[lbo-talk] Privatization of Iranian oil companies in sight

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

On 8/15/07, Miles Jackson <cqmv at pdx.edu> wrote:
> uvj at vsnl.com wrote:
> > Press TV
> > http://www.presstv.ir/news.aspx
> >
> > Privatization of oil companies in sight
> > http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=19419&sectionid=351020102
> >
> > Tue, 14 Aug 2007
> >
> > Gholamreza Kurd-Zanganeh
> >
> > Iran's Deputy Finance Minister has said the transition of state-run oil
> > companies to private ownership will begin as of August 23.
> >
> > In a telephone talk with Fars news agency, Gholamreza Kurd-Zanganeh added,
> > "Of the 21 companies listed by the Oil Ministry, any firm that is prepared
> > for the transition will be rapidly transferred into privatize hands."
> > http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=19419&sectionid=351020102
> >
> Another glorious step toward socialism in the Middle East!  Thank
> goodness the Iranian regime is challenging the Washington consensus--
>
> Miles

Nothing valuable will be privatized, for the National Iranian Oil
Company itself and anything upstream is excluded from the Leader's
plan.  And even such "privatization" as has and will take place, much
of which through so-called "justice shares" and the like, will be
conducted in such a way as not to make international investors go WOW.

After all is said and done, Iran's economy is less controlled by
capital than Venezuela's 21st-century socialist economy.

But leftists don't think like capitalists, so they don't understand
what's on sale to whom at what terms.
-- 
Yoshie