TEHRAN, Iran, Dec.24
Trend:
Although Iran's accession to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is still being debated, the country's stock market will be less affected by the issue, capital market expert and former Secretary General of Iranian Institutional Investors Association Behrouz Khodarahmi told Trend.
"Although Iran's capital market is big, it's one of the most transparent markets in the country, which is positive for the stock market, so its future is partially predictable," the expert said.
"Furthermore, Iran's stock market has no connection to the international stock markets, so Iran's being black listed will not affect trading shares in the country's stock market," Khodarahmi said.
"Although some stock industries that have financial trading and export ties with the world will face limitation in case the accession to FATF is not approved, currently, the situation is not clear," the expert added.
The official has indicated that decision on whether Iran is compliant with FATF is a political issue.
"At the moment, it can not be predicted if joining FATF is in our interests. Considering the rival markets, the outlook for national capital market is good," Khodarahmi added.
FATF established in 1989 to combat money laundering gave Iran a final deadline of February 2020 to comply with international norms. Meanwhile, it asked the members to demand scrutiny of transactions with Iran and tougher external auditing of financing firms operating in the country, Reuters reported.
Iran's parliament has passed the Palermo bill (International Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime in line with the FATF Standards) and Convention Against Funding Terrorism; however, the Guardian Council has not ratified them yet.