R Refining companies have been given five years by the Financial Stability Committee (FSC) to improve the quality of their products, including aviation fuel.
The FSC bill was approved by the cabinet on Sunday; SENA quoted Mohammad Fetanatfard, head of the Securities and Exchange Organization as saying on Monday.
“Refining companies should improve the quality indicators of their top 5 products, including aviation fuel within five years in accordance to the Oil Ministry’s standards,” said Fetanatfard, adding that “based on the approval of annual general meetings” 30 percent of the generated revenues of refineries should be dedicated to quality improvement. Meanwhile, the oil ministry says it will not change the price of the top 5 products in the upcoming year.
Fetanatfard went on to say that the FSC concluded the idea in a meeting with first vice president, ministry of finance and economic affairs, minister of oil, head of the Management and Planning Organization, and SEO’s chief, a day before the cabinet meeting.
He praised the government’s support, adding that “the administration is determined to tackle the challenges of the listed industries at the equity market”.
TEDPIX Snaps Winning Streak
Prevailing ambiguities at the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) dragged down TEDPIX into red territory to cap three days of winning at Monday’s close.
About 90 percent of listed companies failed to outperform and weighed on the TSE’s benchmark, with all indices settling in red.
According to TSE data, the overall index shed 484.2 points or 0.73 percent to end at 65,835. The first market index dropped 391.4 points or 0.8 percent to 48,488.8. The second market index tumbled 723.9 points or 0.56 percent to finish a sloppy trade at 129,537.1. The free float index plummeted 678.8 points or 0.91 percent to 74,721.4. The industry index fell 332.8 points or 0.6 percent to 55,422.9, and the blue chip index was down 24.9 points or 0.83 percent to stand at 2,959.8.
Despite the massive devaluation of shares, including those of the high-yielding firms at the stock market, investors have lost their appetite for stocks, which is evident by the low trade volume and value.
More than 423 million shares changed hands on Monday, valued at almost 743 billion rials, to underscore the bearish trend at the equity market.
Despite leading petrochemical companies’ contribution to the TEDPIX within the past few days, the tumbling oil prices, along with the wobbling economy and fears of a budget deficit broke the fragile winning streak at the TSE.
Only 9 percent of listed firms managed to slightly help the TEDPIX; however, 86 percent of the companies recorded downbeat performance, and pushed the benchmark down.
Mellat Bank was the leading market laggard with up to 37 point negative contribution. Tamin Petroleum & Petrochemical Investment Company and Saderat Bank were also other market laggards with over 33.5 and 33.1 points negative contribution respectively.
The administration is striving to help the equity market back on track using a variety of measures like the establishment of the FSC, amendment on mining royalties, and clarification of feedstocks prices. However, it seems that the equity market needs a practical leverage to change its bearish sentiment.
