TEHRAN, Aug.28 (MNA) – Over 786 billion rials (about $31 million based on the U.S. official exchange rate of 24,800 rials) worth of shares of state-run companies were sold in the fifth Iranian calendar month of Mordad (July 23-August 22).
More than 363 million shares of state-run companies were transferred to the private sector in the mentioned period of time, according to the Mehr News Agency.

Iran has transferred over 130 trillion rials (about $5.2 billion) worth of shares of state-run companies to the private sector in the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year.

The shares were owned by 25 state-run companies, the Privatization Organization of Iran said in a press release.

The 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 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.

In a speech in March 2013, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said that transferring economic activities to the public will resolve the unemployment problem.

“Implementing Article 44 of the Constitution regarding privatization is meant to transfer the economy to the public,” Larijani stated.

By Mehr News Agency

 

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