Announcing the scaling down of the initial capital for establishing offshore banks in these zones, Deputy Secretary-General for Economic Affairs of the Free and Economic Zones High Council Secretariat said that the investment amount for both domestic and external applicants is the same.
Ahmad Jamali said that the initial capital for setting up a bank in free-industrial zones was cut back from 100 m euros to 50 m euros. “Directives overseeing the establishment and operation of the offshore banks in these zones was amended and all the business people and individuals who work in the financial and monetary area can now benefit from this positive opportunity to set up offshore banks in free zones,” he said.
He also explained that the type of company for an offshore bank will follow the rules of company registration in Iran as per public limited companies and private joint-stock companies regulations with the least capital ratio. This comes after the amendments were made in which offshore bank's share ownership by foreign individuals is possible.