Azerbaijan, Baku, Sep.3/ Trend F.Milad/
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Iran rose by 141 per cent in the past calendar year which ended March 19, compared to four years ago, reaching $4.37 billion, the head of the Organisation for Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran said.
Behrouz Alishiri told the Mehr news agency that foreign investment has been amounting to $1.2 billion since the beginning of the current year.
Foreign investment plans worth as much as $10 billion are expected to be transacted by Iran during the current year, Alishiri said earlier this month.
Last year the FDI plans amounted to $4.3 billion, showing a 27 per cent growth compared to the previous year, Alishiri said on April 2.
Iran needs up to $400 billion in direct foreign investment to materialise its objective of eight per cent economic growth, he added.
Over the next five years, the government will need new sources of capital sourced through the input of national and international private finance, Alishiri said.
In October 2011 he said the growth of direct foreign investment in Iran ranks amongst the highest in the world. Despite global economic sanctions more than 400 foreign companies are now directly investing in Iran.