“These codes are for trading different types of products currently offered at IRENEX, but finding customers for the new products such as crude oil takes some time”, the official noted.

Products such as Mazut have been welcomed at IRENEX, but as offering crude oil at this market has been recently started achieving the set objective in terms of this product requires some time, he added.

The first trading code was issued for a foreign shareholder in Iranian calendar year of 1373 (1994-95) to let it commence its activity in Iranian capital market.

As previously announced by Iranian Central Securities Depository and Settlement Funds Company (known as SAMAT), some 115 trading codes have been issued for new foreign investors in Iran’s stock exchange market during the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-Septemebr 22, 2018).

Presence of new shareholders in Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) rose 40 percent in the past Iranian calendar year 1396 compared to its preceding year.

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 Head of Securities and Exchange Organization (SEO) Shapour Mohammadi announced Sat. that Iran and Montenegro will set up a joint investment fund.

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He said cryptocurrency is something related to the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), but SEO is ready for any kind of cooperation and sees no barrier in this due.

The official said that the stock exchange can accept new financial instruments, but other organizations should also take the necessary decisions.

Iran is moving ahead with a plan to introduce a national cryptocurrency, partly as a way of busting U.S. sanctions.

The Iranian government said in April that it had developed an experimental domestic cryptocurrency.

On July 25, Press TV reported that the “plan to create an indigenous cryptocurrency” was moving forward, and the central bank was working with “domestic knowledge-based companies” to develop the digital currency.

The Iranian central bank had long been cool on cryptocurrencies, to say the least. Last year, reports suggested Iran was looking at Bitcoin as a solution for the country being cut off from international payments networks, but in February the central bank nixed the idea, expressing distaste for cryptocurrencies in general. The central bank then cracked down on financial institutions offering cryptocurrency services, in order to combat capital flight.

“We are trying to prepare the grounds to use a domestic digital currency in the country,” Alireza Daliri, from the technological directorate of the Iranian Presidential Office, told local media, per Press TV. “This currency would facilitate the transfer of money (to and from) anywhere in the world. Besides, it can help us at the time of sanctions.”

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The official expressed hope that trading crude oil in IRENEX will occur soon through follow-up measures by the oil and finance ministers.
Offering fuel oil and other oil byproducts in IRENEX has been conducting since long time ago; so selling crude oil in this exchange market is possible as well, Mohammadi noted.
Capital market sees no barrier for offering crude oil in IRENEX and selling this product to domestic or foreign traders both in rial and in foreign currencies is possible, he added.
“We have already negotiated the issue with the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), Oil Ministry and Finance and Economic Affairs Ministry”, the official said.
He referred to the several-year delay to start the plan for offering crude oil in IRENEX and said: “It seems that the condition for this plan is now prepared more than any other time.”
While offering crude oil in IRENEX has been impeded several times, what First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri has already said has brought the attentions to the matter again.
In July 1, the official said that in a move to beat U.S. sanctions, Iran will let private companies to export crude oil.
He said that Iranian crude will be offered on the bourse and the private sector can export it.

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Foreign investors’ number has risen in both Iran Energy Exchange (IRENEX) and Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), the official added, although he mentioned the problems with money transfer as the main limitation for the foreigners’ presence in Iran’s capital market.

Asked about SEO’s measures for attraction of foreign investors to the Iranian capital market and also its plans in this due, Mohammadi said: “We are following up the issue of our membership in IOSCO [International Organization of Securities Commissions] and also we are following up the international standards that we should prove that we are complying with.”

“The issue of custodian account is also being followed up based on an agreement we reached with Bank Mellat four-five months ago and the foreigners can benefit from such account in Iran. Also Iran Financial Center has designed a mobile application in English language that includes our capital market data which they can see all around the world”, he announced and said: “We should make data vending deals with the world sites so that we can offer data and information about our capital market to the foreigners.”

SEO has had different MOUs with foreign organizations and companies which have led to noticeable increase in the foreigners’ contribution to Iran’s capital market; the head of organization underlined and put the value of foreign investment in Iran’s capital market at about 20 trillion rials (about $478.812 million) for the moment.

Measures taken over 1.5 years

Addressing the press conference, Mohammadi elaborated on 25 major measures his organization has taken over the past 18 months.

He mentioned updating the trade system, which had not been updated for more than a decade, as one of the main measures and said: “We have been conducting trades in the updated system since Saturday.”

He referred to another measures as establishment of a comprehensive system of supervising capital market within the past eight months, reducing the interest rate of bonds, promoting status of agricultural products in Iran Mercantile Exchange, initial offering through book building, and modifying the instructions of closing and opening indicators.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Mohammadi highlighted the establishment of algorithmic and high-frequency trading as another remarkable measure of his organization.

IOSCO’s membership in final stages of investigation

The head of Securities and Exchange Organization further announced that Iran’s membership in IOSCO is in the final stages of investigation and we hope that it will be finalized soon.

Mohammadi further advised the shareholders to take five main points into consideration.

He asked them to notice basic factors including profit making, financial statement and company’s outlook in their trades, and also pay attention to the features and risks of each industry.

He also suggested them to buy a basket of shares instead of the shares of a single company, benefit from faithful consultants and adopt long-term analysis and strategy.

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