TEHRAN - Iranian Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Farhad Dejpasand said the production by the companies listed on the country’s stock market increased by 7.1 percent during the 11-month period from March 21, 2019 to February 19, 2020, IRIB reported.

Speaking in a meeting with the country’s businessmen and directors active in the stock market, Dejpasand noted that this figure is an indication that “we should move toward new strategies to design [economic] mechanisms so that public resources and funds are directed into the capital market.”

The economy minister said that the capital market is not exposed to the negative impacts of other markets, adding that this market has a special role in the economy and can quickly fill one of the missing links of the financing of projects in the country.

The official underlined the need for establishing a trust for the country’s big companies and organizations to come forward and offer their shares in the stock exchange.

He further noted that the first offering of the shares of state-owned enterprises in the stock exchange was announced today and the worth of offering is 165 trillion rials (about $3.9 billion), and two more offerings will be held in near future.

“Along with such government-owned companies, we also saw non-governmental organizations such as Shasta, whose initial public offering took place [on April 15], and the rest have announced both their readiness and their plans,” he added.

Earlier on April 15, Social Security Investment Company (SSIC, also known by its Persian acronym Shasta) offered eight billion shares, which account for 10 percent of its stakes, for sales at the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), Iran’s major stock market.

EF/MA