Urban Residential Rent Inflation Above 50%: CBI
financialtribune.com/node/115130
@fintribune
Gov’t Bond Sale Plunges by Half
Bond sale by the government was around 13 trillion rials ($43.3 million) in the last Iranian week – down 43% on the week before.
Bond auctions are held every week to help plug the government’s budget deficits. The main buyers are banks, non-bank credit institutions, investment funds and institutional investors in the stock market.
According to data published by the Economy Ministry, lenders in the interbank market and stock investors each contributed to half of the debt offer.
financialtribune.com/node/115134
@fintribune
25% Rise in Foreign Transit Through Iran
financialtribune.com/node/115113
@fintribune
18% Growth in Banks’ Overseas Assets: CBI
Iranian banks held foreign assets worth 23,833.1 trillion rials ($79.4 billion) by the end of the fourth calendar month on July 22. This was up 18.2% compared to the similar period last year.
Data released by Central Bank of Iran show that the pace of growth foreign assets declined noticeably. Banks’ annualized growth in overseas assets was 54.6% in July 2021.
CBI’s foreign assets were in the region of 7,289.6 trillion rials ($24.3b) in the period, up 10.5% y/y but down 0.4% in the first four months of the present fiscal year.
financialtribune.com/node/115120
@fintribune
Iran's Trade With Turkey Surges by 36% YOY to $3.2b in 7 Months
Iran and Turkey traded $3.24 billion worth of goods during the first seven months of 2022 to register a 33.6% year-on-year rise, latest data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute show.
Iranian exports stood at $1.89 billion, up 55.15% year-on-year, while imports grew by 11.9% to $1.34 billion.
Bilateral trade stood at $379 million in July, down 0.5% YOY, with Turkish exports at $192.42 million, down 8.44% YOY, and Iranian exports at $186.59 million, registering a 9.28% growth YOY.
financialtribune.com/node/115087
@fintribune
Debt Collection Is Improving: NDFI
Head of the National Development Fund of Iran (NDFI) said repayment of loans given by the sovereign wealth fund has gained pace in recent months.
“Since the beginning of the last fiscal year March 2021 up until now, we have collected debts three times more than the same period in the previous year,” Mehdi Qazanfari told IBENA.
NDFI is independent of the government and was set up in 2011 to curb dependency on oil and save some of the earnings from oil and gas exports for future generations.
financialtribune.com/node/115090
@fintribune
Time to Streamline Functioning of Banks
financialtribune.com/node/115071
@fintribune
4-Month Budget Monitoring Report
The Supreme Audit Court of Iran, the supervisory arm of the Iranian Parliament, has released its budget monitoring report for the first four months of the current fiscal year (March 21-July 22).
The periodic report provides information on financial flows and programs implemented by the government to achieve the goals and targets set in the 2022-23 Budget Law.
According to the new report, revenues and expenditures during the period achieved 62% and 66% of their respective budget targets.
financialtribune.com/node/115061
@fintribune
Transportation Registers 35.4% Inflation: SCI
“Transportation”, one of the 12 groups of goods and services surveyed by the Statistical Center of Iran for calculating the inflation, registered an annualized inflation rate of 35.4% in the fifth month of the current Iranian year (July 23-Aug. 22).
The group’s month-on-month and year-on-year inflation rates reached 1.2% and 38.4% respectively.
With a coefficient of 9.41%, the “transportation” CPI was 595.4, up 1.2% on the month before. This index registered a YOY increase of 38.4% and its annualized CPI increased by 35.4%.
financialtribune.com/node/115041
@fintribune
Northern Ports’ Potential Remains Largely Untapped
Poor export infrastructure and lack of equipment are to blame for low shipping traffic at Iran’s northern ports and freight forwarding companies.
The statement was made by Ali Chagharvand, director of Plan Management, Planning and Monitoring Department of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, in a write-up for Tasnim News Agency. A translation of the full text follows:
Traders and transportation companies do not avail themselves of the numerous advantages of Iran’s northern ports. Simply put, northern Iranian ports are in recession.
financialtribune.com/node/111568
@fintribune
Monthly Industrial PMI Exceeds 12% to Distance From Threshold
The Purchasing Managers’ Index for Iranian industries in the current fiscal year’s eighth month (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) settled at 57.11 from 50.83 in the preceding month (Sept. 23-Oct. 22), indicating a 12.35% increase, the Statistics and Economic Analysis Center of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture reported.
The PMI is locally known by its Farsi acronym Shamekh.
PMI is an indicator of economic health for manufacturing and services sectors. It provides information about current business conditions to companies’ decision-makers, analysts and purchasing managers.
financialtribune.com/node/111560
@fintribune
Gov’t to Allocate $3.4b to Offset Impact Of Non-Subsidized Forex on Food Import
The government has allocated 1,000 trillion rials ($3.4b) to help compensate the elimination of subsidized foreign currency in the 2022-23 budget.
