The government is set to allot the so-called Justice Shares to new eligible groups and those who failed to receive the free shares when they were first given to the public.
The Minister of Labor, Cooperatives and Social Welfare Hojjat Abdolmaleki announced the plan earlier in the week that was confirmed by the Majlis Economic Commission.
Justice Shares are shares of government-owned companies given free to the six lowest income deciles 15 years ago but were not allowed to be traded in the stock market until May 2020.
More than 49 million Iranians own the shares and estimations suggest that the value of portfolios of shareholders has grown almost ten times.
In a talk with Tasnim News Agency, Mehdi Toghiani, a member of the Majlis Economic Commission estimated that 20 million more people are eligible to receive Justice Shares.
Two million people in need covered by aid organizations like the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation and State Welfare Organization of Iran are on the new eligibility list.
As per the provisions of Article 44 of the Constitution, all those in the six low income brackets are eligible to own the shares. Toghiani said 18 million people are known to be in the six categories.
There are opposing views about the government’s ability to again give shares of state-run companies. Officials in the past administration under Hassan Rouhani opposed such moves on the premise that the government was saddled with ballooning deficits and simply could not afford more free shares.
However, lawmakers and the Majlis Research Center, the parliamentary think, insisted that the government still owns large stakes in major companies and should share it with the needy in the form of Justice Shares.
Justice Share portfolios includes 49 state-owned companies in the auto, metal, mining, and agriculture, petrochemical and banking sectors. A total of 35 companies are already listed with the stock market and another 14 are planning IPOs.
Shareholders now can sell 60% of their portfolio via the bourse.
In April 2020, the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei approved a government request calling for the transfer of ownership of shares to the people and lift restrictions on selling the Justice Shares.
The initiative at the time was seen by observers as a positive move with the low-income strata facing unusually tough economic times as the coronavirus pandemic continues to hammer the economy, businesses and livelihoods.