Page 37 - IRANRptOct19

The top 30 listed companies on the Tehran stock exchange represent more than 60% of the bourse’s market cap, according to local analysts. They include the country’s top exporters of petrochemicals, steel and copper, businesses which generate foreign currency income, thus offering protection from the domestic economic turmoil.
According to the FT, the combined market value of the Tehran Stock Exchange and the Iran Fara Bourse—the over-the-counter trading venue in the capital—has doubled in dollar terms over the past year. However, this total is some way below its 2014 peak when, as former US president Barack Obama was coming to an accommodation with Iran that would result in the 2015 nuclear deal that withdrew international sanctions against the Iranians in return for compliance with measures barring any potential path they might take to the development of a nuclear weapon, hopes were rising that the vast economic potential of the country.
The American sanctions, brought in by Donald Trump who exited the nuclear accord in May last year with demands that it should be toughened up, have barred any increase in foreign portfolio investment into Iran. That is estimated to have stayed around $50m since 2018, down from 2009 when it exceeded $100m, according to local equity houses.
“Iran’s capital market is for investors who have stamina, rather than those who see skyrocketing figures and dream of quick money,” a manager of a local investment fund was cited as remarking by the UK financial daily.
Iran - Financial market as of Jun 2019 as of Jun 2018 as of Dec 2017
Equity market index: Tehran Stock Exchange (TEDPIX)
248,533 111,528.2 95,561.5
Market capitalisation: % of GDP
23.9% (2017) 25.7% (2016) 22.7% (2015)
Market cap: Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) 224.85 100.66 105.98 (USD bn)
PE ratio: TSE 8.41 6.76 7.01 Source: CEIC
8.4 ​Fixed income
8.4.1​ Fixed income - bond news
National Iranian Oil issue IRR 20bn of fixed rate bonds in mid-March
Iran badly needs​ ​foreign investment​ ​to boost output from its oil and gas reserves because much of its hydrocarbon production has been restricted or crippled by years of Western sanctions.
A manager at National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) said on March 12 there were 200 undeveloped oil and gas fields in Iran. “The recovery rate of Iranian fields is 10% lower than the average rate of recovery in the world,” Karim Zobeidi, NIOC’s deputy for planning, was quoted as saying by Shana.
The chief executive of NIOC, Masoud Karbasian, was cited as saying at the same time by the news agency that the company would issue 20 billion Iranian
37​ IRAN Country Report​ October 2019 www.intellinews.com