Iran has finalized a $10bn credit line deal with Chinese state-owned investment company Citic Group to finance infrastructure projects and is seeking a further $25bn. This continues the move by Tehran’s banking sector to gradually engage with the world outside the US, following the lifting of sanctions under the nuclear deal signed in July 2015. The deal follows Iran’s recent announcement of a plan to secure $30bn of credit from EU countries Austria, Germany and Italy plus additional credit from Japan (MEES, 1 September).
The agreement also illustrates China’s tightening relations with crude oil suppliers – last month China and Saudi Arabia launched a $20bn fund to finance joint projects (MEES, 1 September). Iran is among the Middle East’s main suppliers of crude to China, with exports averaging 612,000 b/d in the second quarter of 2017, although Russia and Angola have recently been top suppliers, followed by Saudi Arabia (MEES, 28 July). (CONTINUED - 1007 WORDS)
