Gov’t Paying Justice Shares’ Dividends

The government has started paying the dividends of “Justice Shares” as of Tuesday with its cap set at 500,000 rials ($11.54) for each shareholder, the head of Iran Privatization Organization said. The money currently going to more than 49 million Iranian holders of the shares is only “one-third of their actual dividend, as the rest is scheduled to be paid by the end of Esfand (mid-March),” Mirali Ashraf Abdollahpouri was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency. Each Justice Share is currently said to be worth about 24 million rials ($545), Abdollahpouri added, considering the share value of listed companies in its portfolio. The Justice Shares were launched in 2005 when the parliament tasked the government with privatizing state-owned companies and giving some of the stakes to different strata for bringing about equitable distribution of wealth. They were given to the six lowest income deciles of Iranians. To prevent the owners from selling their shares immediately, their sale was barred. The portfolio of Justice Shares comprises 35 companies listed on Tehran Stock Exchange and 25 listed on Iran Fara Bourse with a total value of 649.2 trillion rials ($14.62 billion).