Page 27 - IRANRptFeb19

(IRR) severely weakened and potentially exposed to more high volatility in months ahead given the economic pressure exerted by the US sanctions regime on the Islamic Republic, local investors have been searching high and low for safer assets.
Some 340mn shares in Bistoon Petrochemical Company valued at IRR17.5tn ($417mn at the official exchange rate, which is only available with official permission) are to be released on December 19 at IRR5,141 each on the over-the-counter Iran Fara Bourse to investment brokerage firms.
The shares will be sold according to one-year instalments. The deposit amount for the auction is IRR52,514bn and IRR856,156 per price order.
6.2 Debt
Iran - Gross external debt 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
External debt (USD bn)
20.030 17.344 7.406 7.006 5.441 6.322 7.475 8.481 10.910
External debt (% GDP)
4.281 2.929 1.258 1.366 1.277 1.577 1.9 2.0 2.4
Source: World Bank, CEIC
Iran's external debt stood at $10.9bn in 2018, up 28.6% compared to the figure in 2017, due to sanctions placed on the country, according to CEIC data. The ratio of external debt to GDP stood at 2.4% in 2018.
The World Bank (WB) said in its International Debt Statistics 2017 report that Iran’s foreign debt stood at $6.3bn in 2015, falling substantially by almost 64% compared to the figure in 2011, thanks to the post-sanctions country being able to access frozen assets in several nations, including the US.
The report said that in 2015 Iran's long-term foreign debt was $2.3bn, its foreign short-term debt was $2.0bn and its debt owed to international financial organisations was also $2.0bn. The ratio of external debt to GDP stood at 1.6% for 2015, down from 2.9% in 2011.
7.0 FX
Iran’s central bank chief claims he has country’s forex market fully under control
Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Abdolnasser Hemmati claims to have the country’s foreign exchange market fully under control and insists that the Islamic Republic has enough hard currency supplies for the “next two years”, Mehr News Agency reported on January 24.
The report came a day after Iranian state TV carried an interview in which the central bank chief, Abdolnaser Hemmati, said Iran has adequate currency supplies to cover trade, and that the Iranian rial (IRR) has stabilised after “a heavy attack” from the US-led economic sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic since last year.
“We are more focused on implementing the policies outlined for the
Iran - FX
Sep-16
Dec-16
Mar-17
Jun-17
Sep-17
Dec-17
Mar-18
Jun-18
Sep-18
Currency (units per EUR) (eop)
35,339
34,056
34,859
37,057
39,666
43,273
46,522
49,268
48,754
Currency (units per USD) (eop)
31,460
32,375
32,422
32,489
33,805
36,064
37,743
42,590
42,000
27 IRAN Country Report February 2019 www.intellinews.com