TEHRAN- The value of trades at Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) has risen 62 percent to 6.2 quadrillion rials (about $147.6 billion) from 3.8 quadrillion rials (about $90.9 billion) since the beginning of current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2018), TSE Head Ali Sahraei announced in a press conference on Wednesday.

The official further elaborated on the activities and achievements of TSE during the first ten months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21 – December 21, 2018) and said entrance of more companies to the TSE, creating more transparency in the trades and more control over the stock market, and launching new financial instruments in the stock market have been some major measures followed up during the mentioned time span.

TSE head also said that the number of securities traded at TSE during the first ten months of this year has risen 122 percent to 429 billion, the number of trades has increased 108 percent to 26 million, and TEDPIX (the main index of TSE) has experienced a 69-percent growth to stand at 162,805 while it was 96,290 at the start of this year.

He also said 177 new trading codes have been issued which shows 62 percent growth from the last year’s same time.

Sahraei put the number of companies conducting trades at the TSE at 324 for the moment and said some six companies have been deleted from the list of TSE and transferred to Iran's over-the-counter (OTC) market, known also as Iran Fara Bourse (IFB), during the ten-month period.

He said the companies present at TSE has increased their capital by nine percent to 123 trillion rials (about $2.9 billion).

More financial instruments on agenda.

Elsewhere in his remarks the TSE head referred to launching futures contract as a new financial instrument in Iran’s capital market in last month as one of the major achievements of TSE in the current calendar year and said launching more instruments in the capital market is on the agenda of TSE’s activities.

He said futures contract is currently the fourth major derivative contract in the world’s stock markets and it is hoped that it will be developed in Iran’s capital market as it has many advantages.

During the 26 working days since the establishment of this contract in the country’s capital market, some 2,128 deals based on futures contract has occurred at the TSE, the official announced and put the worth of deals at 148 billion rials (about $3.5 million).

Futures contracts (more colloquially, futures) are financial contracts obligating the buyer to purchase an asset or the seller to sell an asset at a predetermined future date and price.

Capital market infrastructure should be upgraded

Sahraei further stressed the necessity of upgrading the capital market infrastructure in the country and said: “Our current infrastructure has been created some 11 years ago and the country that created it for us has launched two new generations of it since then in its own capital market.”

“We have planning for the required upgrade and in this regard we are conducting negotiations with some foreign and domestic companies,” the official announced.

“To develop the capital market we have no other choice except for upgrading and promoting the infrastructure”, he noted.

MOU signed with 12 world’s bourses

The capital market official also announced that TSE has already signed memorandums of understanding with 12 bourses of the world and is currently on the process of signing an MOU with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

He further mentioned the high number of industries at the TSE as one of the factors that makes this stock market attractive for the foreign investors and said there are presently 40 industries at TSE.

Lunching new financial instruments at the TSE will be another factor to lure the foreigners into this market, he stressed.

Sahraei also announced that according to the data released by the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), Iran’s capital market index (including indices of TSE and IFB) has experienced a 79.7-percent growth by the end of November 2018.