Azerbaijan, Baku, May 15/ Trend F.Milad/
Ten per cent of Iran's National Development Fund will be allocated to supporting the domestic production sector, the industry, mine and trade minister announced.
Mehdi Ghazanfari told the IRNA News Agency that three per cent of assets of the specialised industry and agriculture banks will be also paid to boost the production sector.
Some three trillion rials (around $245 million) will be allocated to the production sector within the next few days, the deputy Iranian minister of industry, mine and trade said on Saturday.
Mohsen Salehinia added that the budget can be used to repay banking facilities, recruit staff and improve the organisational structure of production units, the IRIB reported.
First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi has announced that the cabinet has approved a bill allocating 24 billion dollars for the importation of basic goods such as rice, cooking oil, meat and rice. The announcement came as food prices started rising over the past few weeks.
Economy Minister Shamseddin Hosseini said that the approval will have "no negative effect" on domestic production.
"In previous years, to regulate the market we did similar things and at this point some say that this rate is more than previous years which is not correct," he told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
The National Development Fund (NDF) of Iran will allocate 20 per cent of its assets to industry and agriculture sectors in the current calendar year which began on March 20, a member of the Majlis stated.
Ali-Asghar Yousefnejad told Fars news agency that 10 per cent of the fund's assets will be also paid to the privately run industrial and mining entities.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that the National Development Fund's assets would hit $55 billion by the end of the current calendar year.
At least 20 per cent of the fund's credits will be allocated to promoting foreign investment, according to Iran's Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Shamseddin Hosseini.
According to the Fifth Five-Year Development Plan (2010-2015), the National Development Fund was established to transform oil and gas revenues to productive investment for future generation.
Iran transfers 20 per cent of oil revenues to National Development Fund.