Iran Country Profile business trade issues

Iran

DOING BUSINESS

Local business incentives - Legal forms of companies - Registration and licensing procedures - Legal framework - Foreign exchange control - Regulations concerning equity investment - FDI inflows - Expertise of the political risk

Local business incentives

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs may provide support and assistance to international investors.

Legal forms of companies

Form	Number of partners/shareholders	Minimum and/or maximum capital	Liability	Registration fee	Release of financial documents
Sherkat Sahami Am is a private company limited by shares.	Minimum 3 shareholders.	Minimum IRR 1 million.	Partners' liability is limited to the amount contributed in shares.	Registration fees depend on the amount of the capital.
Sherkat Sahami Khass is a public company limited by shares.	Minimum 3 shareholders.	Minimum 5 million IRR.	Partners' liability is limited to the amount contributed in shares.	Registration fees depend on the amount of the capital.

Registration and licensing procedures
Before taking any administrative steps, founders of the future company have to contact the OIETAI which is the Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance Organisation in Iran. The company is then registered with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Iran (CCIMI: Chamber of Trades, Industries and Mines).

Foreign exchange control
The exchange market is regulated and controlled by the Government. Only currencies brought from abroad can be repatriated afterwards.
Passengers are authorized to take out a maximum of USD 1,000 or the equivalent in other currencies. The authority in charge of the currency regulation is the Central Bank of Iran (Markazi bank). Repatriation of profits, capital by a foreign investor is possible with a three months' notice. In case of capital repatriation, the foreign investor must keep 10% of his capital during six months as a deposit for possible commitments. Applicable exchange rate is the official ruling rate. Moreover, foreign currency transfers are not carried out without delay, the latter can last up to six months or more.

Regulations concerning equity investment
According to the law of 1955, foreign direct investment is possible by means of interest participation in Iranian companies, up to 49 %.

Foreign Direct Investment inflows in Iran

FDI inflows	2003	2004	2005	World rank (*) 2005
FDI inflows (USD million)	482	100	30	133/141

Source : UNCTAD - World Investment Report
Note : (*) World Rank = UNCTAD Inward FDI Performance Index. It is a measure of the extend to which a host country receives inward FDI relative to its economic size. It is calculated as a ratio of the country's share in global FDI inflows to its share in global GDP.

Last modified in 2006 - ongoing update