IRINN — broadcast 20260915 113000 UTC 454 transcript segments Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API (Chirp) + Gemini 2.5 Flash Non-Thinking Data courtesy of The GDELT Project (https://www.gdeltproject.org/), from the Internet Archive TV News Archive. Machine transcription. Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a verbatim quotation record. [00:00:00] and these small and large numbers that are in the hands of real people, [00:00:03] sometimes larger companies and things that we consider small, [00:00:07] can be spent in productive ways or in transparent ways [00:00:11] that are both beneficial to the country and to the individual who is making the investment. In general, [00:00:15] it is better for the economy. [00:00:18] In addition to this happening and helping the country's economy, naturally, [00:00:22] the individual who is investing has that risk coverage [00:00:25] in mind, that if today, for example, they want to buy gold so that tomorrow, [00:00:29] when the price of gold goes up, this investment they have is preserved, [00:00:33] naturally, from the government and the ruling body and the institution that is doing this work, [00:00:37] this profit should also be able to compete [00:00:45] for example, we had the advance coin bonds, and we are talking about [00:00:48] an currency fund whose underwriting starts tomorrow. [00:00:52] So, it shows that the government has reached the conclusion that if [00:00:55] it wants these monies that are in people's hands, the gold that it has, [00:00:59] now, regardless of the fact that if it is traded, [00:01:02] we accept that risk, for example, that the dollar or euro [00:01:06] is not fake, or that the gold we buy is not fake gold, [00:01:09] and its purity is correct, I don't know, if it's a coin, [00:01:13] for example, we sell it and don't realize it was a fake coin, even though [00:01:17] it was planned, or if we buy molten gold, its purity [00:01:20] is correct, and there are no impurities in it. You have to take all these risks. After all, if you keep coins [00:01:24] at home, there's a bigger risk [00:01:28] of theft. So naturally, we can conclude [00:01:32] that the more transparent paths and paths that [00:01:35] can almost give us the same profit, with some variations, [00:01:38] but with a little more peace of mind, can help. In the meantime, [00:01:42] several things need to happen. First, sometimes we have seen actions [00:01:46] in previous years that might have slightly damaged trust. However, [00:01:50] for example, even during the war, gold funds were among the funds [00:01:54] whose work was done smoothly, and there were no significant [00:01:57] issues. The same is happening with coins, as I told you. [00:02:01] People have generally not shown a bad reception. [00:02:05] This might also be the prediction for this. Now we will talk [00:02:09] more in the program. Overall, we want to talk about how it is, [00:02:12] what its assets are, how its investments are, what its issuance and cancellation are like, and [00:02:16] other details that might also [00:02:27] funds, [00:02:30] is present in the program. Also, Mr. Sarkaniyan, the manager of the currency fund, and Mr. [00:02:33] Shahraei, the manager of the Central Bank's currency financing department, will also join [00:02:50] is an estimate of the currency that is outside the official economic cycle [00:02:54] and is in cash in the hands of the people. We have [00:02:57] assets that individuals, to preserve the value of [00:03:01] their assets, keep outside the system and the production cycle. Now, [00:03:05] in the form of a new financial instrument, these resources, instead of simply [00:03:09] being held, will enter the investment and production financing cycle [00:03:13] through the capital market. With fixed-income currency funds, [00:03:16] the underwriting of the first fund will begin [00:03:20] this week. These funds, in addition to preserving the value [00:03:24] of the asset, also generate profit compared to currency and gold, [00:03:28] and these resources will be directly [00:03:32] used in production. But how do these funds work? [00:03:35] The type of these funds is a currency [00:03:39] investment fund with fixed currency income. [00:03:43] Their structure is based on the issuance [00:03:46] and cancellation of investment units. The investor must physically deposit [00:03:50] their currency notes or transfers into the fund [00:03:54] through selected currency branches of the bank. The