Member Info for MikeGP

Cont'd

Iran-Venezuela Bi-National Bank

Established as a joint venture between Banco Industrial de Venezuela and the Export Development Bank of Iran in 2010 with a starting capital of $200 million offered equally by both countries, the bank aimed to boost commercial relations and investments among Iran, Venezuela and Latin America. The bank has one branch in Tehran.

However, Iran is planning to sell some of its shares in IVBB, as the two countries currently have no commercial relations because the long geographical distance between the two countries and Venezuela’s monetary regulations increase the cost of transactions.

Islamic Cooperation Investment Bank

Islamic Cooperation Investment Bank was established in 2006 as an Iraqi private lender. The bank has 11 branches in Baghdad, Karbala, Najaf, Sulaymaniyah and Tehran.

The bank opened its Tehran branch last year following the investment of Keshavarzi Bank in the bank because of the significant trade volume between Iran and Iraq, as well as expansion of banking relations between the two countries.

Future Bank

Future Bank is a fully commercial lender approved by the Central Bank of Bahrain. The bank has its headquarters in Manama.

The bank was established in July 2004 as a joint venture by three reputed financial institutions—Bank Saderat Iran, Bank Melli Iran and Ahli United Bank of Bahrain—based on the vision of becoming a unified entity that incorporates the strengths of all three constituents. The bank's branch in Iran is located in Kish FTZ.

The bank's major shareholders are members of a vast global network within the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council, European and Far Eastern markets, effectively extending their reach beyond the bank's regional footprint.

http://www.eihbank.de/en/

"Welcome to eihbank

eihbank has been operating for more than 40 years in the Hanseatic City of Hamburg. Since our early days we have assumed the role as a specialised bank for international business with the Islamic Republic of Iran and the world. In that capacity, we are providing a broad range of banking services, for the execution of trade financing which comprises, beside the classical banking instruments, solutions for complex finance packages. This concept, matured over the years, has placed eihbank nationally and internationally as a well recognised finance expert.

Your partner for Iran and the World

eihbank, headquartered in Hamburg with branches in Tehran and Kish Island, is an efficient and reliable partner for all your foreign trade transactions with Iran and the world. We have set high standards in providing indivdualised services to our customers and business partners."

Possible banking options?.... Germany/Iran link.
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See this old ( 2017) article on Banks in Iran.

https://financialtribune.com/articles/economy-business-and-markets/65918/5-foreign-banks-licensed-by-iran

The Central Bank of Iran has released the names of 40 registered banks and credit institutions active in the country, which include the names of five foreign banks mostly based in Tehran and Kish Free Trade Zone.

The only five foreign lenders licensed to operate in Iran are the Hamburg-based Iranian-European Bank, Standard Chartered PLC, Iran-Venezuela Bi-National Bank, Islamic Cooperation Investment Bank and Future Bank, CBI's website reported.

Iranian-European Bank

As the first foreign lender, the Hamburg-based Iranian-European Bank (Europaisch-Iranische Handelsbank AG), affiliated with Iran’s Bank of Industry and Mine, became operational in Kish FTZ back in 2005. In 2008, the bank converted its Tehran representative office into an independent branch.

The lender has a German license, but is owned by the Iranian state. Iran’s Bank of Industry and Mine is the biggest shareholder with Bank Mellat and Tejarat Bank also owning stakes.

Iranian merchants had founded the bank in the early 1970s to support trade between Europe and Iran. The bank’s activities had been frozen for five years , as the lender was hit with nuclear-related sanctions but resumed activities after the lifting of sanctions in 2016.

Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered PLC is a British multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in London. It operates a network of more than 1,200 branches and outlets (including subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures) across more than 70 countries and employs about 87,000 people.

It is a universal bank with operations in consumer, corporate and institutional banking, and treasury services. Despite its UK base, it does not conduct retail banking in the UK, and approximately 90% of its profits come from Asia, Africa and the Middle East, where it often acts as an "inte

ozzie,..

I cant wait to see how Donald spins this one!
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Absolutely spot on,... so now if he is true to his word the US will stop all trade with China. Good luck with that one Donald.

Ooops.. sorry Ozzie... been in a car all day and didn't see your post,.. with same China/Iran article.

A little off topic but,... the Chinese look to be about to step in and increase their share in Iran South Pars Gas filed,... the largest gas field in the country,... following France's TOTAL SA pulling out of a deal due to the threat of US sanctions.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-11/u-s-iran-sanctions-give-china-lead-in-world-s-biggest-gas-field

Maybe the French need a new home for their money,..... plenty of potential till suitors I would have thought,... hopefully JP will have them all whipped up in to a feeding frenzy in the not too distant future.

