National Development Fund of Iran
The National Development Fund of Iran (NDFI; Persian: صندوق توسعه ملی) is Iran's sovereign wealth fund. It was founded in 2011 to supplement the Oil Stabilization Fund. NDFI is independent of the government's budget. Based on Article 84 of the Fifth Five-year Socio-Economic Development Plan (2010–2015), the National Development Fund was established to transform oil and gas revenues to productive investment for future generation. It is a member of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds and therefore is signed up to the Santiago Principles on best practice in managing sovereign wealth funds. Withdrawing any money from this fund requires Khamenei's permission.
| Industry | Sovereign wealth fund |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2011 |
| Headquarters | Tehran, Iran |
Key people | Mehdi Ghazanfari (CEO) |
| Total assets | $64.8 billion (June 2014) $35 billion USD (March 2012) $23.8 billion USD (December 2021) |
| Website | www.ndf.ir |
Accordingly, 20% of oil income is to be transferred to the National Development Fund and this percentage increases 3% annually until the end of the Fifth Five-year Socio-Economic Development Plan. The new fund is to extend 50% of its financial facilities to private, cooperative and non-governmental sectors and 20% to promote foreign investment (inward and outward). The remaining 30% is invested (in capital markets) abroad.
NDFI's reserves stood at $24.4 billion in 2011 and $35 billion in 2012. It is foreseen that the Development Fund will reach $55 billion by March 2013 and $61 billion by March 2014. In October 2023, the fund has US$10 billion in assets under management.