Municipalities Raise $110m via Bond Sales in Iran

A report by the Central Bank of Iran on the participatory bond market said municipalities in major urban areas sold more than 12.5 trillion rials ($110 million) worth of participatory bonds up until the end of first quarter of the present fiscal year to June 21. 
The report, published on the CBI website, shows municipalities in Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Ahvaz, Tabriz, Karaj and Shiraz had issued participatory bonds to the tune of 49 trillion rials ($433 million) during the period.  Apparently only a quarter of the issued bonds had buyers. 
Participatory bonds were issued mainly for financing urban rail networks, expanding pathways, rehabilitating urban structures and developing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) networks. 
The bonds mature in four years and have an annual interest rate of 18%.