An official with the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) has said that more foreign investors are entering the equity market despite financial restrictions imposed by western sanctions.
“The TSE receives three applications from foreign investors for trading codes each week,” Hassan Ghalibaf-Asl, head of the market said, as reported by IRNA.
Since 2012, the United States and the European Union banned financial transactions with Iranian banks over a nuclear dispute with Tehran.
Despite the financial restrictions, the number of active traders at the TSE will dramatically rise, as the high dividend shares at the Iranian equity market are highly sought-after by international investors, Ghalibaf-Asl said.
Foreign traders own more than 1 percent of total floating shares at the stock exchange, he noted.
The cash Iranian expatriates hold could also play a significant role in improving the equity market, Ghalibaf-Asl said. “They have Iranian birth certificate and may apply to get trade code like other Iranians but those with foreign passports should get non-Iranian trade code,” he explained.
As shares’ value has hit the rock-bottom in recent weeks, this could be an opportunity for traders to shore up their portfolios. In addition, semiannual reports of the companies listed in the TSE indicate positive performance.
Despite the limping economy, industries are creeping upward, demonstrating a brighter future ahead, although part of the uptick is attributed to positive political developments in the ongoing nuclear talks between Iran and the six world countries known as the P5+1.
The official urged investors to be cautious when garnering shares and pay more attention to portfolio diversification, companies’ long-term performance, and local and international market indicators.
Ghalibaf-Asl emphasized that rival markets cannot compete with the equity market as the earnings of high-yield companies are relatively more attractive.
