Page 39 - IRANRptFeb21

8.3 ​Stock market
Tehran Stock Exchange chief quits amid “Black Monday” fury
The Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) is one Iranian entity desperately in need of some good news on the sanctions front. In mid-January, the head of the TSE and the Securities and Exchange Organisation of Iran (SEO) resigned from both of his posts in the wake of a ​“Black Monday” market crash.​ Hassan Ghalibaf Asl went as angry protests grew outside the exchange building, trading was halted and the TSE website was pulled.
Investors, many of whom were new entrants to the market in 2019 when officials encouraged new players to look for value in the bourse, have lost billions of dollars, with many seeing their money disappear overnight in the latest market turmoil.
January 18 saw the TSE’s main index, the TEDPIX, plummet by 36,989 points to 1.149mn, following its 6.5% slump recorded in the previous week’s trading. When the index ​broke through the one-million threshold for the first time​ in May last year there were even then warnings that it was overheating, but by August it smashed through the two-million barrier. Since then, the stock exchange has been regularly hit by painful bouts of losses.
Analysts said the TEDPIX made its astronomical gains despite there being no economic fundamentals to drive it to such highs. However, with Iran’s economy—particularly the Iranian rial (IRR)—battered by sanctions, many investors, encouraged by signals from the government that there would be a growing amount of privatisation and a slew of state enterprise flotations, appeared to stick with the TSE as their best bet to get a good return on investment. Then it all went pear-shaped.
Despite the carnage, there are plenty of analysts who believe that great value would be unlocked in Iranian stocks should the country shake off the economic shackles. In September, it was ​reported​ that more than 250 companies had registered an interest in listing on the TSE.
39​ IRAN Country Report February 2021 www.intellinews.com