registration manager [00:03:57] registers the resources in the investor's name, and upon cancellation, the principal [00:04:01] and profit are returned to the investor in currency. The fund's resources [00:04:05] are invested in assets [00:04:08] and instruments with good returns, high liquidity, [00:04:11] and low risk, including [00:04:15] currency Murabaha bonds, currency forward contracts, [00:04:19] currency deposit certificates, [00:04:22] and currency deposits with banks. Currency funds [00:04:26] operate without a breaking rate and with tax exemption. [00:04:33] And according to the initial estimate, their annual return in the initial months will be about 5%. [00:04:36] Maryam Fadaei, Voice and [00:04:40] Vision News Agency. Yes, we watched the report together. I would like to start [00:04:43] with Mr. Iranshahi from the organization. Mr. Iranshahi, please explain to the viewers, [00:04:47] in more detail than the report that was presented to you, [00:04:51] what need fundamentally led us to go for such [00:04:55] a fund, and what is going to happen? In the name of God, the Most [00:04:58] Gracious, the Most Merciful. Greetings to you and all the viewers. [00:05:02] The currency investment fund is an official platform [00:05:06] for attracting idle currency resources [00:05:09] in order to enter [00:05:13] the country's economy. For years, there was this issue that a part of [00:05:17] the currency resources were held by natural and legal persons in the form [00:05:20] of cash, usually [00:05:24] by themselves. However, the question of how to make [00:05:26] it enter the economy [00:05:30] and actually turn into [00:05:33] a productive asset was a serious issue [00:05:37] that they faced for years. How much of that cash was in people's hands? An accurate [00:05:41] estimate cannot be given. [00:06:12] actually the final number. There is no reason [00:06:16] for us to come and do this. For example, you might say 10 [00:06:20] billion dollars. Well, assume the number is much larger than these numbers. [00:06:23] However, part of these resources, if [00:06:26] spent on investment in the economy, [00:06:30] will certainly be a turning point and a step forward. [00:06:33] What we are looking for in the currency [00:06:37] fixed-income investment fund is to [00:06:40] create a framework [00:06:43] for a structured system that is supervised, [00:06:47] and to try to restore the trust [00:06:51] that, in a way, existed [00:06:54] in previous years. We also know that, after all, [00:06:57] investment funds in recent years have mobilized [00:07:01] very good resources, and this [00:07:04] perspective and this trust that has existed, [00:07:08] more than 5 million people are now investors [00:07:11] in investment funds. In [00:07:14] various types, they have invested more than 4,000 billion Tomans [00:07:18] of resources in these investment funds. These are [00:07:21] the prerequisites and preconditions for the success of an instrument. [00:07:25] If we started a new instrument in the form [00:07:29] of currency funds, it was with this background. As [00:07:33] you also said, our investment funds [00:07:36] continued their activities during the war. [00:07:39] People could easily deposit [00:07:43] and withdraw resources from the fund. This lack of [00:07:46] disruption in people's [00:07:49] liquidity greatly helped these funds [00:07:53] gain people's trust [00:07:56] and build more trust in this instrument. [00:07:59] In the end, the point I want [00:08:03] to make to you is [00:08:06] that these funds can be a prelude [00:08:09] to something that, in our country, [00:08:13] under the title of holding dollars [00:08:15] under the [00:08:18] pillow, is to convert it [00:08:21] into assets that enter the economy [00:08:24] through investment funds, while [00:08:28] at the same time, at least two advantages [00:08:32] it should have are that it provides a minimum [00:08:35] profit to these resources, [00:08:39] which accrues to investors, and at the same time, the risk [00:08:46] that people face is somewhat alleviated. Of course, the amount [00:08:49] that is under the pillow and so on has become so large that it has gone beyond [00:08:53] that. Mr. Sarkaniyan, please tell us about the estimates. I [00:08:57] asked Mr. Iranshahi, and he gave us a detailed [00:09:00] and diplomatic answer. More than [00:09:02] 10 billion dollars. The numbers were up to 30 and so on. [00:09:06] How much do you estimate that natural and legal persons have [00:09:22] correctly