TEHRAN – Iran’s Securitas and Exchange Organization (SEO) has called on the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) to take three major measures to support the stock market, Tansim News Agency reported.

Ghader Masoumi Khanghah, director of Stock Exchange Supervision at the SEO, has said that the organization expects CBI to provide the necessary funding for the Capital Market Development and Stabilization Fund (CMDSF).

“If liquidity does not enter the market, it is possible that the market will suffer deeper crises and we may not be able to have positive resilience anymore,” Khanghah said.

“If the main issues in our economy are solved, we don't need a market development fund. We agree with all the fundamental issues, but sometimes it is necessary for the government to intervene positively and inject money into the market,” he added.

According to the official, SEO also needs the CBI to prevent the rent created by the gap between the foreign currency prices offered at the free market and the Forex Management Integrated System (locally known as NIMA).

The official also said SEO has asked the CBI to reduce interest rates in order to prevent stagnation in the country’s economy.

“The central bank directly affects the capital market by determining the interest rate. No one can deny this,” he stressed.

Iranian stock market has been wrestling with some issues over the past two years which has resulted in the shareholders’ lack of trust in the market.

The 13th government took several measures to support the market and revive people’s trust in this market.

The allocation of financial resources from the National Development Fund (NDF) to the Capital Market Stabilization and Development Fund has been one of the measures that the government took since the stock market started its downward trend.

Iran’s Capital Market Development and Stabilization Fund supplied over 90 trillion rials (about $180 million) to support the market in the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-July 21).

Based on the latest data released by the fund, CMDSF has bought market shares with a total value of $180 million in the mentioned four months to support the stock market and also the shareholders.

EF/MA