New US senate bill could hit Asian buyers of Iranian crude: sources
Tokyo (Platts)--9May2013/909 am EDT/1309 GMT
A new bill introduced late Wednesday to the US Senate aimed at
strengthening Washington's sanctions against Iran could affect Asian
countries that pay for Iranian crude in foreign currencies, sources
familiar with the matter said Thursday.
The potential impact on Iran's main buyers of crude -- China, Japan,
India, South Korea and Taiwan -- is not altogether clear, though some
refiners have paid in the past for Iranian oil in currencies that are
not the countries' own.
The Iran Sanctions Loophole Elimination Act aims to block Iran's access
to billions of dollars worth of foreign exchange reserves and limit the
ability of designated Iranian entities like the Central Bank of Iran
(CBI) and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to conduct
transactions in foreign currencies, including euros.
With immediate effect, it would require the US president to impose
sanctions on any foreign bank that "knowingly conducts or facilitates a
transaction in a non-local currency for or on behalf of the CBI or any
entity within the blacklisted Iranian energy, shipping, shipbuilding and
port operator sectors."
Under the legislation, currency conversions would be prohibited
effective Thursday, May 9, and any transactions conducted from that day
forward would retroactively be subject to sanctions when the legislation
becomes law, according to the bill introduced by Republican Senators
Mark Kirk of Illinois, Susan Collins of Maine and John Cornyn of Texas
and Democratic Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Bill Nelson of
Florida.
The senators said a Chinese bank, for example, would be prohibited from
conducting a transaction with a European bank in euros -- such a
transaction would only be allowed to be done in yuan.
"We are putting financial institutions around the world on notice that
you must halt all foreign currency transactions on behalf of blacklisted
Iranian banks and sectors or risk being cut off from the US financial
market," the senators said.
"If you are facilitating a transaction for the CBI, NIOC or a host of
other blacklisted Iranian companies, and the transaction is not being
conducted in your local country's currency, you will be held
accountable."
POTENTIAL IMPACT
The possible impact on China is unclear as Beijing is thought to have
set up its own currency exchange system with Iran to facilitate
bilateral trade, including for oil, via their respective central banks.
There has also been suggestion that some barter trade is taking place
between Beijing and Tehran.
Japan and South Korea, meanwhile, have been paying for Iranian crude
with their own currencies, the yen and won, so are unlikely to be
impacted by the bill in its current form, sources said Thursday.
But Tokyo and Seoul will still closely watch what final form the
legislation may take, sources said.
Japanese refiners make their payments for Iranian crude directly into an
account held by Iran's CBI at Japanese banks, sources said.
In South Korea, the situation is a little more complex.
Refiners place their payments for Iranian crude into a won-denominated
account held by the CBI in South Korea.
Iran then uses that money to pay for imports of other South Korean
goods, meaning no Korean currency actually ever leaves the country.
India, meanwhile, agreed with Iran last year to settle 45% of oil
payments in Indian rupees and the rest in euros.
Payments in euros were settled through Turkey's Halk Bank.
But in February, the Turkish bank said it would not be able to process
any more Iranian payments, so Indian refiners confirmed that all
payments were now being made in Indian currency.
UCO Bank, a domestic bank headquartered in Kolkota, was chosen to make
rupee payments to Iran and a waiver on tax payments for these
transactions was cleared last year.
Taiwan, for its part, has only periodically bought Iranian crude in the
past year.
It first stopped Iranian crude imports in April 2012, two months before
sanctions were imposed by the US and EU on trade with Iran.
It was subsequently granted a sanctions waiver by Washington and this
was renewed in early December for a further 180 days.
Taiwan resumed Iranian crude purchases at the end of last year, with 3.9
million barrels imported over November and December 2012.
Latest available government data as of February 2013 show no new imports
from Iran since then.
A source at a Taiwanese refiner said its crude imports from Iran were
previously paid for in Japanese yen and Taiwanese and US dollars but he
was now uncertain how payments would be made going forward.
--Takeo Kumagai, takeo.kumagai@platts.com; Daniel Colover,
daniel.colover@platts.com; Song Yen Ling, yen.ling.song@platts.com; M.C.
Vaijayanthi, newsdesk@platts.com; Charles Lee, newsdesk@platts.com
--Edited by Stuart Elliott,
stuart.elliott@platts.com
© 2013 Platts, The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
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