TEHRAN- The head of Iran’s Securities and Exchange Organization (SEO) said that 4.5 million new trading accounts have been opened in the country’s stock market during the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-July 21).

Hasan Qalibaf-Asl said it is while the number of trading accounts opened in the stock market was 820,000 in the past year and 50,000 in its preceding year, IRNA reported.

The SEO head further announced that the new shareholders have entered the stock market with the average capital of 100 million rials (about $2,380) – 150 million rials (about $3,571).

It should be noted that in late February, SEO set new regulations for the opening of trading accounts for the new shareholders in the country’s stock market.

Based on an announcement by the SEO, the new applicants can conduct trade one month after opening their trading accounts and they are required to pass an exam given by Securities and Exchange Brokers Association (SEBA) or SEO during the one-month time, while they are also committed to avoiding signal selling and some other actions, and if they do so, their accounts will be blocked.

As decided by SEBA, the applicants are required to take the mentioned exam in person or virtually, and it is in line with elevating the knowledge of shareholders.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the SEO head said that the capital market was not paid attention by the people in the past years, adding, “But this market is currently highly welcomed which has made a real change and development in it.”

He said while the total investment in the capital market reached 350 trillion rials (about $8.33 billion) in the previous year, the figure was one quadrillion rials (about $23.8 billion) just in the four first months of the current year.

Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Farhad Dejpasand has recently said, “We try to save the liquidity attracted by the capital market and lead it toward production and development.”

MA/MA