Investors Pour $695m in Exchange-Traded Funds

The government earned 160 trillion rials ($695 million) by selling its shares in state companies via the stock market --  a figure far beyond initial projection in the fiscal budget (March 2020-21).
Head of the Plan and Budget Organization, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, said this Friday in a virtual press conference with reporters on the occasion marking National Journalists' Day.
Pointing to projections in the annual budget, Nobakht said “the government expected to earn 119 trillion rials ($517 million) by ceding its stakes in several companies in this fiscal year. However, 160 trillion rials were generated in share sales just in the first four months [March 21-July 20]”.