Page 39 - IRANRptJun20

increase in its liquidity of more than 220% over the past 12 months.
In the past three months, moreover, brokerage firms in Iran have issued 1.6mn new trading codes for individual investors, including foreign firms that are permitted to trade.
Iran - Financial market as of Jan 2020 as of Jun 2019 as of Jun 2018 as of Dec 2017
Equity market index: Tehran Stock Exchange (TEDPIX)
427,139 248,533 111,528.2 95,561.5
Market capitalisation: % of GDP
23.9% (2017) 23.9% (2017) 25.7% (2016) 22.7% (2015)
Market cap: Tehran Stock Exchange 327.20 (Dec 224.85 100.66 105.98 (TSE) (USD bn) 2019)
PE ratio: TSE 8.60 8.41 6.76 7.01 Source: CEIC
8.4 ​Fixed income
8.4.1​ Fixed income - bond news
All shares in Iran’s biggest ever IPO snapped up
Iran’s largest-ever initial public offering (IPO) occurred on April 15 with the government floating a 10% stake in the Social Security Investment Company (SHASTA) on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE).
The entire stake of 80bn shares was sold at Iranian rial (IRR) 8,600 per share, with the flotation estimated to have earned IRR68.8tn ($430mn at the free market rate, $1.63bn at the government rate).
Private investors who snapped up some of SHASTA at the TSE—lately moved to a brand new building in the north of Tehran—now own part of an organisation that is home to large swathes of Iran’s insurance market and pension portfolios.
Shasta controls nine entities in sectors including petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, petroleum, transportation, cement and finance. Its controlled companies include Iranian shipping line IRISL, National Iranian Copper Industries (NICICO), Mobarakeh Steel, Iranol Oil and Jam Petrochemical Co. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hailed the IPO as historical, saying around 2mn investors benefited from the stock market sale.
The listing has spurred new interest in the Iranian stock market, which has made gains of more than 200% in the past year. It has seen significant gains in recent months with people searching for safe havens in which to invest funds—investors are looking to escape the huge depreciation that has undermined the rial since the US introduced heavy sanctions against Tehran nearly two years ago and are now also wary of sectors of an economy rocked not just by sanctions but by the coronavirus (COVID-19) health and economic emergency.
The SHASTA sale is likely to kickstart efforts of other state-owned enterprises to offload shares in their businesses. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which has massive holdings in swathes of the economy, might be tempted into the market in a significant way.
39​ IRAN Country Report June 2020 www.intellinews.com