TEHRAN- Central Bank of Iran (CBI)’s governor dismissed the news that the domestic Forex Management Integrated System (locally known as NIMA) would stop activity, IRIB reported.

Abdolnaser Hemmati stressed that NIMA is a pivot of the foreign currency exchange and trade related activities in the country and it will not be omitted from the forex market at all.

While this system will not stop its activity, it has been ordered and emphasized that 50-60 percent of the foreign currency earned from the exports should be presented in NIMA, the CBI governor added.

NIMA, which seeks to boost transparency, create competitiveness among exchange shops and a secure environment for traders, is a new chance for importers to supply their required foreign currency without specific problems and for exporters to re-inject their earned foreign currency to domestic forex market. It was inaugurated to allow exporters of non-oil commodities to sell their foreign currency earnings to importers of consumer products.

In mid-November last year, CBI issued the instructions on return details of the hard currency earned by exporters back to the domestic financial system.

The instructions, aimed to lead the export revenues from the non-oil exports back into the country’s economy through NIMA, mandate all the exporters of goods and services to guarantee bringing back to the country the foreign currency amount allocated to them by the government at lower prices than the free market.

In terms of the integrated forex market, which is to be launched in the country, CBI governor said that a company has been set up for this market and its managing director has been selected, the activity of this market is in the pilot stage at the moment and after this stage the market will start its activity officially.

Establishment of this market has been approved by the Money and Credit Council (MCC), the highest banking policy-making body of CBI, on January 8 as the CBI aims to explore the real volume of demand and supply in the foreign currency market through a new mechanism, which is to organize the transactions in the foreign currency exchange market between the exchange shops.

On Wednesday, Mohammadreza Pour-Ebrahimi, the chairman of the Economic Committee of Majlis, announced that this market will be launched by the end of current Iranian calendar month of Khordad (June 21).

MA/MA