TEHRAN - The National Development Fund (NDF) has deposited 4 trillion rials (about $8 million) into the Capital Market Development and Stabilization Fund to support the stock market, on Sunday, a board member of the NDF announced.

Alireza Saleh said that this action of the National Development Fund was carried out in order to fulfill the obligations in the operational plan of the Capital Market Stabilization Fund and with the aim of helping the capital market.

Referring to the recent fluctuations of the capital market, he said: “Due to the follow-ups of the Securities and Exchange Organization (SEO) and the Capital Market Stabilization Fund due to the fluctuations that have occurred in the capital market, a meeting of the executive board of the National Development Fund was held yesterday and it was decided that the fund should inject another 400 billion tomans (4 trillion rials) into the Capital Market Stabilization Fund.”

The NDF has previously deposited resources to the Capital Market Development and Stabilization Fund.

In August 2022, Head of the Capital Market Development and Stabilization Fund Amir-Mahdi Sabaei announced that the National Development Fund had deposited 10 trillion rials (about $20 million) into the stabilization fund to support the stock market.

Sabaei had previously announced the allocation of 120 trillion rials (about $240 million) of NDF resources for the Capital Market Development and Stabilization Fund.

According to the official, the NDF deposits into the Capital Market Stabilization and Development Fund were being made as promised.

Sabaei had previously noted that in addition to the resources received from NDF, the fund can also be financed through the money and capital markets.

The allocation of financial resources from NDF to the Capital Market Stabilization and Development Fund is one of the measures that the government has been taking since the stock market started a downward trend.

Following the 13th government’s new strategies to improve the stock market, the Government Economic Coordination Headquarters convened a meeting in November 2021, chaired by President Ebrahim Raisi, during which a decision was made to inject new resources from NDF into the Capital Market Development and Stabilization Fund.

Based on the statute of the Capital Market Development and Stabilization Fund, the resources of this fund can be provided from three main sources, the first is the government investment which should be foreseen in the national budget bill, and the second is the allocation of one percent of NDF resources for this fund, and the third source would be the allocation of a part of the trades commission received by the Securities and Exchange Organization.

The Capital Market Development and Stabilization Fund’s mission is to support the Iranian stock market. The money loaned from NDF should be repaid over a specified period and the maturity can be extended. The Capital Market Stabilization Fund is responsible for paying the principal amount plus interest.

MA