Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.23
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iranian oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has called for excluding the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company from the list of state-run companies which should be privatized, the Mehr News Agency reported on Dec. 23.
Zanganeh has sent a letter to economy minister Ali Tayyebnia in this regard.
The NIOPDC owns 95 oil storage facilities and 49 jet fuel centers. It is regarded as the largest liquid fuel supplier in Iran and even in the Middle East.
On Sept.10, Iranian media outlets reported that Iranian economy minister Ali Tayyebnia criticized the implementation of privatization policies by the former administrations saying that just 10-15 percent of state shares have been handed over.
Therefore, the privatization process has not improved the efficiency of the private sector considerably, he added.
Many economic experts have expressed concern about transferring shares of state-run companies to semi-government entities which are neither governmental nor privately-owned.
Edited by C.N.