Page 41 - IRANRptFeb22

Tehran Stock Exchange sees fresh losses
Iran’s wealth fund to inject $150mn to help boost ailing stock market
Ebrahim Raisi, calling him a liar, according to amateur videos posted online. There have been several similar protests held by stock market investors in Iran in recent months. At each demonstration, the protesters have pointed to government policies as responsible for losses. The Raisi administration has promised to deal with the market swings.
Volatility in Iranian share prices has in part been caused by uncertainty over where the ongoing Vienna talks aimed at reviving the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers are heading.
On January 20, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the talks to revive the nuclear deal, or JCPOA, have reached an "urgent" point following "modest progress" in negotiations.
"There is real urgency and it's really now a matter of weeks, where we determine whether or not we can return to mutual compliance with the agreement," Blinken told reporters.
The Tehran Stock Exchange’s main index, the TEDPIX, lost 7,716 points on November 16, following a loss of 26,174 points on November 15. The falls took it to 1.408mn points, continuing the sour market prevalent in an environment in which the Iranian rial (IRR) continues to lose its footing against the dollar and euro.
The TEDPIX gained 58,000 points (4.1%) to hit 1.456mn points in the previous Persian calendar week (ended on November 12), but the TSE has generally suffered in recent weeks with the market continuing to wobble over nervousness that the negotiations to revive the nuclear deal between Iran and major powers—due to restart on November 29—will not work out as Iran’s new hardline government will drive for too hard a bargain.
Following the Tehran market close on November 16, head of the Iranian Securities and Exchange Organization (SEO) Majid Eshqi said that the government was following new approaches to avoid pre-ordered pricing on the bourse.
“The government's policy, in the long run, is to avoid pre-ordered pricing. This policy has been repeatedly stressed by the president and the government's economic team and has been placed on the government's agenda,” Eshqi was quoted by Mehr News as saying, adding that supply and demand should be the only determining factor in setting share prices.
Iran’s sovereign wealth fund, the National Development Fund of Iran (NDFI) is set to deposit $150mn with the country’s Capital Market Stabilization Fund (CMSF) to help boost the ailing Iranian stock market, official news agency IRNA reported on November 7.
Citing officials from the NDFI, the news service said that the payment would be made before the current Persian calendar month concludes on November 21. Based on an earlier NDFI decision, the money would be provided in the form of a loan at 12% to be repaid in five years, but with a maturity that could be extended. The CMSF is responsible for paying the principal amount plus interest.
The CMSF was created in 2017 to help resolve a credit crunch on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE). It has a mandate to support the stock market and safeguard the interest of investors. The fund was launched with an initial Iranian rial (IRR) 3 trillion ($71.4mn at the official exchange rate, $11mn at the unofficial free market rate), with capital borrowed from the NDFI.
41 IRAN Country Report February 2022 www.intellinews.com