TEHRAN - Government spokesperson Ali Rabiei says the shares of Iran’s four refineries, namely Isfahan, Tabriz, Bandar-Abbas and Tehran, are due to be offered at Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) on June 21, IRNA reported.

According to the official, privatizing state-owned companies is one of the most important measures taken by the government for the country's economic growth.

“These offerings will lead to attracting new investment in the economy and industry, which will be a major factor in boosting production, increasing employment and investment,” Rabiei said.

He noted that listing state-owned companies on the stock exchange is a major strategy followed for downsizing the government and promoting the private sector’s role in the national economy.

According to the official, the first phase of the offerings will be through exchange-traded funds (ETF) after which the remaining shares will be offered through underwriting.

In late April, the government referred the executive regulations of the budget plan of the current Iranian calendar year (began on March 19) regarding the privatization of state-owned enterprises to Finance Ministry for implementation.

The mentioned ministry is obliged to hand over all the revenues gained from the offerings to the government in order to be used as part of the current year’s budget incomes.

In Iran, implementation of the privatization plan aimed at more productivity, investment making, job creation, promotion of trade balance, more competition in domestic economy, and reducing financial and management burden on the government has been under the spotlight over the past decade.

The law on the implementation of the general policies of Article 44 of Iran's Constitution on privatizing state-owned companies was declared in 2006 in a bid to downsize the government and promote the private sector’s role in the national economy.

EF/MA