The Central Securities Depository of Iran (CSDI), the capital market clearing house, says 3,490 trading codes have been issued for foreign investors so far.
Most of these investors are from Afghanistan, it said. Afghans own 1,070 trading codes issued to foreign investors, accounting for more than a third of the non-Iranian codes.
The CSDI estimates investment by Afghans to be around 2.77 trillion rials ($9.5 million), according to the YJC news website.
CSDI data put the total number of active trading codes at about 38.28 million up until July with foreigners representing a tiny 0.009%.
Problems associated banking and money transfer due to the US economic sanctions are seen as obstacles to foreign investment in Iran’s stock market.
Despite the major hurdles to foreign investment, economic officials in Tehran have often announced their support for foreign investment to help lift the struggling economy.
To this end, the government has eased conditions, particularly in the stock market. Recently it reduced the minimum investment for foreigners applying for residency in the country.
Foreign investors are eligible for five-year residence permits if they invest €90,000. In the past foreigners needed to invest at least $250,000 to be able to get the residence permit, according to Abolfazl Koudei, head of the foreign investment department at the Investment and Economic-Technical Assistance Organization of Iran.
Apart from such initiatives, stock market officials have floated the idea of launching an international stock market in the free trade zones.
Officials recently said an equities exchange will open in Kish Island Free Trade Zone off the Persian Gulf. They say the new bourse will focus on attracting foreign investment, connecting the sanction-hit economy to international markets and pave the way for new export markets.