Scrapping the controversial forex subsidies is one of the critical issues in the next budget submitted to the parliament by President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday.
As per the bill, the government will give this amount “to offset price rises of basic goods, pharmaceuticals, bread and guaranteed-purchase of wheat”, local media reported.
financialtribune.com/node/111565
@fintribune
NIORDC Revenues to Rise by $2b p.a.
A nationwide scheme to convert 1.2 million gasoline-powered public transport and commercial vehicles to compressed natural gas hybrids will help reduce gasoline consumption by 10 million liters per day, director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company said.
“Given the fact that Persian Gulf free-on-board gasoline prices stand at 60 cents per liter, the saved volume 10 million liters is expected to add $2 billion to NIORDC’s annual revenue,” Jalil Salari was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news service.
Since the launch of the plan in 2020, about 200,000 vehicles have been retrofitted and the rest are on the waiting list, he added.
financialtribune.com/node/111535
@fintribune
Tehran Definitely After Good Agreement in Nuclear Talks
financialtribune.com/node/111540
@fintribune
Export of Minerals, Mining Products Exceeds $7 Billion in Seven Months
Atotal of 31.08 million tons of minerals and mining products worth $7.06 billion were exported from Iran in the current fiscal year’s first seven months (March 21-Oct. 22).
According to the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization, this registered a 9% and 105% year-on-year growth in weight and value respectively.
Steel and related products topped the list of exports in terms of value with $4.05 billion, followed by copper and related products with $967.35 million and aluminum and related products with $390.06 million.
financialtribune.com/node/111538
@fintribune
Q1 PPI Inflation at 49.7%: SCI
The Producer Price Index in the four-quarter period ending June 21, 2022, which marks the end of the first quarter of the current Iranian year, grew by 49.7% compared with the corresponding period of last year, data released by the Statistical Center of Iran show.
The lowest and highest annualized producer inflation was registered for “production, transmission and distribution of electricity” and “agriculture" with 13.8% and 63.6%, respectively.
PPI (using fiscal 2016-17 as the base year) stood at 626.4 in Q1 (March 21-June 21), indicating a 15.8% increase compared with the previous quarter and a 49.3% growth over the same quarter of last year.
financialtribune.com/node/115138
@fintribune
Iran's Transactions With China Up 22% YOY to $9.6 Billion in 7 Months
Iran’s transactions with its leading trade partner, China, stood at $9.66 billion in the first seven months of 2022, registering a 22.4% rise compared with the corresponding period of the year before.
Latest data released by China’s General Administration of Customs show Iran’s exports totaled $4.48 billion during the period, indicating a 23.3% year-on-year increase.
In return, China exported $5.18 billion worth of goods to Iran, registering a 21.7% YOY rise.
financialtribune.com/node/115118
@fintribune
POS Terminal Users Told to Gradually Go Paperless
Shaparak Company, regulator of Iran’s domestic payment network, said payment service providers need not issue POS terminal receipts for transactions worth 2 million rials or less, to help save trees (protect the environment) and cut costs.
According to Kazem Dehghan, the CEO, Shaparak network processes more than 40 billion transactions a year, 90% via POS terminals. Printing the transaction receipts costs nearly 7 trillion rials ($23.2 million), the company website quoted him as saying.
“Printing transaction receipts was optional for transactions worth 500,000 rials or less accounting for almost 40% of the total transactions,” he said. “As per the new measure, the cap is raised to 2 million rials or less, accounting for 80% of transactions.”
financialtribune.com/node/115121
@fintribune
Fertility Rate on Decline
The fertility rate in Iran has been on decline in recent years.
According to the Statistical Center of Iran, the fertility rate of women in Iran (both Iranian and non-Iranian nationals) was 2.09 in the fiscal 2017-18, 1.95 in 2018-19, 1.74 in 2019-20, 1.65 in 2020-21 and 1.65 in 2021-22.
The total fertility rate of Iranian women was 2.07 in 2017-18, 1.97 in 2018-19, 1.77 in 2019-20, 1.71 in 2020-21 and 1.74 in 2021-22.
The total fertility rate in Iran increased slightly in 2021-22, thanks to the rise in the fertility rate of non-Iranians.
The fertility rate of Iranian women has been the same in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
financialtribune.com/node/115083
@fintribune
Stage Is Set for Differentiating Business and Personal Bank A/Cs
Compartmentalizing bank accounts into business and personal financial records has advantages for customers, an official with Central Bank of Iran said.
The regulator recently instructed banks to separate the accounts that business owners use for their business needs from regular accounts.
