TEHRAN – The number of active foreign investors in Iran’s stock market reached 5,100 by the end of the fourth Iranian calendar month of Tir (July 22), up from 4,839 a year earlier, data from the Research, Development and Islamic Studies Department of the Securities and Exchange Organization (SEO) showed.

The total value of foreign investors’ portfolios in the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) and Iran’s over-the-counter market, the Iran Fara Bourse (IFB), exceeded 180 trillion rials ($360 million) in Tir, compared with 95.13 trillion rials ($190 million) in the same month last year – marking a 91 percent increase year-on-year.

Of the total, individual foreign investors held portfolios worth 14.81 trillion rials ($29.6 million), while corporate foreign investors accounted for 167.02 trillion rials ($334 million).

The figures for the mentioned month showed 3,391 individual foreign shareholders and 1,709 corporate investor accounts active in the Iranian equity market.

The SEO data comes amid broader efforts by Iranian market regulators to attract more overseas capital, including easing certain trading restrictions and expanding access to market data for international participants.

While foreign investment in the market remains small compared with domestic participation, the sharp annual increase reflects both the entry of new investors and valuation gains in listed companies over the past year.

EF/MA