Preoccupancy of Iranian Demands
LG Electronics is pushing for the establishment of a large production plant in Tehran, Iran. KT&C is also expanding manufacturing facilities in the country. Like this, Korea companies are scrambling to tap into the Iranian market as economic sanctions on Iran have been lifted.
According to industry sources on Jan. 19, LG Electronics is currently discussing with the Iranian government and local companies to set up a plant in Tehran to produce over 500,000 TVs with the same number of refrigerators and washing machines.
The investment method is highly likely to be a joint venture with local companies or the establishment through local companies, rather than an independent direct investment. It is just an early stage of lifting sanctions. Therefore, it is hard for the company to make a large investment as there are uncertainties about the possibility to retrieve the investment.
An official from LG Electronics said, “We will make a final decision after watching what kinds of protections the Iranian government will adopt for foreign investors.”