Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct.23/ Trend, F. Karimov/
The Iranian parliament (Majlis) is studying a proposal submitted by the administration to privatize the postal service, the Mehr News Agency quoted MP Mohammad Soleimani as saying.
Privatization of the postal service is in line with article 44 of the Constitution, he said, adding that the former administration had submitted a proposal to the Majlis in this regard.
The privatization bill will be discussed in the Majlis in the next week, he said. The postal service is the second state-run entity in the field of telecommunications and information technology in Iran to be transferred to the private sector.
On September 10, Iranian media outlets reported that Iranian economy minister Ali Tayyebnia has criticized the implementation of privatization policies by the former administrations saying that just 10-15 percent of state shares have been handed over.
Therefore, the privatization process has not improved the efficiency of the private sector considerably, he added.
Many economic experts have expressed concern about transferring shares of state-run companies to semi-government entities which are neither governmental nor privately-owned.
During administration of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, security and military organizations, particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the semi-state companies affiliated with them have gained a big share of the privatized assets.
The IRGC has grabbed a large portion of Iran's economy, especially in the oil and gas industries, and its former commanders occupy numerous government posts. As a result, most trade and oil contracts signed by Iran necessarily involve the IRGC.