Market News

– Iranian Islamic T-Bills have shown a strange behavior since our last update. After a solid ascending trend just a week ago, the curve for longer maturities is now on a descending path. The below image demonstrate the details of outstanding T-Bills issues on Iran debt market.

– The Secretary of High Council of Free Economic Zone announced the removal of the obligation of having at least EUR 150 mn in capital for establishing branches in such regions, which will pave grounds for the presence of foreign banks in the country; the Money and Credit Council had raised the minimum capital for such banks from EUR 25 mn to EUR 150 mn in 2016.

– The Head of Central Insurance of Iran announced the establishment of 4 representative offices in the country by foreign insurers, in addition to a new license application to set up an office. Referring to a few Iranian companies re-insured by European counterparts for life insurances, he also mentioned the difficulty in transferring the funds through banking channels as the main issue in this area.

– Following the US pullout from the JCPOA, Foreign Minister of France announced their progress on measures to protect French companies against the new sanctions to be imposed by the US on Iran; he also stressed on the need to replace the dollar with euro or other currencies in order to enable Iran to continue exporting its oil, in addition to helping firms dealing with Iran.

In the Market

The TEDPIX ended the past week with a 0.14% growth, affected by severe drop in global crude price as well as rising ambiguities in regards with the country forex market; it was so while the IFX registered a 0.3% rise over the said period (26-30 May).

The US President statements on trade and the 25% tariff on metals (imported from Europe, Canada and Mexico) strengthened dollar, dragging the crude oil down. The Oil Products space shed their prices. Pasargad Oil received permission to raise its sales price by more than 10%. In addition, it has been heard that an Indian company has demanded to purchase 1 more mn barrels of crude from Iran in July.

The Metals space went through positive trades, led by Esfahan’s Mobarake Steel. Iran Alloy Steel ticker got halted after the +27% EPS adjustment; its EPS increased from IRR 184 to IRR 234.

The Iron Ore sector saw a rise in demand as well, led by Mines & Metals Development, Gol-e Gohar Mining & Industrial and Bafq Mines. The High Economic Council of agreed to pose tariff on exporting raw minerals; the duty will be applied in increment, starting by 5% in the first year, 8% in the second year and 10% in the third year. Besides, based on official statistics, major iron ore producers managed to post a 30% rise in producing iron ore concentrates over the first month of the current year (21 March-21 April).

Finally, the Construction industry was also highly demanded. This positive sentiment spread to the Cement group as well. Recent uplifting trends in the housing market signals for prosperous days ahead of mentioned industries.

Source:

2018, Islamic T-Bills yield curve sends mixed signals!, Saturday, June 01, p.1,<https://agahgroup.com>