Kiyan Zandiyeh is the portfolio manager for the Sturgeon Capital Iran Fund. A protege of Nouriel Roubini with an Iranian heritage, he’s a particularly sharp investor whose perspective I think you’ll find worthwhile.
Iran And Its’ Largest Hydrocarbon Reserves
Some background first…
Iran boasts the largest hydrocarbon reserves in the world and yet, income derived from energy is less than 12% of GDP.
Some things Kiyan and I cover in this recorded conversation:
- Iran’s zinc reserves (Iran has the highest zinc reserves in the world – something I wasn’t aware of)
- It is a large producer of Sulphate sodiums (used in detergent manufacture)
- It has a highly skilled but very low cost of labour
- A very favourable demographics with 65% of the population under the age of 35
- A growing middle class and as such domestic consumption and the businesses targeting that are interesting
- One product that we all use every day as it goes into every single building we enter as well as every single motor vehicle and Iran is the cheapest manufacturer of it
- The key catalyst for multiples on equity revaluations
- The catalyst for needed and in discussion for FDI and international liquidity flows
We also delve into which countries are dealing with Iran, which are retaken to do do and where capital flows may come from.
The entire geopolitical makeup of the world is changing and this is going to happen whether we like the new rules being written or not.
Our job as intelligent investors is to best understand these dynamics so as to not get blindsided by them, wake up in 10 years time, and realise the world’s a different place and one we’re unprepared for.
You can listen to the conversation here:
Enjoy!
– Chris
“Iran is one of the last remaining places, short of Mars and the Moon, that there is significant opportunity” – Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO, WPP plc
