"$100 billion" of capital has left Iran in the last decade

The head of the Investment Services Center of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce announced on Sunday, September 11, that "$100 billion" of capital has left Iran over the past decade.

Referring to the need to attract foreign capital instead of capital flight, Faryal Mostofi said: "Iran, like other countries in the world, needs cooperation with other countries and the benefit of foreign investment for economic development and growth. Therefore, to be successful in attracting foreign capital, it must provide the appropriate platform and infrastructure in the country."

So far, official statistics on the actual volume of capital flight from the country have not been published.

Masoud Khansari, head of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, said last March: "In the past two years, $100 billion in capital has left Iran."

One of the indicators that can somewhat indicate the actual volume of capital flight from the country is the country's net capital account.

The Central Bank of Iran has not yet published the country's net capital account report for 2019, but statistics from 2011 to 2019 show that, with the exception of 2014, this indicator has always been negative, which could mean capital flight from the country.

From 2011 to 2019, the country's net capital account was more than negative $98 billion, which could indicate that this amount of capital is fleeing the country.

On the other hand, the attraction of foreign investment in Iran has also dropped sharply. According to the latest report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), published in July, the value of foreign direct investment in the world reached $999 billion last year, of which only $1.342 billion, equivalent to 0.13 percent, was in Iran.

Source: Radio Farda