Holding Companies Allowed to Buy Justice Shares

Major Iranian holding companies are allowed to buy the so-called Justice Shares via block trade, said the head of Central Securities and Depository of Iran. 
Citing the new decisions of the High Council of Securities and Exchange, Hossein Fahimi added that these holdings can act as the wholesale buyers of stocks along with the Capital Market Stabilization Fund that was created to resolve the credit crunch at the bourse, to avoid the oversupply of shares by retail investors, CSDI’s website reported. 
Justice Shares are shares of government-owned companies given free to the six lowest income deciles 15 years ago. Shareholders were not allowed to sell the shares until last May.  
Justice Share portfolio includes 49 state-owned companies in the auto, metal, mining, agriculture, petrochemical and banking sectors.
Some analysts blame the excessive supply of Justice Shares for the bearish trend of the once lucrative stock market that started in mid-August and has not yet got back on its feet. 
With the obvious aim of propping up the sluggish share market and boost demand, fixed income investment funds are obliged to invest 50% of their resources in Justice Shares. 
In a similar measure, banks have launched a plan to issue credit cards for owners of Justice Shares to encourage shareholders to keep their shares and discourage them from rushing to sell, accepting their shares as collateral.