Financial Tribune - The Central Bank of Iran will hold its first auction of government bonds on Tuesday. It has asked banks to place buy orders for the Murabeha bonds on the interbank trading platform.

Bonds are worth 100 trillion rials ($588 million) and mature in 2023 at 15% payable every six months. The bonds are to be sold on a gradual basis in regular weekly auctions, according to a notice published on the CBI website.

Plans to open a primary interbank market for bond auctions are aimed at helping the government raise funds for budgetary needs as it struggles with high and rising deficits.

Earlier the CBI had announced that it plans to hold auctions at the start of each trading week and on a regular basis.