On June 8, during the commencement of the International Exhibition of Exchange, Bank and Insurance, Iran’s first Vice President Eshagh Jahangiri announced that the country needed an 8% annual economic growth and a 12% yearly increase in capital investments to generate the jobs required for a healthy path of development. He identified financing as the missing link in Iran’s economic development and called upon the financial sector to develop instruments to spread the burden of financing economic projects onto more institutions than banks.
There is no doubt that an improved financial sector would facilitate Iran’s economic development. However, there are a number of other missing links that will require sustained attention from the government and appropriate reform to prepare the ground for achieving the targeted economic growth.