Iran to begin public offering of two power plants
Iran will begin the initial public offering of two power plants in line with a macro policy for the privatization of
state-run organizations, the managing director of Iranian Privatization Organization (IPO) announced.
Gholamreza Kord Zangeneh said that the stocks of Khalij-e-Fars and Sahand power plants worth $ 1 bn will be
transferred to the public after getting required approvals from the authorities. He added that the stocks of eight
other power plants will be divested in the next Iranian year (to begin March 21, 2009).
According to Article 44 of the Iranian Constitution, the economy of Iran is to consist of three sectors: state,
cooperative, and private. This article has been amended in 2004 to allow the privatization of the Iranian
economy.
In 2007, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei called on government officials to
speed up the implementation of the policies outlined in the amendment to Article 44 of the Constitution, which calls
for the privatization of state-run companies.
According to the Fourth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2005-2010), the Iran Privatization Organization, affiliated to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance, is responsible for setting prices and offering shares of state-run companies on the privatization list to the general public.
