Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 8
By Umid Niayesh- Trend:
Iranian banks have paid 1.601 quadrillion rials (about $53.43 billion based on official rate of 29,963 rials) in loans to various economic sectors in the first half of the current Iranian fiscal year (March 21-Sept. 22).
The figure indicates an increase by 9.45 percent compared to the same months of the preceding year, Iran's Central Bank reported Nov. 5.
Over 479 trillion rials(some $16 billion), equaling 29.9 percent of total payments have been paid to the industry and mining sector in the period, 2.8 percent more year on year.
Meanwhile Iran's industry sector has contracted by 1.1 percent in the first half of the current Iranian fiscal year, according to the latest report of the country's Statistical Center published Nov. 2.
Iranian banks also have paid 615.7 trillion rials to the service sector, 16.8 percent more compared to the same period of preceding year.
Service sector shared 38.4 percent of total loans in the period.
Iranian banks paid 127.8 trillion rials to agriculture sector (eight percent of total payments) and 210 trillion rials to trade sector (13.1 percent of total payments) in the 6-month period.
Iran's housing sector received 10.5 percent of the paid loans equal to 168.4 trillion rials in the period.
Iran's agriculture sector witnessed a growth by 5.7 percent according to the statistical center by Sept. 22, meanwhile service sector growth stood at 0.9 percent in the period.
The International Monetary Fund forecast a 0.6 percent gross domestic product growth for Iran in 2015 in its April World Economic Outlook.
The IMF report put Iran's GDP growth at three percent in 2014, while predicting a 1.3 percent GDP growth for the country in 2016.
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