Germany's Continental, com­monly known for its quality tires, has signed a deal with Iran's Crouse Co. to set up a local auto parts production joint ven­ture.  The two com­pa­nies will produce in­jec­tors, engine manage­ment sensors and electronic control units through the JV named Crouse-Continental Automo­ti­ve Components, ILNA reported at the weekend.  The total investment in the venture will be €18 million, and Continental is committed to put up 45% of the capital.  The company will later ex­pand production to brakes and car audio systems. Tire production has not been highlighted in the deal.

Crouse has incorporated technology transfer as one of the conditions of the joint venture with the Germans. Currently, four engineers from the German company are training their counter­parts in Iran. The number of German engineers participating in the project is set to rise to 10 in the coming weeks.  Crouse and Continental have collaborated for 12 years, producing engine parts. According to company statistics, they have produced eight million engines during this pe­ri­od. However, during the sanctions years the German firm halted cooperation. With revenue of €40 billion in 2016, Continental is the third largest auto parts manufacturer in the world.  https://financialtribune.com

Die Iran International Exhibition Company in Teheran hat ihren Messekalender für das am 21. März 2017 beginnende iranische  Jahr 1396 veröffentlicht. Hin und wieder werden Messeter­mi­­ne kurzfristig verlegt; dies sollten Sie bei der Anreise zu Messebesuchen bedenken und den Mes­­­­se­termin nochmals checken:  https://en.iranfair.com/?siteid=3&fkeyid=&siteid=3&pageid=187

A preliminary deal has been signed with German engineering giant Siemens to ma­nufacture  equipment for the electri­city industry, Arsalan Fathipour, mem­ber of Iran Electricity Industry Syndicate said.  "Based on an agreement with Sie­mens, which is expected to be finalized into a contract within two months, a plant will be built for manufacturing power equipment un­der the license of Siemens," Fathipour was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency on Friday.  Products from the joint venture, such as transformers, can be exported besides being used for domestic consumption.  "Collaboration with Siemens is aimed at accelerating production, redu­cing costs and expanding the export of electricity equipment," noted Fathipour, a former law­maker.  The plant will be built in Parand, a town about 65 kilometers southwest of Tehran. The official did not comment on the value of the project.

Siemens has made notable headways in cooperation with Iran after international economic sanc­tions were eased last year.  The Munich-based engineering and manufacturing company has signed a deal to deliver more than 20 F-class turbines and share expertise in turbine manu­facturing as part Iran's  push to upgrade its aging electricity infrastructure and build power plants with improved efficiency.  Siemens said in January that it had received a major order for 12 "compressor trains" for two onshore natural gas processing plants in Iran. The deal was des­cribed by Mohsen Nayebzadeh, CEO of Siemens in Iran, as "Siemens' first huge oil and gas order since the easing of sanctions in January 2016".

Iran’s non-oil trade during the 11 months of the current Iranian year (started March 20, 2016) amounted to $76.907 billion, indicating a 1.8% increase compared with the corresponding period of last year. 

According to the latest report by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, Iran ex­por­ted $38.492 billion worth of non-oil commodities during the period, registering a 0.21% rise compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.  Gas condensates were Iran’s main exported commodity ($6.571 billion), making up for 17.07% of the total non-oil export figure.  This was followed by natural liquefied gases ($1.957 billion), light crude oil, excluding ga­so­line ($1.365 billion), petroleum gases, liquefied hydrocarbons ($1.106 billion) and liquefied propane ($1.077 billion).  China was the main customer of Iranian products, as Iran exported $7.298 billion worth of non-oil goods to the Asian country during the period, up 6.91% compared with last year’s similar period.  Other major export destinations included the UAE with $6.141 billion, Iraq with $5.514 billion, Turkey with $2.958 billion and South Korea with $2.691 billion worth of Iranian goods. 

In return, the country imported $38.415 billion worth of goods – up 3.47% year-on-year.  The figures point to a $77 million surplus in Iran’s international trade balance for the 11 months to February 18, 2017.  The imported commodities mainly included field corn ($1.300 billion), soy­bean ($848 million), auto parts ($730 million), motor vehicles with engine displacement of 1,500-2,000cc ($705 million) and motor vehicles with engine displacement of 2,000-2,500cc ($572 million).  Major exporters to Iran included China ($9.373 billion), the UAE ($5.797 billion), South Korea ($3.027 billion), Turkey ($2.389 billion) and Germany ($2.170 billion).  Imports from the UAE, South Korea and Turkey fell by 15.02%, 9.57% and 10.99% respectively.  However, imports from China and Germany experienced a 0.09% and 36.3% growth year-on-year.