Financial Tribune- Financial newspaper

18% Growth in Banks’ Overseas Assets: CBI Iranian banks held foreign assets worth 23,833.1 trillion rials ($79.4 billion) by the end of the fourth calendar month on July 22. This was up 18.2% compared to the similar period last year. Data released by Central Bank of Iran show that the pace of growth foreign assets declined noticeably. Banks’ annualized growth in overseas assets was 54.6% in July 2021. CBI’s foreign assets were in the region of 7,289.6 trillion rials ($24.3b) in the period, up 10.5% y/y but down 0.4% in the first four months of the present fiscal year. financialtribune.com/node/115120 @fintribune

Fertility Rate on Decline The fertility rate in Iran has been on decline in recent years. According to the Statistical Center of Iran, the fertility rate of women in Iran (both Iranian and non-Iranian nationals) was 2.09 in the fiscal 2017-18, 1.95 in 2018-19, 1.74 in 2019-20, 1.65 in 2020-21 and 1.65 in 2021-22. The total fertility rate of Iranian women was 2.07 in 2017-18, 1.97 in 2018-19, 1.77 in 2019-20, 1.71 in 2020-21 and 1.74 in 2021-22. The total fertility rate in Iran increased slightly in 2021-22, thanks to the rise in the fertility rate of non-Iranians. The fertility rate of Iranian women has been the same in 2020-21 and 2021-22. financialtribune.com/node/115083 @fintribune

Iran's Trade With Turkey Surges by 36% YOY to $3.2b in 7 Months Iran and Turkey traded $3.24 billion worth of goods during the first seven months of 2022 to register a 33.6% year-on-year rise, latest data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute show. Iranian exports stood at $1.89 billion, up 55.15% year-on-year, while imports grew by 11.9% to $1.34 billion. Bilateral trade stood at $379 million in July, down 0.5% YOY, with Turkish exports at $192.42 million, down 8.44% YOY, and Iranian exports at $186.59 million, registering a 9.28% growth YOY. financialtribune.com/node/115087 @fintribune

Stage Is Set for Differentiating Business and Personal Bank A/Cs Compartmentalizing bank accounts into business and personal financial records has advantages for customers, an official with Central Bank of Iran said. The regulator recently instructed banks to separate the accounts that business owners use for their business needs from regular accounts. Abouzar Soroush, the CBI deputy for supervisory affairs, said the goal is to improve transparency in the economic and financial structure of the country, which also has merit for business owners. financialtribune.com/node/115089 @fintribune

Debt Collection Is Improving: NDFI Head of the National Development Fund of Iran (NDFI) said repayment of loans given by the sovereign wealth fund has gained pace in recent months. “Since the beginning of the last fiscal year March 2021 up until now, we have collected debts three times more than the same period in the previous year,” Mehdi Qazanfari told IBENA. NDFI is independent of the government and was set up in 2011 to curb dependency on oil and save some of the earnings from oil and gas exports for future generations. financialtribune.com/node/115090 @fintribune

Iran's Foreign Trade Increases by 25% YOY to Over $8 Billion Iran traded 11.32 million tons of goods worth $8.11 billion (excluding crude oil exports) during the fifth month of the current Iranian year (July 23-Aug. 22) to register a 10.6% and 25.4% rise in tonnage and value respectively compared with the similar month of last year, according to the spokesperson of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration. Exports stood at 8.42 million tons worth $3.65 billion, registering an 11% and 18% year-on-year rise in weight and value respectively, Rouhollah Latifi was also quoted as saying by IRNA. China was the biggest export destination of Iranian exports during the period, as it imported 2.26 million tons worth $1.1 billion to register a 1% YOY increase in value. financialtribune.com/node/115070 @fintribune

Time to Streamline Functioning of Banks financialtribune.com/node/115071 @fintribune

Iranian Oil Storage in Persian Gulf Rises by 500,000 Barrels With the completion of the reconstruction and overhaul project of Tank No. 4 of the Bahregan region in Bushehr Province, the Iranian crude oil storage capacity in the Persian Gulf has increased by 500,000 barrels, managing director of the Iranian Offshore Oil Company said. “The storage capacity has now increased by 10%, which will promote the prosperity of the region since the area is a terminal for crude oil and gas condensate import and export,” Alireza Mehdizadeh was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana. financialtribune.com/node/115059 @fintribune

4-Month Budget Monitoring Report The Supreme Audit Court of Iran, the supervisory arm of the Iranian Parliament, has released its budget monitoring report for the first four months of the current fiscal year (March 21-July 22). The periodic report provides information on financial flows and programs implemented by the government to achieve the goals and targets set in the 2022-23 Budget Law. According to the new report, revenues and expenditures during the period achieved 62% and 66% of their respective budget targets. financialtribune.com/node/115061 @fintribune