranian press outlet that Ahmadinejad's administration had ratified the Foreign Investment Bylaw - a move that would "pave the way for the participation of foreign investors in the capital market." He claimed that prior to the move there had been no regulations for foreign investments. In early January, Tehran authorized three Asian investment groups to invest a total of 250 million Euros in the market, according to the Iranian Students News Agency. 3.(C) Western and Iranian press reports from May and June 2005, however, indicate that the Foreign Investment Bylaw was actually ratified by the cabinet under reformist President Mohammad Khatami. Soon after this ratification, the first batch of foreign investors reportedly arrived from an unspecified Arab country. It is unclear why there is such a discrepancy in the dates of the ratification of the bylaw. Our contacts claimed the decision was an attempt to inject capital into the "failing" stock market after a loss of "almost a third of its value" since Ahmadinejad's election in July 2005. (As reported reftel, the stock market fell 11 percent in the months preceding Ahmadinejad's election, and another 19 percent subsequently; 
since then (i.e. since October 2005) it has fallen another two percent.) A separate Iranian businessman from Tehran, who was in Dubai for a visa, recently told Conoff that the government had actually increased the level of permissible foreign investment to twenty percent, but we have seen no press reporting to confirm this. 4.(C) The Iranian government also appears to be seeking additional foreign capital in order to bolster the floundering Iranian economy. According to Iranian press reports, the Majles (Parliament) announced on March 5 that it had approved a bill to allow the Energy Ministry to use up to USD 800 million in foreign loans to finance water supply and water conveyance projects. Moreover, the Majles Economic Commission announced on March 13 that it plans to set up a "special economic committee" with a mandate to remove obstacles to foreign investment. 5.(C) (U) Given the current political climate, it is unclear whether these moves will attract needed foreign investment. There is already a strong perception of risk with regards to investing in Iran, particularly in light of Iran's referral to the UN Security Council. In mid-January, two Swiss banks -- UBS and Credit Suisse -- announced they were pulling out of Iran because the economic risks of continuing to operate there were too high. According to the Middle East Economic Digest, their decision was indicative of broader concerns among international financiers about increasing their exposure to the Iranian market in the current climate. 6.(C) A young Iranian who works at the TSE told Conoff last year's stock market crash had been caused by the political situation, especially the nuclear standoff. He did not believe the financial situation would improve until Ahmadinejad was replaced by someone more like former presidents Mohammad Khatami or Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. He said, however, that he does not currently know of a strong reformer who can lead the government. A board member of a private Iranian investment company told Conoff on March 13 that stocks on the exchange continue to fall, mainly as a result of the current political climate. Unfortunately, he stated, many Iranians have lost "tons of money" as a result of the crash; the situation, he said, would not change until the political situation improved. (Note: When asked where Iranians are putting their money instead of the stock market, the board member claimed most are investing in Islamic Republic of Iran bonds as the rate of return was approximately 15.5 percent, stating that the return was so high DUBAI 00001873 002.3 OF 002 largely because inflation is high -- about 13 percent.) Crash Caused by Rafsanjani? -------------- 7.(S) The first two businessmen both maintained that Rafsanjani and his supporters had pulled their sizeable investments from the TSE deliberately, in an attempt to cause such a huge market loss that Ahmadinejad and his supporters would have no choice but to withdraw from power. Although the stock market did tumble approximately 19 percent (2389 points) in the weeks after Ahmadinejad was elected last summer (reftel),Ahmadinejad and his supporters have not yet been forced out of office. The businessmen were unsure whether the entire group had actually pulled all its money out of the market, or whether some of its money remained. One of the businessmen told Conoff that he wanted to check and see whether a wealthy Dubai-based Iranian businessman (a consulate contact and holder of an E-2 visa),Mr. Taghi Ganji, had pulled his money out of the market. He claimed that that would be a key barometer of the group's commitment to pulling its money out, since Ganji enjoyed a close relationship with Rafsanjani. We have not seen Taghi Ganji since this conversation, but in an earlier conversation, he claimed to have lost $400 million in Iran last year in stocks and real estate and expects to lose the same this year -- suggesting that he has not pulled out of the market. (Indeed, we have nothing to substantiate the theory about a Rafsanjani plot, and it is likely nothing more than one more conspiracy theory from a country where conspiracy theories are a national pastime.) 8.(C) Both businessmen also claimed that Ahmadinejad had threatened to criminalize the withdrawal of funds from the TSE, but dropped the threat after being reprimanded by Supreme Leader Khamenei. According to Iranian and Western press, Ahmadinejad -- frustrated with his economic advisors' inability to solve Iran's current economic malaise -- reportedly told them during a cabinet meeting in late October 2005 that the solution was to "frighten speculators." Ahmadinejad allegedly suggested, "If we are permitted to hang two or three persons, the problem with the stock exchange would be solved forever." (Note: One of the Dubai-based businessmen claimed that the capital flow out of Iran had slowed in the past few months, but did not clarify the basis of this conclusion or whether he believed Ahmadinejad's threats had played a role.) Comment -------------- 9.(C) It is too early to say whether the reported changes in policy regarding foreign investment will help the ailing Iranian economy. In light of Iran's referral to the United Nations Security Council for its intransigence on the nuclear issue, it is questionable whether foreigners would be interested in buying into an economy that is not very stable and may soon be subject to multilateral economic sanctions. (Numerous Iranians with whom Conoff has recently spoken on the visa line have expressed concern that the UN will impose economic sanctions on Iran as a result of its continued inflexibility on the nuclear issue.) It is interesting that Ahmadinejad's more ideological bent carries over into economic and business affairs as well; his threat to hang stock market speculators was greeted with particular alarm by cabinet members, according to Iranian press reports. Many Iranian business contacts tell us that business in Iran continues to founder; this, along with creeping inflation - especially on basic commodities - has exacerbated the already dire economic situation many Iranians currently face. DAVIS