TEHRAN- The head of Iran’s Securities and Exchange Organization (SEO) announced that the capital market has provided one quadrillion rials (about $23.809 billion) of financing during the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-July 21).

Hassan Qalibaf-Asl said that the figure is over three times more than that of the same period of time in the past year, Tasnim news agency reported.

“Our plan is that the prosperity in the secondary market, which is the capital market, will be led toward the primary market and production sector”, the official noted.

Qalibaf-Asl had previously announced that the amount of liquidity absorbed by the capital market reached 500 trillion rials (about $12 billion) during the first quarter of the current year (March 20-June 20), while the total amount of liquidity entered into this market stood at 300 trillion rials (about $7.14 billion) during the past year.

He noted that the high amount of liquidity that is entering the capital market has provided some good opportunity for this market, as it’s being developed and flourished, for the enterprises, as they’re securing their required funds, and also for the government.

“Until the previous week, we had just one IPO (initial public offering) on Wednesday every week, but in the previous week, two IPOs were held. The value of IPOs stood at 53 trillion rials (about $1.261 billion) in the previous [Iranian calendar] year, while the figure has been 137 trillion rials (about $3.261 billion) just in the first four months of the current year”, the SEO head announced on Monday.

In a press conference in late June, Qalibaf-Asl had said that about 50 companies had already requested for IPO in Tehran Stock Exchange and about 100 companies had requested for IPO in Iran Fara Bourse (the country’s over-the-counter market), which were being investigated by the SEO.

It should be mentioned that in the current Iranian year, Iran’s stock market witnessed its largest-ever initial public offering, as 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 in Tehran Stock Exchange on April 15.

Last week, Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Farhad Dejpasand announced that the value of trades in Iran’s stock market has risen 625 percent during the first four months of the current year, compared to the same period of time in the past year.

The minister also said that the value of four-month trades at this market has increased 145 percent since the beginning of the current year.

The official went on to say, “We try to save the liquidity attracted by the capital market and lead it toward production and development.”

MA/MA