Nuclear sanctions haven't slowed investment

Dubai: Iran may be facing international isolation but the head of the Islamic state's stock exchange said privatisations and low valuations could create attractive opportunities for foreign investors.

Less than two weeks after the UN Security Council imposed a fourth round of punitive measures on Iran over its nuclear programme, senior executives of the Tehran Stock Exchange travelled to Dubai in a bid to lure new capital to the market.

Analysts said Iran needed foreign funds and expertise to help it modernise and expand its oil industry and other sectors.

But they said Western firms and others were becoming increasingly reluctant to invest there due to the long-term nuclear row.

"We don't even look at the Iranian market. There is just too much political risk involved," said Robert McKinnon of ASAS Capital, an asset management company in Dubai.

Roadshow

Saturday's roadshow, a first for the Tehran Stock Exchange, was planned before the latest sanctions.

Tehran Stock Exchange President Hassan Galibaf Asl played down their impact, saying share prices had firmed further after the UN vote.

In the 2009-10 Iranian year, which ended in March, the market jumped 57 per cent and it rose another 12 per cent in the first three months of this year, outperforming other regional markets, a Tehran Stock Exchange spokesman said.

The Exchange's market capitalisation now stands at more than $70 billion, with more than 330 listed companies in telecommunications and banks to steel and petrochemicals.

"Market reaction ... shows that the sanctions are not important in the point of view of investors," Galibaf Asl said.

The new UN sanctions target Iranian banks suspected of connections with nuclear or missile programmes. They also expand an arms embargo and call for cargo inspection.