TEHRAN - The National Development Fund (NDF) has deposited 10 trillion rials (about $35.7 million) into the stabilization fund to support the stock market, head of the Capital Market Development and Stabilization Fund, Amir-Mahdi Sabaei, said on Saturday.

Sabaei had previously announced the allocation of 120 trillion rials (about $429.4 million) of NDF resources for the Capital Market Development and Stabilization Fund, IRNA reported.

According to the official, the NDF deposits into the Capital Market Stabilization and Development Fund are being made as promised.

Sabaei noted that NDF is scheduled to deposit at least another 60 trillion rials (about $214.7 million) into the fund by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2023).

According to the official, NDF has so far deposited more than half of the promised 120 trillion rials into the stock market development fund.

The official said the rest of the funding will also be paid based on a mutually agreed schedule, adding: "We hope that the rest of the deposits, like the deposits made so far, will be made regularly according to the agreed schedule."

Sabaei had previously noted that in addition to the resources received from NDF, the fund can also be financed through the money and capital markets.

The allocation of financial resources from NDF to the Capital Market Stabilization and Development Fund is one of the measures that the government has been taking since the stock market started a downward trend.

Following the 13th government’s new strategies to improve the stock market, the Government Economic Coordination Headquarters convened a meeting on November 2, 2021, chaired by President Ebrahim Raisi, during which a decision was made to inject new resources from NDF into the Capital Market Development and Stabilization Fund.

Based on the statute of the Capital Market Development and Stabilization Fund, the resources of this fund can be provided from three main sources, the first is the government investment which should be foreseen in the national budget bill, and the second is the allocation of one percent of NDF resources for this fund, and the third source would be the allocation of a part of the trades commission received by the Securities and Exchange Organization (SEO).

According to Sabaei, currently, 30 percent of the SEO commissions are deposited directly to the account of this fund on a daily basis.

The Capital Market Development and Stabilization Fund’s mission is to support the Iranian stock market. The money loaned from NDF should be repaid over a specified period and the maturity can be extended. The Capital Market Stabilization Fund is responsible for paying the principal amount plus interest.

EF/MG