Investment

“Apollo Global Management disclosed that portfolio company LyondellBasell Industries (Apollo funds owned 19.6%) reported collecting €4.2 million in revenue and €2.4 million in profit last year from Iranian entities.” (Quartz, “US-listed companies doing business in Iran,” 2013)

On September 19, 2007, Kantons was added to the Florida State Board of Administration List of Prohibited Investments (Scrutinized Companies) due to its involvement in Iran. As of March 9, 2021, Kantons remains on the SBA list of prohibited investments. 

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Sinopec Kantons is listed on the 4Q 2020 Minnesota State Board of Investment List of Unauthorized (Scrutinized) Iran Companies.

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As of May 28, 2020, the Florida State Board of Administration (“SBA”) continues to list Kantons on its list of “Scrutinized Companies with Activities in the Iran Petroleum Energy Sector.

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On January 20, 2020, Minnesota SBI listed Kantons as a scrutinized investment. The managers are explicitly instructed to refrain from purchasing securities on this list.

As of August 27, 2019, Bayan Financial is listed on the Illinois Investment Policy Board Iran Restricted Companies list. 

"Iran and Italy signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation over protection of intellectual property rights. The MoU was signed by the head of Italian Patent and Trademark Office and directorate general for combating counterfeiting, Loredana Gulino, and the head of Intellectual Property Center of Iran’s Organization for Registration of Deeds and Properties, Mohammad Hassan Kiani, on Friday, IRNA reported." (December 11, 2016)

Azimut will buy the stake through AZ International Holdings, its Luxembourg-based unit.  Azimut and Mofid also plan to establish a fund, domiciled in Luxembourg, for foreign investors to invest in Iran.”  (Financial Times, “Italian asset manager buys stake in Iranian rival,” 10/10/2017).

"Swedish investment firm Serkland Invest AB agreed to buy a stake in Iran’s Sahar Dairy Co., which makes Danone and Le Groupe Bel SA products in the country. Serkland, which invests in consumer goods, will spend 'tens of millions of euros' on the minority holding in Sahar, and may secure further investment from other European firms for the stake, founder Omid Gholamifar said in an interview in Tehran on Sunday. 'Consumer goods companies know that Iran is the very last frontier,' Gholamifar said. 'The investments you can make here, you can’t make anywhere else in the world.'" (Bloomberg News,  "Swedish Investment Firm to Buy Stake in Danone's Iran Producer," 2/15/2017).

"Jan Dehn, head of research at Ashmore, the emerging markets-focused asset manager, said: 'We are looking closely at Iran. I was there recently. The current government is reformist and keen to show progress. Iran needs funding and wants to attract foreign capital. 'While sanctions have been reduced, there are still major obstacles that make investment difficult. The goalposts have been shifting frequently when it comes to regulation. We find that even if investments are permitted according to the law, there is a growing reluctance [among] banks to get involved in any transactions that could become subject to changing interpretations of existing laws.'" (Financial Times, "Iran moves to woo foreign investors," 10/17/2016).

"Iran secured a deal with Switzerland in December for investment in the Aprin dry port. A $25-million contract was signed between the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways and Swiss logistics holding Trans Invest Group, to start work on Aprin transport terminal, 20 kilometers to the southwest of Tehran, where Iran’s north-south and east-west rail transit routes meet." (June 2017)

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"PTB Perse International Forwarding Co. (Tehran), a subsidiary of the Swiss TransInvest Group, has won the tender for the concession to develop and operate Aprin Terminal, 20 kilometers from Tehran. The contract was signed at Iranian Railway headquarters in Tehran on September 18 at an official ceremony. The concession comprises a 25-year license for a so-called BOT (Build – Operate – Transfer) operator model, with a three-year construction phase and 22 years of operations. With an area of approximately 450 hectares, Aprin is to become Iran’s biggest dry port and a modern rail logistics terminal with customs clearance and bonded warehouse. The PTB Group was awarded the contract for the first phase, the development and operation of a 55-hectare sector; the annual capacity will be at 400,000 TEU, the sum invested in the infrastructure of the area will amount to approximately USD 30 million... With a staff of 450 working at 15 locations, the PTB Group is today renowned as one of Iran’s leading logistics services providers." (Think Railways,  "PTB Group to develop Iran's biggest dry port and rail logistics terminal," 10/6/2016).

"A Swedish firm is looking to launch the first initial public offering to raise capital for investments in Iran since international sanctions on Tehran were lifted. But the precautions it takes to demonstrate that its dealings are legitimate show that the undertaking, even on this small scale, is time-consuming and costly. Although global trade sanctions against Iran were lifted in January in return for Tehran curbing its nuclear program, the United States still forbids its own nationals and firms to do business in Iran, and prohibits dealings with a list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) deemed to engage in undesirable or terrorist activity. For those reasons, Pomegranate Investment AB, set up in Sweden in 2014, is entering the Iranian market cautiously. Chief executive Florian Hellmich told Reuters on a visit to London on Monday that the firm, which has raised 80 million euros ($91 million) from European investors since 2014 in anticipation of sanctions easing, hopes to launch its IPO in Sweden within 12 months, for investments in Iran's consumer technology sector... The main challenge for any international company, however, is vetting Iranian partners to ensure they are not on the U.S. blacklist.'We have learned to operate in a sanctions environment, which means we have had to engage in a high amount of KYC ('Know Your Customer'): legal due diligence of all our partners, including the banks we do business with,' Hellmich said on a visit to London... 'We have engaged an armada of lawyers who have been advising us in terms of disclaimers and due diligence. Again it comes back to the cost of doing business. It is time-consuming,' Hellmich said." (Reuters, “Swedish firm first to seek listing for investment in Iran,” 5/16/2016)

Ace & Company has one delegate registered at the 3rd Europe-Iran forum that took place from May 3-4, 2016 in Zurich, Switzerland. (Registered Delegates and Press at the 3rd Europe-Iran Forum).