NDFI to Get 32% of Oil, Gas Money

Members of parliament on Saturday approved a measure determining the share of the National Development Fund of Iran from all oil and gas export revenues in their latest open session on Saturday to decide on the articles of the fiscal 2018-19 budget law.

The measure passed by lawmakers indicates that “the share of NDFI from the resources from the export of oil, natural-gas condensates, and net exports of gas will be set at 32%”.

It further states that the resources are to be deposited into the sovereign wealth fund on a monthly basis, but will be calculated and cleared from the 11th month of the year (started Jan. 21), reported ICANA, the official news portal of Majlis.

The budget measure obligates the Oil Ministry to present a report to three of the specialized committees of the parliament in addition to the Management and Planning Organization on the resources subject to the measure.

Two other motions pertaining to the sovereign wealth fund were passed in recent days.

On Tuesday, MPs passed a measure allowing NDFI to deposit 150 trillion rials ($3.05 billion) of its rial resources with agent banks at zero interest rate after gaining the approval of its board of trustees to be allocated as loans.

In early February, the administration of President Hassan Rouhani was authorized to draw $350 million from NDFI for completing a massive agriculture project to irrigate 46,000 hectares in Sistan-Baluchestan Province.

After the parliamentary session, Mohammad Reza Pour-Ebrahimi, the head of Majlis Economic Commission, announced that his commission, along with a number of MPs, is to hold a meeting with top government representatives.

“In a letter to Majlis Economic Commission, the president introduced Central Bank of Iran Governor Valiollah Seif, Presidential Economic Deputy Mohammad Nahavandian and Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Masoud Karbasian as the representatives of the government to take part in tomorrow’s joint meeting with MPs,” Mohammad Reza Pour-Ebrahimi was also quoted as saying by ICANA.

According to parliamentary regulations, the commission is obligated to present its report of the meeting to the open session in a week.

source: Financial Tribune