The Iranian Center for Exchange (ICE), a recently-established market under the auspices of the Central Bank of Iran, started offering gold coins on Tuesday.
According to a press release seen on the CBI website, the ICE listed the Quarter Bahar Azadi gold coin as the first to be traded at prices announced on ICE's website, which is deemed to be lower than the free market.
As per the CBI announcement, official brokers of ICE will purchase the Quarter gold coins. The brokers include banks and credit institutions, authorized exchange shops and bank-affiliated moneychangers.
Brokers buy the coins in auctions and are obliged to sell at the announced rates. In the first phase, the market is set to offer 300,000 quarter gold coins.
The central bank is the only seller and brokers are not permitted to sell coins in the market.
Individuals can buy the gold coins from brokers, though each person can purchase only five coins a year. However, those who purchased the coins from the Iran Mercantile Exchange in winter cannot buy coins from the ICE until the next winter.
The CBI unveiled the ICE in February apparently in a bid to control forex and gold prices that have jumped to levels unseen in the history of the country.
The Quarter coin's price in the open market remained unchanged on Tuesday at 117.2 million rials. It was set at 95.13 million rials at the ICE
Mohammad Reza Farzin, the CBI governor, said, "Rates in this center will be the reference rates in the market based on demand and supply of currency and gold, as well as key economic indicators,"
"The aim is to set up a place where supply and demand interact at a reasonable price," Farzin said without elaboration. The CBI also has plans to use the center for currency swap and derivative forex instruments.
The Quarter coin's price remained unchanged on Tuesday at 117.2 million rials in the free market. It was priced at 95.13 million rials at ICE.
The popular Emami Gold Coin was quoted at 310.8 million rials, down 2.2% on the day before. Half Bahar Azadi Gold Coin also remained unchanged to buy 187 million rials. One gram of 18-karat gold was tagged at 25.82 million rials.
In November the CBI launched the initial public offer for the sovereign gold bond (SGB) at the Iran Mercantile Exchange (IME). CBI's gold coin bonds are tax-free and real persons can buy up to 100 of the Bahar Azadi coins.
Maturity of the SGBs is six months and can be cashed on maturity date based on the average price of gold coin and bank certificates of gold coin deposits on the last trading session. The CBI guarantees repayment.
IME also offers gold coin futures and gold funds. Gold futures are standardized, exchange-traded contracts in which the buyer agrees to take delivery, from the seller, a specific quantity of gold at a predetermined price on a future delivery date.
In another update, the IME on Tuesday unveiled gold bullion futures contract for the first time.
