Bank Melli Says to Sell $1.2b in Surplus Assets

State-owned Bank Melli Iran wants to sell 500 trillion rials ($1.22 billion) in assets by the end of the current fiscal year in March 2023. 
"Shares of Shazand Arak Refining Company are to be offered in the stock market…The company is worth almost 340 trillion rials ($837.4 million)," unidentified BMI officials said, IBENA reported.
It was not clear what other assets would be offered.
The BMI stressed that it is committed to do away with its excess assets and non-banking businesses to improve lending power. However, "Selling assets is not easy because of the stringent regulations."
There are a litany of constraints when it comes to selling government-owned assets, which should be addressed by the Central Bank of Iran to let banks convert part of their assets into bonds, the unidentified officials said without elaboration.
Bank Melli says the government owes it 850 trillion rials ($2.09 billion).