SHANA -- Iran�s National Petrochemical Company (NPC) is preparing to issue bonds for financing petrochemical projects, NPC CEO said.

Speaking on Monday, Behzad Mohammadi said that NPC was preparing a preliminary draft for issuance of bonds in foreign currencies and rials to be approved by the government in a bid to help resolve some of the financial problems of under-construction petrochemical projects.

"There have been various meetings on this issue with the Ministry of Petroleum and we are about to reach a final decision,� he added.

Mohammadi pointed out that Iran's petrochemical industry was a priority of the country's economy, said: "About Rls. 760 trillion was the petrochemical industry�s turnover back in 2016, which is the first priority in the country's economic development in relation to other industries including petroleum products, automobiles and other industries.�

The NPC CEO further pointed to 64 million tons/year of installed capacity in Iran�s petrochemical industry in 2017, adding 53.6 million tons was produced in that the calendar year of 1396 which ended on March 20 2017 which was equivalent to 84 percent of the production capacity of the sector.

Of the 53.6 million tons of petrochemicals produced in that year, 30.7 million tons were sold on the stock exchanges or were exported, and the rest were exchanged between domestic petrochemical plants.