TEHRAN- Taking the recent trend of trades at the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), the exchange’s main index, TEDPIX, is expected to surpass two million points in the next Iranian calendar week (July 18-July 24), Erfan Hoodi, a capital market expert told IRNA on Monday.

On June 30, the index hit the record high of 1.5 million points.

TEDPIX went up eight percent during the past Iranian calendar week (ended on Friday).

The index gained 141,000 points to 1.753 in the previous week, IRNA reported.

It has also climbed 28.77 percent in the past Iranian calendar month (April 21-June 20) from its preceding month.

While the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19) was full of success for the TSE, the market is also preserving its successful performance in the current year, and the noticeable point in this due is that the other economic sectors are experiencing some declining trend due to the coronavirus pandemic.

We have been witnessing new record highs continuously posted by the exchange since the year start, and climbing to the peak of one million points, something almost unbelievable just some time ago, came true in early May.

In a press conference on June 22, the head of Iran’s Securities and Exchange Organization (SEO) announced that the amount of liquidity absorbed by Iran’s capital market has reached 500 trillion rials (about $12 billion) during the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-June 20).

Hasan Qalibaf-Asl also said, “It is while the total amount of liquidity entered into this market stood at 300 trillion rials (about $7.14 billion) during the past year.”

The official further noted that the high amount of liquidity that is entering the capital market has provided some good opportunity for this market, as it’s being developed and flourished, for the enterprises, as they’re securing their required funds, and also for the government.

Making investment via investment funds suggested

During the Monday interview, Erfan Hoodi advised the investors, especially the newcomers to the stock market, not to buy the shares directly and make investment through the investment funds.

On May 2, Tehran Stock Exchange listed the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) from a series of three ETFs, through them shares of some state-owned organizations and companies are planned to be offered.

An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is an investment fund traded on stock exchanges, much like stocks. An ETF holds assets such as stocks, commodities, or bonds and generally operates with an arbitrage mechanism designed to keep it trading close to its net asset value, although deviations can occasionally occur.

The shares to be offered via the above mentioned Iranian ETFs belong to those governmental bodies defined in Iran’s privatization program, a comprehensive plan seriously followed up by the government to downsize and reduce its role in the economy.

The three ETFs are planned to offer 550 trillion rials (about $13 billion) worth of the governmental stakes, of which 165 trillion rials (about $3.9 billion) is to be offered via the first fund.

The first ETF, established by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, comprises government shares in three banks, including Bank Mellat, Tejarat Bank, and Bank Saderat, as well as the shares of two insurance companies, i.e. Iranian Reinsurance Company and Alborz Company.

The government has a 17-percent stake in Bank Mellat, a 17-percent stake in Tejarat Bank, and an 18-percent stake in Bank Saderat.

On June 23, deputy finance and economic affairs minister said that offering of shares through the country’s second exchange-traded fund would be started during the current Iranian calendar month (June 21-July 21).

Abbas Memarnejad told ILNA that the first ETF had already witnessed a noticeable growth of value, as the value of each unit of this fund had increased from 100,000 rials ($2.3) to 220,000 rials ($5.2).

MA/MA