The deal, signed on the last day of the 27th Oil, Gas, Refining and
Petrochemical Exhibition in Tehran, includes the establishment of a corporate
venture capital fund (CVC) that will provide investment opportunities for
various knowledge-based sectors in the petrochemical industry.
Abdolali Ali-Asgari, PGPIC’s chief executive, said that
knowledge-based companies were the peak of achievements in the petrochemical
industry and that they could have a better future for this sector if they were
financially supported.
He praised IPF's support for knowledge-based companies in the country
and said that one of PGPIC’s major strategies was to move towards the
downstream chain of the petrochemical industry.
"The diversity of knowledge-based companies and the diversity of
technology and knowledge will help accelerate the development of the
petrochemical value chain," he said, adding that the goal of signing the
memorandum was to support knowledge-based companies active in the petrochemical
industry.
Mohammad-Sadegh Khiyabani, IPF's chief executive, said that the oil
industry was a mature industry and that Iran had very good capacities in this
field. He added that knowledge-based companies also had high capabilities to
meet the technological needs of this industry.
He said that more than 1,200 knowledge-based companies were active in
the fields of oil, gas and petrochemicals and that technology and investment
were two key factors in this industry.
According to Khiyabani, IPF will support value-creating downstream
projects in the petrochemical industry in cooperation with PGPIC. He also said
that IPF will identify the technological needs of the oil, gas and
petrochemical sector and help meet them with the help of knowledge-based
companies.
He pointed out that establishing a CVC fund with PGPIC was another
outcome of the memorandum and said: "This fund will provide investment
opportunities for various knowledge-based sectors in the petrochemical
industry. These collaborations are very good opportunities that will help boost
and develop knowledge-based companies in the petrochemical industry."
He expressed hope that with PGPIC's cooperation and supportive vision,
more growth of knowledge-based companies in the petrochemical industry would be
witnessed. "I believe that knowledge-based companies have high capabilities
in this field and that there is room for increasing the use of knowledge-based
industries in the petrochemical industry," he said.