The agreement, described by Iran’s Minister of Science as "one of the best and largest MoUs in the industrial sector," commits the holding to invest at least 10 trillion rials (approx. $200 million) under Articles 11 and 13 of the Law on the Surge in Knowledge-Based Production.
Mohammad Shariatmadari, CEO of PGPIC, announced that the company’s board has approved the allocation of 2% of subsidiary sales revenue to R&D activities. “We are committed to innovation and have launched a corporate venture capital (CVC) fund to support tech-based projects,” he said. According to Shariatmadari, 97 proposals are currently under review by the fund.
PGPIC is currently engaged with 500 knowledge-based firms, with cumulative contracts valued at over 6.5 quadrillion rials. “We must move beyond basic products. While we’re not selling raw materials, we are not yet producing complex, value-added products,” he noted, stressing the company’s focus on advancing R&D in petrochemicals.
The CEO added that PGPIC is ready to collaborate in academic thesis projects, joint consortiums, research centers, and simulation platforms, aiming to meet its technological needs through local innovators.
Hossein Afshin, Vice President for Science and Technology, emphasized that under the new agreement, top Iranian universities will receive direct payments from PGPIC, which will then be eligible for tax credits—creating a streamlined financial link between academia and industry.
The MoU was signed by Shariatmadari, Afshin, and Hossein Simayi, a senior official at the Ministry of Science, in a ceremony attended by officials from all three institutions.