Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 22
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
Some 18.462 trillion rials (about $570.4 million based on Jan. 22 official rate) of shares of Iranian government companies were sold during the first ten months of the current fiscal year (March 20, 2016-Jan. 20).
Some 2.278 trillion rials of the shares were transferred to the private sector in the Tehran Stock Market, Iranian Privatization Organization (IPO) said Jan. 22.
Also, 522 billion rials of shares were sold in the over-the-counter market and 15.662 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.