TEHRAN, Aug.28 (MNA) � Over 786 billion rials (about $31 million based on the U.S. official exchange rate of 24,800 rials) worth of shares of state-run companies were sold in the fifth Iranian calendar month of Mordad (July 23-August 22).
More than 363 million shares of state-run companies were transferred to the private sector in the mentioned period of time, according to the Mehr News Agency.

Iran has transferred over 130 trillion rials (about $5.2 billion) worth of shares of state-run companies to the private sector in the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year.

The shares were owned by 25 state-run companies, the Privatization Organization of Iran said in a press release.

The government has envisioned a large privatization program in the Fifth Five-Year Development Plan (2010-2015), aiming to privatize about 20 percent of state-owned firms each year.

In line with Article 44 of the Iranian Constitution, hundreds of state-owned companies have been privatized with some of the shares being earmarked for distribution among �deprived� classes, such as farmers and workers.

In a speech in March 2013, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said that transferring economic activities to the public will resolve the unemployment problem.

�Implementing Article 44 of the Constitution regarding privatization is meant to transfer the economy to the public,� Larijani stated.

By Mehr News Agency

 

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