Iran plans to offer 5 percent of Bank Mellat to private investors on February 18, a Tehran Stock Exchange official said on Saturday, in the Islamic Republic's first part-privatisation of a state-owned bank. The official, who declined to be identified, said the sale was aimed at determining the level of demand and the share price ahead of the possible sale of more Bank Mellat shares if there was interest from buyers.
The plan comes in spite of a sharp fall in Iran stocks over the last six months. Bank Mellat, Iran's second-largest bank after state-owned Bank Melli, is estimated to have a share of around 15 percent of the country's banking industry. "What we were told is (that the share launch will happen on) Wednesday," the official told Reuters. Share prices in Iran, the world's fourth-largest crude producer, have tumbled in line with plunging oil prices.
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