Best

IMHO,... when the BoD sit around the table and are tasked with the assessing the companies exposure in the context of the usual due diligence/negligence arguments I am sure that one of the key factors affecting their decision to proceed with the contract will actually rest with the Iran government. If Iran walk away from the JCPOA,.... then it is difficult to see, IMHO,.. how they would proceed with the contract,.. as all bets would be off.

However, if Iran was too categorically state that it was fully committed to the JCPOA,... and cogniscent of the support from the EU/3,.. then, as a shareholder, I would be happy for the BoD to press the "go" button,...provided the international banking/transfer of funds facilities are confirmed as operational by the relevant Iranian/EU bodies.

In reality, this could happen tomorrow,. ....months down the line,..or not at all!

But as long as the clock keeps ticking,.... we are moving closer to a solution,... and while Iran stays at the table,.. i believe that with every day that days passes,.. the balance of probability swings a little bit more in our favour.... and the countdown continues for the other "end of year" long term MoU that company has indicated it expects to sign by year end.

Best

Nice find Akon. From that article,.... although it also stresses that we are not there yet!

‘Action needed before November 4’

Despite the activation of the European “blocking statute,” a number of European companies have left the Iranian market to avoid US punishment.

Zarif said the greater part of the European measures had to become operational before the November 4 sanctions hit, a potential sign that maintaining oil sales and financial channels with world countries were more important for Iran.

Asked if Europe would be able to meet that deadline, the Iranian foreign minister said, “Based on our observations of the trend in the international community and the resistance that all countries — not just the Europeans — ... have put up against the re-imposition of the US sanctions, we believe we can secure the guarantees necessary to sustain the JCPOA.”

and...

"‘Europe on the right track’

He also referred to other European efforts to sustain the deal, including the activation of a “blocking statute” to protect those European businesses that choose to stay in Iran from American penalties and, notably, lobbying with non-European countries to either start buying Iran’s oil or increase their purchases of crude from the country.

“During my [recent] trip to Singapore..., I concluded that the Europeans are not only working to sustain the JCPOA inside of Europe but that they have taken extensive measures [to that effect] outside of it, too,” Zarif added, using an abbreviation to refer to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the official title of the 2015 Iran deal.
He said the Europeans have asked other countries to open bank accounts for Iran’s Central Bank — to facilitate direct transactions and non-reliance on the American financial system — and said Europe itself is currently working to do the same.

Hi sunny,... nothing wrong with being a pedantic git!!..... although my quick Google doesn't show anything which puts North Korea on the coffee producing map!...

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/top-coffee-producing-countries.html

Top Coffee Producing Countries
Rank Country Coffee Production (Metric Tons) Coffee Production (Pounds)
1 Brazil 2,592,000 5,714,381,000
2 Vietnam 1,650,000 3,637,627,000
3 Colombia 810,000 1,785,744,000
4 Indonesia 660,000 1,455,050,000
5 Ethiopia 384,000 846,575,000
6 Honduras 348,000 767,208,000
7 India 348,000 767,208,000
8 Uganda 288,000 634,931,000
9 Mexico 234,000 515,881,000

http://www.worldstopexports.com/north-koreas-top-10-exports/

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in North Korean global shipments during 2017. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from North Korea.

At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, North Korea’s most valuable exported good is coal including related solid fuels made from coal. Other major North Korean exports are clothing, molluscs including scallops, iron, miscellaneous nuts and lead.
Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): US$499.8 million (27.1% of total exports)
Mineral fuels including oil: $420 million (22.8%)
Ores, ****, ash: $187.5 million (10.2%)
Fish: $164 million (8.9%)
Iron, steel: $83.2 million (4.5%)
Fruits, nuts: $79 million (4.3%)
Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $65.7 million (3.6%)
Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $44.2 million (2.4%)
Electrical machinery, equipment: $43.6 million (2.4%)
Machinery including computers: $35.2 million (1.9%)

Either way,.... I think we agree,... Trump has adopted his usual heavy handed negotiating stance,... and it has perhaps not worked out quite as he had expected.-- I think we will see more concrete financial solutions being rolled out over the coming 2 to 3 weeks which should give us a little more insight to where we stand with the contract.

