The Iranian Privatization Organization is seeking to divest the remaining government shares in three banks, the IPO head said.
“The government holds 8% stake in Bank Saderat Iran, 10% in Bank Mellat and 11% in Tejarat Bank,” Hossein Qorbanzadeh was quoted as saying by the shada.ir, the Economy Ministry’s news agency.
“We are in talks to sell the shares in ways that [help] protect the government’s interests,” he said, noting that the remaining shares are “golden shares” of the government in the three lenders.
A golden share is a type of share that gives its shareholder veto power over changes to the company's charter. It holds special voting rights, giving its holder the ability to block another shareholder from taking more than a ratio of ordinary shares.
On how the shares would be divested, Qorbanzadeh rejected the possibility of retail offers in the bourse due to its persistent bearish trend.
“We are working on diverse plans but have not yet come to a final conclusion.”
In May 2020 the government ceded a big portion of stake in the three semi-private banks via an exchange-traded fund but failed to sell all the shares.
The treasury at that time generated over 58.86 trillion rials ($210 million) selling ETF units to the public, which also held shares in two state-controlled insurance firms. The amount was almost a third of the original value of the ETFs.
Apart from stakes in the three banks, the government also owns shares in some giant steel and petrochemical companies, but it cannot sell its stakes there because the shares are held as collateral by banks, according to Qorbanzadeh.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line Group (IRISL), Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Corporation (PGPIC), Telecommunication Company of Iran, Mobarakeh Steel Company, National Iranian Copper Industries Company and the two major automakers Iran Khodro (IKCO) and SAIPA are some big names on the government divestiture list.
Last month the IPO made a failed bid to sell the government stake in the PGPIC via three blocks of shares. The PGPIC is reportedly worth 3,500 trillion rials ($12.5 billion) with the government holding 18% stake.
The IPO in late December offered three blocks of shares including two small blocks comprising 1% and 2% and a bigger one holding 15% of the government shares. The holding company is the biggest consortium of Iranian petrochemical producers.
As per national budgetary projections, the government expects to make 940 trillion rials ($3.2b) from divestments in this calendar year that ends in March.
