The Security and Exchange Organization (SEO) has notified listed companies and capital market institutions to publicly disclose background verifications of their senior managers.
Majid Eshqi, the SEO chief, made the call at a press conference on Tuesday, adding that the measure was approved recently after being on the back burner for almost 13 years.
"It includes disclosure of legal records of directors of listed companies and capital market institutions," SENA quoted him as saying.
A special platform will be introduced for logging details of individual legal background so that shareholders have access to all the information they need when they decide to buy shares.
Eshqi referred to the reason for the rejection of his resignation last week, saying that the Capital Market High Council decline his decision to step down after assessing his track record. He denied that he was under pressure from the Majlis to resign, but did go into details.
Local media had reported on the resignation. The government's decision not to incorporate SEO-proposed measures in the 2022-23 draft budget was said to be the main reason Eshqi decided to quit. The proposals largely aimed at supporting the cash-strapped capital market.
However, the council voiced full support for Eshqi in his efforts to address shareholder concerns and address problems the bourse has been grappling with since the summer of 2020.
He elaborated on the SEO's performance in recent months and its support for the government's support package. Implementation of the support policy had restored some stability to the stock market, he said.
A comprehensive package designed to support the stuttering stock market came into effect last month.
It suggests that fresh resources will be made available from state funds for share purchase and money allocated to the capital market in the 2022-23 budget to the tune of 50 trillion rials ($151 million) will be deposited with the Capital Market Stabilization Fund (CMSF).
Legal persons, including semi-public companies and financial institutions, retirement funds, military organizations are responsible, according to the new support package, to regularly monitor share prices under their management and avoid selling until market conditions are stable.
They have been recommended to take supportive measures such as purchasing shares and publishing put options.
Eshqi said some 500,000 shareholders had purchased the contracts, known as Sahamyar, that guarantee at least 20% return on investment in one year.
The CMDF started offering put options last week for retail investors in the Tehran Stock Exchange and Iran Fara Bourse following the announcement of the new support measures to help lift the struggling capital market.
The contracts can be purchased by investors with portfolios up to 1 billion rials, accounting for nearly 96% of the investors. The contracts have one-year maturity at 20% profit. The measure is largely said to be aimed at convincing retail investors not to sell their assets.
Auto Sale
The SEO chief also referred to recent measures to sell cars at the Iran Mercantile Exchange, and said talks are underway to sell imported cars at the IME.
"Offering cars in the stock market is a positive step because it helps improve transparency in the market and eliminates the role of middlemen," he said.
"Government-imposed pricing policy is not the only major hurdle carmakers are facing. They also need to address their structural and managerial problems."
For years the so-called Competition Council has been in charge of fixing prices of a number of domestically-produced goods -- a policy mired in controversy and seen largely as unwanted and unhelpful.
Some 4,000 vehicles have been sold at the IME since the beginning of the fiscal year in late March. One thousand Peugeot 207s were sold last week within an hour after trade opened. Policymakers unsurprisingly are prompted to compel auto makers to sell all popular models via the capital market.
"The next batch of cars will reportedly include the Peugeot 206 and Peugeot Pars. The two main auto manufacturers, Iran Khodro (IKCO) and SAIPA, have to make the decision,” Amir Mehdi Sabaei, the SEO deputy for supervisory affairs, has said.
