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abroad, so can evade the clampdown.
The Tehran Stock Exchange’s main index lost 1,474.08 points or 0.79% by the end of trade on October 6, ending at 184,085.02. In response to the devaluation of the rial there was a surge of interest in stocks as investors sought alternative investments.
Meanwhile, the Iran Fara Bourse, Iran’s largest over-the-counter market, saw its main index, the IFX, close 0.26% down on the previous day.
7.1 Forex rate platform
Iran’s NIMA platform exceeds €2bn in forex transactions
The total volume of trading transactions for inflows and sales of foreign currency on Iran’s r ecently launched unified forex rate platform NIMA has reached €2.113bn, IBENA reported on September 9.
NIMA was launched earlier this year in a bid to keep capital for imports and exports within a formal trading system while Iran fights the economic consequences caused by the reimposition of heavy US sanctions on Tehran, including the collapse in the value of the Iranian rial (IRR). Despite teething problems, the ringfenced system has grown in use as more companies have been given permits to sell and buy currency.
The total volume of foreign exchange for imports from August 7 to September 9 inside the NIMA system reached €1.24bn. In the same period, the total amount for exports was calculated as €1.89bn.
While attempting to get a grip on the foreign currency crisis in the tertiary market, the government and Central Bank of Iran (CBI) have doubled down on pursuing individuals and groups looking to profit outside the formal trading system.
In one incident seen in recent weeks, the Rouhani administration slammed state-owned petrochemical companies for hoarding cash and refusing to place capital back into NIMA. Following that exposure, several such companies released $1.5bn into the formal system, shoring it up.
Petrochemical companies' export earnings account for the biggest share of revenues gained from Iran's non-oil exports.
The government decided to abolish unofficial foreign exchange trading and unify the IRR to the dollar exchange rate at 42,000 on April 9 in response to volatility that saw the rial sink to all-time lows against the greenback. In the following months, with the rial on the ropes, it had to abandon the failing policy and instead reintroduce a three-tier system with essential, mandatory and secondary items being sold into the market at different rates.
8.0 Financial & capital markets 8.1 Bank sector overview
Much criticised Iranian central bank chief replaced amid
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on July 25 replaced the head of Iran’s central bank with the collapse of the Iranian rial (IRR) continuing to take a heavy toll on the country’s economy. Abdolnasser Hemmati has been
27 IRAN Country Report November 2018 www.intellinews.com