SABAF

"For some foreign companies, it has been a waiting game. They stayed in Iran when the sanctions hit and, like Fanaei in Qatar, put up with the bad times in the hope that the good times would eventually return. Landi Renzo, an Italian producer of autogas and compressed natural gas kits for cars, saw annual revenues in Iran sink from about 35 million euros to about 3 million when sanctions hit, said Pierpaolo Marziali, the firm's head of mergers and acquisitions. There were no Western banks ready to offer guarantees and letters of credit, and the sharp decline of Iran's currency under sanctions made matters worse. 'But we stayed the course and never stopped producing, albeit at minimal levels, and that's put us in a strong position now since we have a kind of preferential channel. Our staff is regularly in Tehran and we're looking forward to relaunching production,' Marziali said. Another Italian company that stuck it out was SABAF, which makes components for household cooking appliances, although its annual sales in Iran fell from about 10 billion euros to around 3 million, Administrative Director Gianluca Beschi said. 'We've already started talks in the country and we hope to be able to boost our sales in 2016 to get back to pre-sanction times,' she said. Italy hopes its trade with Iran will now surge and sees the best opportunities in oil and gas, cars and transport, and construction and furniture. But China, India, Russia and Brazil have kept or gained a foothold in Iran since sanctions were imposed, and Beijing is the top exporter to Tehran. For some companies, the race has already begun." (Reuters, “After sanctions, Iranian and foreign firms await the good times,” 1/24/2016)