Foreign companies’ presence in the Iranian market has increased up to 50 percent since the Rouhani administration came to power last August, Mohammad Javad Ghanbari, the deputy director of Iran’s International Exhibition Company told reporters in a news conference on Saturday. During the past year, “we signed good contracts with East Asian and European companies and were able to hold exhibitions in different countries,” he said. Fadi Kaddoura, the sales director of International Fairs and Promotion (IFP), who also attended the news conference, said that Iran has spent a large amount in finances to strengthen its infrastructure and “is waiting for the removal of sanctions to warmly accept businesspeople from all around the globe.” Chambers of commerce from many countries and IFP trade partners have expressed interest in investing in Iran’s domestic market and “will surely find a way to do this in the near future,” he added. Kaddoura also noted that Iran has a flourishing construction industry, which has attracted investors from many countries, including China, India, Russia, Italy, France, Germany, and South Korea.