TEHRAN: Beijing has removed obstacles to financial transactions of Iranian traders in China, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), Valliollah Seif, said. “The crisis at the moment has been resolved, but we expect the Chinese officials to provide Iranians with better conditions, so that they could resume their banking activities,” the official news website of the Iranian government quoted him as saying. Urging for the expansion of banking ties between the two countries, he expressed his dissatisfaction with the current level of banking cooperation. Seif added that banking ties have a key role in broadening economic ties between the two countries.
Speaking about a recent financial agreement between the two countries, he said the 2015 nuclear deal has paved the way for concluding financial agreements with Iran and currently several European countries as well as South Korea are interested in cementing such accords with the Islamic Republic. Five Iranian banks and China’s CITIC Group Corporation Ltd inked an agreement on banking cooperation on Thursday in Beijing. Under the deal, the Chinese side would open worth of $10 billion of credit line for Bank Pasargad, Parsian Bank, Bank of Industry and Mine, Refah Bank, Export Development Bank of Iran. Seif said that the initial plan was about concluding a $5 billion agreement but the sides later decided to increase the amount to $8 billion. However, the officials from Iran and China eventually agreed on $10 billion. “This agreement can pave the ground for implementing mega large projects in the country,” the senior banker said.
