British car manufacturer MG Rover dismissed as pure speculation Saturday, September 1, a claim by an anonymous Iranian parliamentary source who said the company intended to build a car plant in Iran.
"That's not true, that's pure speculation," spokesman Gordon Pointer told AFP, of the report claiming that Rover intended to build an €800 million ($730 million) factory in the city of Zabol, near the Afghan border.
The earlier report claimed that the plant would manufacture MG Rover models, mostly for export, eventually producing 15,000 units a year. But Pointer did admit that the company was looking at expanding into the Iranian market as Tehran opened up possibilities within the sector.
"The Iranian government is looking to open up the market and encourages a number of manufacturers to come in," he said, adding that there had already been speculation "about the possibility of various companies either importing cars or possibly even manufacturing cars."
"Our interest would be obviously looking at selling our cars there but this process take a long while, giving that there are currently government restrictions on imports of new cars," he said. "We are basically assessing the situation," Pointer said, insisting "we can't speculate on what can happen in two or three years time. But at the moment the focus is in looking at the ways in which we may be able to sell the Rover... in Iran."
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that authorities in the Shabahar free-trade zone had approved the project, which would create 10,000 jobs on site and a further 70,000 positions indirectly.
The company, based in Longbridge, near Birmingham in central England, was almost forced to close down a year ago, but announced better financial figures in July, posting 254 million pounds (€405 million, $370 million) in losses for 2000. The results compare to a 780 million pound shortfall in 1999.
The company played a major role in launching the Iranian auto industry in the 1960s and has recently resumed negotiations with Iran following a break in ties in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution. The auto industry, which produced some 300,000 cars in 2000, is considered Iran's most dynamic industrial sector. — (AFP, London)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