Abouzar Soroush, the CBI deputy for supervisory affairs, said the goal is to improve transparency in the economic and financial structure of the country, which also has merit for business owners.
financialtribune.com/node/115089
@fintribune
Iran's Foreign Trade Increases by 25% YOY to Over $8 Billion
Iran traded 11.32 million tons of goods worth $8.11 billion (excluding crude oil exports) during the fifth month of the current Iranian year (July 23-Aug. 22) to register a 10.6% and 25.4% rise in tonnage and value respectively compared with the similar month of last year, according to the spokesperson of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
Exports stood at 8.42 million tons worth $3.65 billion, registering an 11% and 18% year-on-year rise in weight and value respectively, Rouhollah Latifi was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
China was the biggest export destination of Iranian exports during the period, as it imported 2.26 million tons worth $1.1 billion to register a 1% YOY increase in value.
financialtribune.com/node/115070
@fintribune
Iranian Oil Storage in Persian Gulf Rises by 500,000 Barrels
With the completion of the reconstruction and overhaul project of Tank No. 4 of the Bahregan region in Bushehr Province, the Iranian crude oil storage capacity in the Persian Gulf has increased by 500,000 barrels, managing director of the Iranian Offshore Oil Company said.
“The storage capacity has now increased by 10%, which will promote the prosperity of the region since the area is a terminal for crude oil and gas condensate import and export,” Alireza Mehdizadeh was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana.
financialtribune.com/node/115059
@fintribune
Imports of Essential Goods via Iranian Ports Dip in 5 Months
financialtribune.com/node/115048
@fintribune
26.7 Percent Decline in Construction Permits
financialtribune.com/node/115046
@fintribune
New Budget Bill in Parliament
President Ebrahim Raisi submitted the fiscal 2022-23 budget bill to the parliament on Sunday.
In the next fiscal year (starting March 21, 2022), the operating budget (including revenues derived mainly from taxation and exports at the disposal of the government) has been projected to stand at 13,720 trillion rials (about $45.73 billion at the market exchange rate of 300,000 rials per dollar).
Add to this, revenues earmarked for ministries and governmental institutions worth 1,332 trillion rials ($4.44 billion) take the total sum of the general budget to 15,052 trillion rials ($50.17 billion).
financialtribune.com/node/111570
@fintribune
Currency, Gold Trim Gains
Foreign currency and gold prices retreated from the recent highs on Sunday following some positive reports, particularly those related to reviving Iran’s nuclear deal.
The dollar dropped more than 1.3% or 4,000 rials in Tehran’s unofficial currency market, retreating to 301,500 rials. The greenback gained 3% last week to cross a 14-month high of 306,500 rials. It briefly touched the critical 310,000-rial.
Other currencies pared some the previous gains against the rial. The euro lost 1.5% or 5,090 rials to buy 342,930 rials and the UAE dirham followed shedding 1.3% to close at 82,300 rials. Likewise, the UK pound sterling bought 401,890 rials, down 1.48% or 5,970 rials on Saturday.
financialtribune.com/node/111564
@fintribune
50 Million Iranians Fully Vaccinated Against Covid
https://financialtribune.com/node/111554
@fintribune
2022-23 Draft Budget Appears Promising for Crisis-Hit Bourse
A look at the government’s proposed budget for March 2022-23 shows if passed it should be propitious for the struggling stock market.
The budget draft seems advantageous for the bourse in six ways, according to a review by the Securities and Exchange News Agency.
Concerns about a possibility of higher prices of feedstock for petrochemical companies eased after it was reported that the government would continue with this year’s price list for feedstock that have a considerable bearing on margins of petrochemical firms and by extension on the share prices.
financialtribune.com/node/111551
@fintribune
Regulator Prepares New System for PSP Ratings
Shaparak Company, affiliated to the Central Bank of Iran and in charge of supervising the domestic payment network, is working on a new model for assessing and rating payment service providers (PSPs).
According to Kazem Dehqan, the company CEO, it is rethinking the existing system of rating PSPs. Two phases of the plan to develop the new model are finalized, the company's website quoted him as saying on Saturday.
"Unlike the existing system, wherein PSPs are ranked based on the total transactions and their collective value, the new approach incorporates a wider range of factors," he said, without providing details.
financialtribune.com/node/111550
@fintribune
‘Communications’ Inflation Reaches 12.6 Percent
The average goods and services Consumer Price Index of “communications” in the 12-month period ending Nov. 21, which marks the end of the eighth Iranian month of fiscal 2021-22, increased by 12.6% compared with the corresponding period of the year before.
The CPI of the group stood at 184.2 in the month to Nov. 21, indicating a 1% rise compared with the month before.
The index, with a coefficient of 2.87%, registered a year-on-year increase of 1.2%.
financialtribune.com/node/111532
@fintribune