TEHRAN – The head of Iran’s Securities and Exchange Organization (SEO) has said his organization is following new plans to increase the role of the country’s private sector in the stock market, the Securities and Exchange News Agency (SENA) reported.

Referring to the significant role of the private sector in financing production companies, Majid Eshqi said: “Increasing the role of the private sector in the stock market is one of the serious plans of the Securities and Exchange Organization.”

He stated that some measures have been taken to increase the real role of the private sector in the capital market in the last few years, adding that the role of the real private sector has also increased in relation to financing through debt securities compared to the past.

“Considering the emphasis of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, we will do our best to increase the share of the real private sector in areas like financing and acceptance in the capital market,” Eshqi elaborated.

Back in August 2023, Eshqi had said that using the capacities of the country’s private sector in the stock market has been one of the main strategies of the organization over the past year.

“One of the main approaches of the Securitas and Exchange Organization during the past year has been to use the power of the private sector, because government entities and the public sector do not have the necessary characteristics for economic prosperity, so we must increase the share of the private sector in the capital market,” Eshqi said in a conference in Khorasan Razavi Province.

Large industries have their own problems and fluctuations, but small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can compensate for these fluctuations, the official said, adding that the main part of the world economy is moving towards small and medium-sized companies because value, employment, and innovation lie in such companies.

The SEO head further noted that the stock market should mainly focus on investment and financing, saying: “We need to direct the liquidity flow towards production.”

Emphasizing the important role of the seventh National Development Plan (2022-2026) in securing the future of the capital market, Eshqi stated: “One of the major indicators of investment is predictability, so more action should be taken in the seventh development plan to make the economy more predictable.”

He pointed to the holding of investment and financing conferences in provinces as a starting point for a new movement towards promoting investment and said: “Economic enterprises do not have enough familiarity with the capital market and such conferences are bridges that provide the necessary platform in this regard.”

EF/MA