Page 42 - IRANRptSep18

The announced 17%-maximum applies to both retailers and wholesalers. However, many traders will likely ignore the warning as, unlike in the case of domestially produced products, prices on imported items are not printed on packaging. Avazpour reportedly further advised that any price rises for imported goods going beyond the given threshold would be dealt with via legal action undertaken by the General Inspection Organization (GIO), an ombudsman linked to the Judiciary of Iran.
Iranian importers of foodstuffs have been left in a difficult position in recent months because they have no entitlement to accessing the official government rial-to-the-dollar rate of IRR42,000. This has pushed such importers to secure items at negotiated exchange rates around double the official rate.
9.1.8 Property sector news
Finalised Tehran property transactions fell by 11.2% m/m in the fifth Persian calendar month (ended August 22), latest Central Bank of Iran (CBI) data shows. Property buyers in Iranian capital city of 14mn inhabitants are increasingly struggling to purchase property due to the severe decline of the Iranian rial (IRR). It has lost more than 100% of its value on the unofficial market over the past 12 months, with the fresh waves of heavy US sanctions announced in early May taking the biggest toll. The CBI data also suggests that finalised transactions now mainly involve older, smaller or less central properties as a result of the economic pressure felt by buyers.
On a year on year basis, home purchases declined 33.2%. It seems likely the property sales sector will fall into recession if such a downward trend continues into the next calendar month. Iran as a whole faces a recession according to a study released by Oxford Economics on August 28.
The top-performing locality in the capital for finalised property sales was District 5, in the west of the city. It accounted for 13.3% of overall sales. The most expensive part of Tehran, District 1 in the city’s north, remains a distant dream for many would-be property buyers. Just 5.6% of total sales took place there in the fifth calendar month.
The highest average price per square meter was determined to be in District 1, at IRR157.6mn, while the lowest was in District 18 in the capital’s southwest, at IRR31.1mn. Residential sales in Tehran grew by 7.3% y/y in the first five months of the calendar year.
The average price per square metre of a Tehran residential unit traded through a real estate agent in the fifth month was IRR64.8mn, 45.5% higher on an annual comparison.
9.1.9 Tourism sector news
Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organisation director has announced that the country is negotiating a new digital currency for the tourist trade conducted with India, Mehr News Agency reported on July 24. Ali Asghar Mounesan said after a meeting with India’s Ambassador to Iran Saurabh Kumar that the Islamic Republic is aiming to launch a new bilateral cryptocurrency as a way to sidestep sanctions imposed by the US. As part of its campaign to force a reshaping of Iran’s role in the Middle East, Washington will in August introduce penalties that forbid dollar-based trading with Iranian entities. Secondary sanctions will be targeted at countries or businesses that breach the restriction.
"Given the problems that the United States has created, there is the possibility of creating a digital currency exchange fund for the development of tourism
42 IRAN Country Report September 2018 www.intellinews.com