TEHRAN, IRAN — Despite efforts by Iranian authorities to draw multinational companies to the 9th International Exhibition of Exchange, Bank and Insurance held July 10-13 in Tehran, the foreign presence was not strong. Shahrad Padidar, the investment and business development director of Karafarin Investment Group, told Al-Monitor the weak presence of foreigners was predictable. Indeed, several key Iranian banks and investment companies also declined to take part in the event because they assumed such events would have little impact on their businesses, Padidar said.
“Foreign companies do negotiate — sometimes for long months — with Iranian brokerage firms, but at the end of the day they don’t make any investment due to political concerns,” he said, referring to his own experience in negotiating with European investors.
