Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22
By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:
Since the beginning of the current Iranian year (Mar. 21, 2014) to Feb. 13 2015, 38,471 billion rials (27600 rials making USD1) of governmental properties have been privatized, the Iranian Security and Exchange News Agency (SENA) reported Feb. 22.
The report adds that 2,987 billion rials of the amount was divested via stock market, 26,864 billion rials via OTC, 1 billion rials through negotiations, and 8,629 billion rials via tenders.
It also states that 37,835 billion rials of the governmental shares were sold in blocks, 288 billion rials were sold gradually, and 348 billion rials preferentially.
Iran Jan. 31 report said that more than 38 trillion rials (about $1.1 billion) of government shares were sold to the private sector in the first 10 months of the current Iranian calendar year, started on March 21, 2014.
Another report on Jan. 5 stated that Gholamhossein Shafei, chairman of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries, and Mines had announced according to the General Inspectorate Organization, just 5 percent of the shares have been really transferred to the private sector.
The privatization process has been implemented contrary to objectives of the Article 44 of the Constitution, he added.
The Iranian government has envisioned a large privatization program in the Fifth Five-Year Development Plan (2010-2015), aiming to privatize about 20 percent of state-owned firms each year.
In line with the Article 44 of the Iranian Constitution, hundreds of state-owned companies have been privatized with some of the shares being earmarked for distribution among 'deprived' classes, such as farmers and workers.
More than 1,320 trillion rials (about $38 billion) of state shares have been divested in Iran since Iranian year 1384 (began in March 2005).
Around $8.2 billion of the shares were paid by the administration to its real person and legal creditors.