TEHRAN- Central Bank of Iran (CBI) plans to launch an integrated forex market in the country by mid-August, IRIB reported.

During a meeting held on Saturday between CBI Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati and the managing director of the mentioned market, the latest measures and tests conducted to make this market operational were reviewed and it was decided that integrated forex market will be launched by mid-August.

Hemmati expressed hope that launching this market will lead to setting the real forex rates.

In early January, Money and Credit Council (MCC), the highest banking policy-making body of CBI, approved establishment of an integrated forex market as the CBI aims to explore the real volume of demand and supply in the foreign currency market through a new mechanism.

While, this mechanism is planned to organize the transactions in the forex market between the exchange shops, some also say that it may omit other exchange rates, including NIMA rate, gradually.

NIMA (Iran’s Forex Management Integrated System) has been launched in early July to allow the exporters of non-oil commodities to sell their foreign currency earnings to importers of consumer products.

on May 25, some news websites published that NIMA will be omitted once the integrated forex market is launched, although CBI governor dismissed those news, saying 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 CBI does not support the idea of omitting NIMA, some are supportive to such approach and say that integrated forex market can replace NIMA.

MA/MA