The Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) (, romanized: Burs-e Owraq-e Bahadar-e Tehran) is Iran's largest stock exchange, which first opened in 1967. The TSE is based in Tehran. , 339 companies with a combined market capitalization of US$104.21 billion were listed on TSE. TSE, which is a founding member of the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges, has been one of the world's best performing stock exchanges in the years 2002 through 2013. TSE is an emerging or "frontier" market.
Iran's capital market has companies from a wide range of industries, including automotive, telecommunications, agriculture, petrochemical, mining, steel iron, copper, banking and insurance, banking and others. Many of the companies listed are state-owned firms that have been privatized.
History
The concept of stock industrialization dates to 1936, when Bank Melli, together with Belgian experts, issued a report detailing a plan for an operational stock exchange in Iran. However, the plan was not implemented prior to the outbreak of World War II, and did not gain traction until 1967, when the Government revisited the issue and ratified the Stock Exchange Act. Initially limited in size and scope, the Tehran Stock Exchange (the "TSE") began operations in 1967, trading only in corporate and government bonds. Iran's rapid economic expansion in the 1970s, coupled with a popular desire to participate in the country's economic growth through the financial markets, led to a demand for equity. The Government became actively engaged in the process, by granting shares to employees of large state-owned and family-owned enterprises. Market activity increased substantially, as both companies and high-net-worth individuals participated in the new-found wealth associated with the TSE.
Everything came to a standstill after the Islamic Revolution leading in a prohibition against interest-based activities and nationalization of major banks and industrial giants. Mobilization of all resources towards the war effort during the 8-year Iran–Iraq War did not help matters. Following the end of the war, the 1988 Budget Act re-established activity on the TSE, and within eight years the exchange saw its numbers rise to 249 companies listed. The Government fully embraced economic reforms and a privatization initiative in 1989 with a surge of activity in share activity of many state-owned companies through the defined targets in the first "Five-Year Economic Reform" where the Government together with the Parliament defined the economic prospects of the country for the coming five years. Attention to promotion of the private sector and new interest in the TSE brought life back to the market. However, lack of regulation and out-of-date legal framework led to crisis in the market leading to certain "meltdowns". Over the 1996 to 2000 period an automated trading system was introduced, and a number of important regulatory mechanisms were strengthened. The market has experienced its share of highs and lows in the past years including topping the World Federation of Exchanges' list in terms of performance in 2004. As of May 2014, TSE has had three bear market in its history: August 1996 – July 1998 (−32%); December 2004 – July 2006 (−34%); and during the financial crisis of 2007–2008 (−38%). In 2014, after reaching historic highs, TSE lost a quarter of its total market capitalization because of the collapse of the Iranian rial and the slump in oil prices. It was also decided in 2014 that some banks and financial institutions attached to the government inject money into the stock market through a fund called the Market Development Fund which is aimed at market making and decreasing the fluctuations in the stock market.
Other complementary markets have also been established alongside the equities market. In 2003, the Tehran Metal Exchange (now called the Iran Mercantile Exchange after its merger with the Agricultural Exchange in 2006) was launched. The Oil Bourse and the over-the-counter Farabourse were launched in 2008 followed in 2012 by the Energy/Electricity Bourse and the FOREX bourse.
*Exchange rate: 1 US $=10,004 IRR (2009)
Industry affiliations
Since 1995, TSE has been a full member of the World Federation of Exchanges (the former Fédération Internationale des Bourses de Valeurs or FIBV), and is a founding member of Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges (FEAS). Since July 2010 the TSE is a member of the International Options Market Association.