Iran’s sovereign wealth fund says it controls $195 billion in assets, including investments in large scale energy projects.
The CEO of the National Development Fund of Iran (NDFI) said on Saturday that the fund is the 13th largest sovereign wealth fund in the world by asset size.
Mehdi Ghazanfari made the remarks at a press conference marking the 15th anniversary of the NDFI’s establishment.
Ghazanfari said the NDFI has issued around $42.2 billion in loans since its creation, adding that approximately $12.1 billion has been repaid while another $9.1 billion has not yet reached maturity.
He said mature loans owed to the NDFI total $21 billion, noting that the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is the fund’s largest debtor with $17 billion in unpaid loans, followed by the Iranian power plants with $2.1 billion.
A member of the NDFI’s board of directors said the fund has also committed nearly $5 billion to investments in Iran’s renewable energy sector, including solar and wind projects.
Alaeddin Mirmohammad Sadeghi added that the NDFI has approved $2.5 billion in investment for a large development project in the Azadegan oil field, located near the Iraqi border and connected to a major cross border reservoir.
Before the establishment of the NDFI in 2011, Iran deposited surplus oil export revenues into a government controlled account.
The sovereign wealth fund is now overseen by a board of directors and may issue emergency loans with the approval of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
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