stated [00:09:25] that we, well, he didn't state it correctly, it's called [00:09:29] idle and unproductive currencies [00:09:31] outside the official economic cycle. What we have heard in the media [00:09:35] and in the reports that are actually [00:09:38] given is an estimate of [00:09:42] between 30 and 50 billion dollars, actually. Now, this number [00:09:46] might be less, or it might be much more. [00:09:50] But the numbers we have in mind are based on [00:09:53] reports that are sometimes [00:09:56] given by [00:09:59] financial or official authorities, and the numbers are in this [00:10:02] range, held by natural and legal persons. Naturally, [00:10:06] the amount is a considerable amount. 50 billion dollars [00:10:09] is almost equivalent to, for example, the country's exports [00:10:13] for one year, just so you know how large it is. [00:10:16] Well, now that we have this number, what is this fund going to do? [00:10:19] Mr. Iranshahi mentioned that we talked about it before, and maybe [00:10:23] in the past years, a lot of effort has been made to restore this trust. [00:10:27] In some cases, some people still don't accept this risk, for example, [00:10:31] their money. Of course, we saw in gold funds that this was [00:10:35] not really the case, but many also don't accept this risk of putting [00:10:38] their money in a fund, whether it's because of taxes [00:10:42] or because something might happen one day, or for example, [00:10:45] in the very distant past, we had cases where people brought [00:10:49] currency and got rials back. People were a bit worried about these types of things. [00:10:53] Please explain how these issues will be resolved. How does this fund essentially take money [00:10:57] from people and companies, [00:11:13] of the fund. He says that in March [00:11:15] 2021, [00:11:18] the net asset value of all capital market investment [00:11:22] funds was 45. [00:11:40] People trusted it. Now, the number that Dr. mentioned, that 5 [00:11:44] million people are now, in a way, investors in these funds, [00:11:47] shows that this document, this instrument, has been effective. [00:11:51] That is, in my opinion, it has reached its goals and has been able to guide [00:11:56] the country towards [00:11:59] a kind of production or towards the correct [00:12:03] economic cycle. In these [00:12:07] funds, very good measures have been taken. [00:12:10] That is, perhaps because it is the first instrument [00:12:14] that is coming into the currency sector, if we look at the regulations [00:12:17] of the Securities and Exchange Organization and the Central Bank, they have [00:12:20] seen good measures. In fact, [00:12:23] well. All funds, all funds, [00:12:27] have executive bodies and supervisory [00:12:30] bodies. Well, in this fund, our executive [00:12:33] bodies are actually the registration manager, [00:12:37] the currency operations manager, and the liquidity guarantor. [00:12:39] This fund, like all other funds, has a fund [00:12:43] manager who manages the fund's assets. [00:12:47] We have supervisory bodies like the trustee [00:12:51] and the fund's auditor, who are approved by the Securities and Exchange Organization. [00:12:55] Apart from these, well, an investment fund is a financial institution that is supervised [00:12:59] by the Securities and Exchange Organization and is continuously [00:13:03] and directly monitored. In these [00:13:06] funds, since after all, the Central Bank [00:13:10] is the currency authority in the country, through an executive [00:13:14] directive, the currency activities and operations [00:13:17] of this fund are supervised. That is, from the beginning, [00:13:21] the Central Bank receives daily and direct reports [00:13:24] from this fund. And in a way, [00:13:27] it monitors the performance of these bodies to ensure that all [00:13:31] bodies actually perform their duties correctly. [00:13:34] So, therefore, this is the first fund that has two [00:13:38] main regulators of the money market and the capital market [00:13:42] directly supervising it, and [00:13:45] it is mandatory to have a liquidity guarantor. [00:13:49] Very well. One point is that what exactly will be [00:13:53] the assets of this fund? That is, how do you [00:13:55] receive the currency, how do you return it, and what do you invest in? Can you explain [00:13:59] this in more detail? The currency we are currently [00:14:03] talking about is either in the form of cash [00:14:06] in people's hands, physically in people's [00:14:09] hands. Now, if we look at currency deposits from [00:14:13] a banking perspective, they are also cash, meaning it was cash [00:14:17] that was converted into a currency deposit in people's hands, or in the form of [00:14:21] a currency transfer that is held [00:14:24] outside the country. After all, what currencies do you accept? This fund accepts [00:14:28] these two currencies. That is, people can refer [00:14:32] in cash, that is, for example, the dollar is [00:14:35] the selected currency of this fund. The dollar [00:14:39] now, this selected currency also has a definition, and its definition is that [00:14:42] the fund is obliged to hold all its assets [00:14:46] based on this currency. That is, [00:14:49] whether receiving resources from investors or [00:14:52] making investments, everything must be done in dollars, [00:14:56] which is the selected currency of the fund. For example, if someone has it, what should they do? Should they convert [00:14:59] it and then bring it to you, or do they convert it there? How is it? For example, is there [00:15:03] another currency? For example, it is intended that dollars [00:15:07] be accepted, but some banks and some branches, if you take [00:15:11] euros now and want to convert them to dollars, [00:15:14] it is possible. But the assumption is that, in fact, currently, [00:15:18] because the main currency, based on field surveys, [00:15:22] the main currency in people's hands is the dollar. [00:15:26] In the future, it is envisioned that these funds will, in a way, be multi-currency, [00:15:30] meaning that euros and, for example, dirhams and other [00:15:33] currencies will also be added to the fund. But we started [00:15:37] the first fund with the dollar. What will be [00:15:39] the composition of your assets? That is, the program will be such that [00:15:43] this fund, as I mentioned, is a financial institution [00:15:46] that has a statute and a prospectus approved by the Securities and Exchange Organization. [00:15:49] And in the fund's prospectus, the composition of assets [00:15:52] that the fund is allowed to invest in [00:15:56] is specified. The composition of these [00:15:59] assets are actually assets that have low risk [00:16:03] and suitable returns. If we want to [00:16:06] name them, they include currency Murabaha bonds, [00:16:09] currency forward contracts, currency [00:16:12] deposit certificates, currency deposits with banks, [00:16:14] and in a way, the discounting of foreign [00:16:18] documentary credits. These are the assets that at the beginning, [00:16:22] these funds were authorized to invest in these instruments. [00:16:25] You receive dollars and return dollars, right? [00:16:28] That is, as I said, the fund is obliged, [00:16:32] in fact, if it received cash from an investor, [00:16:35] it will return that cash [00:16:39] along with its profit to the investor. If it received a transfer, it will do the same. How about profit and so on? Let's see. [00:16:43] The profit of these funds, well, our fund [00:16:46] either has periodic profit payments [00:16:50] or, in other words, we call it accumulated profit, meaning this [00:16:53] profit is reflected in [00:16:56] the increase in the value [00:17:00] of investment units. These funds, well, [00:17:03] because we face [00:17:07] limitations in paying in bank branches or by the fund, [00:17:11] they are designed to be accumulative. [00:17:14] That is, when you invest, the profit of your units [00:17:17] is added to the value of your units [00:17:21] based on the return that the fund generates or the manager announces, [00:17:25] and when you need the investment, [00:17:28] the exact profit and principal [00:17:31] are given to you. Do you also give profit in currency? Yes, [00:17:35] the profit is also entirely in currency. And one point that existed was that [00:17:39] the articles of association and prospectus of these funds prohibit the conversion [00:17:42] of currency to rial. That is, it is even mentioned as a violation [00:17:51] between the Central Bank and the Stock Exchange for the establishment of this fund is, [00:17:54] and how you are supervising it, considering that, as Mr. Sarkani mentioned, [00:17:58] the Central Bank is the currency authority and you are the authority for the funds [00:18:02] in the Stock Exchange Organization. How does this cooperation work out, and how [00:18:06] is it ensured that, God forbid, no problem arises? [00:18:09] You see, [00:18:13] in both the drafting of regulations, [00:18:16] our