Listed companies paid 26 trillion rials ($80 million) in dividend to shareholders since the beginning of current fiscal year in March.
According to data released by the Central Securities depository of Iran (CSDI), the capital market clearing house, the payment was for dividends pending over the past years due to bureaucratic and procedural issues.
The clearing house said dividends were paid to 10.22 million shareholders.
Dividend increased after listed companies were legally obliged to pay through online platforms.
In the past, companies paid dividends manually in the capital markets and stock exchanges. Calculations were through manual files and profits were transferred to the bank accounts of companies.
Due to the bloated bureaucracy, millions of retail investors, mostly small shareholders, quit receiving the dividends paid by banks.
To address the issue, the Securities and Exchange Organization decided to create a legal obligation for listed companies to deposit dividends directly to shareholders’ accounts.
It obliged companies to pay dividends through a centralized platform. The dividend must be paid within three months after the annual general assembly of companies and penalties are envisioned for managers who don’t play by the rules.
Long demanded by retail investors, the SEO decision helped them receive their dividends without hassles.
The CSDI said more than 26 million shareholders received 190 trillion rials ($612 million) in dividend in the first five months of current calendar year. The dividends were paid by 163 companies.
