TEHRAN- TEDPIX, the main index of the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), fell 19,959 points to 2,021,117 on Sunday, which is the second day of the Iranian calendar week.

TSE is one of the four Iranian stock exchanges, and the most important one. The other three ones are Iran Mercantile Exchange (IME), Iran Energy Exchange (IRENEX), and Iran’s over-the-counter (OTC) market, known as Iran Fara Bourse (IFB).

In mid-September, the head of Iran Securities and Exchange Organization (SEO) said the entity will take the necessary measures to ensure that the direct and indirect interests of the stock market are considered in next year’s budget bill.

“We are taking special measures in relation to the budget bill and issues that directly or indirectly affect the capital market,” Hojatollah Seyedi stated.

He has also said that improving the stock market’s efficiency is the main priority of the SEO in the current government administration

“In the 14th government, our mission is to protect the rights and interests of shareholders, facilitate the formation of capital, and improve the efficiency of the market which is the priority of the SEO programs,” Seyedi underlined.

“The capacities of the capital market are huge and I believe that this market has room for a leap and now we are on the threshold of that leap,” the official further noted.

“Now, in addition to great capital and capabilities of the companies, we have powerful workforces, investors and competent managers in the market, so there is no reason why our capital market should not develop and reach at least 300 to 400 billion dollars of gross domestic product,” he added.

Emphasizing that big steps should be taken in this regard, the official continued: “I have decided to work to this end with high motivation to play a small role in the development of the country.”

The head of the Securities and Exchange Organization pointed to the capital market as a regulatory and supervisory body and said: “In this regard, our mission is to protect the rights of shareholders, promote market efficiency and facilitate capital formation, which are connected to each other like the sides of a triangle. But the question is, which of these factors can be the driving force as a more independent variable?”

“The important variable is the improvement of market efficiency, that is, the formation of more capital, which, in addition to increasing capital, also preserves the rights of shareholders,” he finally said.

In late January, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) stressed the need for diverse financing tools in the country, noting that such tools are currently being provided by the stock market.

“To reduce the speculative and profit-seeking activities of dealers in the country, financing tools should be diversified,” Mohammad Shirijian said.

“The capital market is an institution that directs capital to production in an efficient manner. Now, to accelerate the process of resource transfer and high productivity, the financing should be directed to the enterprises,” the official explained.

MA