Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 26
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
Some 6.5 trillion rials (about $204.24 million based on Oct. 26 official rate) of shares of Iranian government companies were sold during the first seven months of the current fiscal year (March 20-Oct. 21).
Some 1.99 trillion rials of the shares were transferred to the private sector in the Tehran Stock Market, Mehr news agency reported Oct. 26.
Also, 511 billion rials of shares were sold in the over-the-counter market and 3.99 trillion rials were sold through tenders.
Through privatization of governmental companies, Iranian government seeks to restructure the country's economy and reduce the government's expenses by promoting the private sector.
Increasing productivity levels in large enterprises is also among the main objectives of selling the shares of governmental companies. Iran plans to privatize almost 200 state-run companies by March 2017.