Best

Indeed, Gibbo,...I was watching some interviews yesterday on US news Tv,.. with Senators stating that the EU was coming around and that the UK was largely on board etc.,... utter nonsense,.. designed to placate the US public who have no real clue as to what is going on. Threatening North Korea,.... where the US does nil business,.... compared to threatening Iran,... where US companies have contracts worth billions of dollars are two completely different things.

When it sinks in,.... that US jobs are at risk,... and the rest of the world ie,.. China,.. India...Russia and the EU far from distancing themselves from Iran,,,, are actually pushing ahead and forging links with Iran,.. then Trump will manoeuvre to get himself back on board.

We've seen this re-positioning, already in the past week; saying he is prepared to have talks,...with no preconditions. It is Iran who are currently saying "no",.. ( at least in public)...not whilst you are unilaterally imposing sanctions.... and in the background is Oman,.. a "back channel" intermediary,...

It will be interesting to see how this pans out over the next 2 or 3 weeks.

WSG has little to nil business in the US,.. in theory, there is very little for WSG to worry about in annoying them? Our M/E contract services fall outside the scope of the sanctions in any case.

We simply need to confirm that our supply chain is intact,,,.... and crucially, confirm that we have the ability to facilitate the contract financially,..ie the banking infrastructure that we would require to implement the contract, is in place and functioning.

Best.

..news coming?

wpa,... didn't realise you are a "Chartist"!

Eggy,... chill!

It would of course be nice to know the results now,.. we are all keen to know.

But,.. at least we can be confident of steady news flow over the coming few months, until all is revealed with the final,.. hopefully, blockbuster. A 2to 3 week gap between results will give the market time to digest the news with slow but sure ticks up,.. if all goes well... which, on balance,..is probably the best way of realising sp growth and maintaining it.

Not long now for the first,.. end of this week, or IMHO more likely next week.

Also news confirming the seismic contract and programme may drop soon,.. along with info on additional work-over wells etc.,

Just need to be patient.

Best

http://www.irna.ir/en/News/82992678

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Would expect a heap of initiatives over the coming 2 or 3 weeks leading up to the end of August when it appears the EU will final decision on the Blocking statute? Certainly suggests that negotiations are on-going, between US and Iran,... either secretly,..or by proxy,.. via Oman etc., ...in reality, quite possibly probably both?

Hopefully we will start to see more evidence of the "work around" solutions, that have been mentioned, this week.

Best

Ned,.. if we get to £2,... I'll be buying!

Feeks,..

Very conservative on purpose... and I didn't mention other MoU they expect to sign this year etc. given that we know how long it can take to negotiate these complex deals.

We could easily make a case for £1-2/share in the next 12months , on the M/E contract alone,...once operational.

One thing is for sure,... if we get it off the ground we need to organise a serious party because our patience and blood pressure has been tested up and beyond!

Let's not forget that it is PF intention to sell the company,... at some stage... and I believe he has mentioned figures north of £2/share in the post AGM "sandwich" chats?

Best

Fag packet calcs:

£23M plus add-on plus existing= circa £30M revenue.

Always operated on high margins in the past, circa 50-70%--- if we are super conservative and reduce that to 33%

£30M x 33%= £10M....... p/e of 10 ( again conservative IMHO, given 15 year length of contract)- £100M

Circa 125M shares in circulation= 80p/share

I'm not sure the GSA is being linked to the price of oil?

I believe it was discussed over a year ago when the price of oil was much lowe,r as James could see the potential upside with a recovering oil sector,... but, given the recent rise in the price of oil has happened before the GSA signing,... I believe that this is now less likely.

It was discussed at the Norwich presentation,.. but can't remember if it was on or off camera in one of the 'chats'.

Best

spot on sound.... JP is a deal maker.

We just need to be patient and let him do the business.

... that we just need the "work around' solution to be finalised and the BoD would have enough comfort to exchange letters,, and commence the eight week enabling period?

It doesn't look,.. and to be fair,.. has never looked as if the EU are going to walk away or be intimidated by the uni-lateral US action.

Best.

https://sputniknews.com/world/201808031066924739-eu-iran-us-sanctions/

The European Union intends to continue and even step up its trade and economic cooperation with Iran, despite the US decision to reimpose sanctions on Tehran, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Friday.

"We are determined to continue and even increase [our] economic and trade engagement, legitimate economic and trade engagement with Iran even if the United States has decided to impose sanctions in violation of the commitments taken under the nuclear deal," Mogherini said, delivering a speech at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore.