TEHRAN – Two of Iran’s biggest railway companies namely Raja Rail Transportation Company and Novin Sanat Raja Company are going through the final stages to be listed on Iran’s over-the-counter (OTC) market, known as Iran Fara Bourse (IFB), an official with RAJA announced.

According to Hassan Esmaili, member of the board and chairman of the company’s specialized working group on the capital market, RAJA’s administrative and financial issues have been resolved and the company and its subsidiary are going to join the capital market soon, IRIB reported.

The Tourism Holding Company of the Social Security Organization, known by its Persian acronym Hegta, has supplied the necessary capital required for the company to enter the capital market, Esmaili said.

Stating that the preparations for RAJA’s joining the capital market began with the formation of a specialized working group in July, the official said: “Exploring strategies for increasing capital, collecting and compiling documents, holding several consulting sessions, negotiating with various brokerages, and identifying intermediaries can be mentioned as some of the activities of this working group since its establishment.”

Raja Rail Transportation Company, as the largest passenger rail company in Iran and with a share of about 55 percent of the country’s passenger transportation, has a clear vision for entering the capital market and seeks to develop this sector, the official stressed.

According to Esmaili, Novin Sanat RAJA, a subsidiary of the main company, also has a great capacity in technical and engineering activities and can play a significant role in this industry.

Recently, the Iranian government has been encouraging major government-owned and private companies to join the stock market, as it is planning to benefit from the capacities of this market for providing funding for development projects of the mentioned companies.

Since the current Iranian calendar year (began on March 20) is named the year of “Surge in Production” by the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, the country’s stock market has become a major player in realizing this motto.

The market is trying to attract the liquidity existing in the society toward production and development projects, and many ministries and organizations including the Ministry of Transport and Urban Development have already announced that they are planning to fund their development projects through the stock market.

EF/MA