Page 40 - IRANRptOct22

Ruble, rial exchange window opens at Iran Currency Exchange as Putin arrives in Tehran
at IRR375,600 in Ferdowsi Street markets in Tehran.
The Azadi gold sovereign traded at IRR143,500,000, remaining steady during the day; the Emami, the larger gold sovereign, sold for IRR152,700,000 at the close of trade.
The Iran Currency Exchange (ICE) officially listed the ticker for the Russian ruble (RUB)—Iranian rial (IRR) pair on July 19, the same day Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Tehran for bilateral meetings, as well as trilateral meetings involving Turkey.
A first trade of RUB2mn was executed on the pair’s ledger immediately after the listing at an exchange rate of RUB 5,390.
The move follows an agreement made on banking between Iran and Russia during a recent Moscow trip undertaken by the governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI).
Discussions have been ongoing in recent weeks to open a currency exchange window between the two countries. This should change the situation in which those entering Iran with rubles are given poor exchange rates.
According to the CBI, the official exchange rate is RUB272 to the Iranian rial. On the black market, used in day-to-day transactions, the RUB was on July 19 trading at RUB5,800 — closer to the amount given in the official test transaction
“Having launched trading in this currency pair, Iranian exporters through banks and exchanges can offer the RUB at an agreed rate in this market, just like the dollar and the euro,” said Mostafa Ghamari-Vafa, head of the CBI’s press service.
A week ago, chairman of the economic commission of the Iranian parliament, Mohammadreza Ebrahimipour, said that the heads of the central banks of Iran and Russia had agreed to abandon the dollar in mutual settlements and transfer all settlements between the countries to their national currencies.
He added that over the past nine months, trade between Iran and Russia exceeded $4bn, with increasing trade in agricultural products between the two countries one trade category that was standing out.
“It is expected that if this path continues, the volume of trade between Iran and Russia will increase by 50% in a short period of time,” the official said.
7.1 Cryptocurrency
Pilot launch of crypto rial imminent
The pilot launch of the crypto rial, the Central Bank of Iran’s (CBI’s) national digital currency, is set to take place on September 22, Otagh Online has reported.
The CBI has said that in devising the crypto rial it wishes to turn banknotes into a programmable entity and move the national currency, the Iranian rial (IRR), away from its traditional system. It promised “high security” around the digital currency. Even if data on a smartphone is hacked, related crypto rial can be traced, it added.
Based on what is known so far about the CBI’s crypto initiative, the crypto rial is not designed to compete with global cryptocurrencies. Unlike bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are centralised, not anonymous and are kept in accord with anti-money laundering requirements.
40 IRAN Country Report October 2022 www.intellinews.com