currency unit of the Central Bank held continuous [00:18:19] meetings to ensure all aspects of this issue [00:18:23] were considered, and in the guidelines [00:18:26] that have been prepared, the supervision of [00:18:29] currency operations, meaning everything related to currency matters, [00:18:33] is handled by the management [00:18:41] in the area of currency matters by the Central Bank. [00:18:44] And the supervision of compliance with regulations [00:18:48] that are outside this framework is done by the Securities and Exchange Organization. [00:18:52] The reporting that the fund manager must do, the discussion related [00:18:56] to the asset composition, the proportion that the fund manager [00:18:59] must comply with according to regulations, [00:19:02] the discussion of protecting investors' capital, the issue related [00:19:06] to transparency and reporting. These are the cases that the Securities and Exchange Organization [00:19:10] supervises, and as I mentioned, these have been specified [00:19:13] in a guideline, and the supervisory discussions are clear, [00:19:17] and the duties of each of the supervisory institutions [00:19:21] are clear. The main difference that this currency fund has with other [00:19:25] funds that are in the organization is specifically what? Apart from that one is rial and the other is currency. [00:19:28] You see, we cannot really [00:19:32] make a substantial difference for it. [00:19:36] The operations manager [00:19:40] who has been added to this fund is also due to the fact that currency [00:19:43] operations must always [00:19:47] be carried out by an entity supervised by the Central Bank. [00:19:50] One of the very substantial [00:19:53] differences concerning this fund is the issue that, [00:19:57] although you mentioned it yourself, the emphasis [00:20:01] is that all calculations are based on currency, [00:20:04] but in reality, what the investor receives [00:20:08] and pays into the fund, and in return receives a fund unit, [00:20:11] is the selected currency, which in this fund [00:20:15] is the dollar. The investment is made in dollars, [00:20:18] and all payments, including profit [00:20:21] and the principal amount of the investment, are also made in currency at the time of cancellation. [00:20:25] A question that might arise for our viewers or someone who essentially has excess money [00:20:29] and buys dollars (since the selected currency is also dollars) [00:20:33] is why I should , for example, put aside [00:20:36] physical cash and invest in this fund. [00:20:40] What difference does it make? What additional profit does it have for me? The one [00:20:43] that, for example, is cash under my pillow is, as they say, [00:20:47] more secure. Yes, I [00:21:04] in total, it is a significant profit for the investor, while, as I mentioned, [00:21:07] it is being professionally managed by [00:21:11] a group. The resources [00:21:14] that have been mobilized by the currency operations manager [00:21:18] are entering the productive sector of the economy. In fact, [00:21:21] they can consider themselves part of [00:21:25] an economic project that has been invested in [00:21:28] in currency, and they are effectively contributing [00:21:32] to the growth and development of the country. This can be [00:21:35] an advantage, and another advantage is that, after all, holding [00:21:38] currency has some risks and some concerns. [00:21:42] If they want to put it in bank safety deposit boxes, they have to [00:21:45] pay fees. If they want to keep it themselves, there are [00:21:48] issues of theft and so on. This can also be one of the [00:21:52] advantages for them to come and join this fund. One point is that when [00:21:56] the funds, well, not all funds, but some gold selling platforms [00:22:00] that coincided with the peak price of gold [00:22:03] became very widespread, there was concern [00:22:06] about short selling and such incidents, because sometimes news [00:22:10] came out, and people have this kind of concern too, considering that they don't see the principal. [00:22:14] For this, for the guarantee of the principal, [00:22:17] what measures have been taken? [00:22:21] First, before that, I would like to say that these funds have tried [00:22:24] to make their transparency very clear [00:22:28] and explicit for people. [00:22:31] Monthly, the investment [00:22:34] portfolio, their investment [00:22:37] basket, is disclosed both through the fund's website [00:22:41] and through the Codal system. Therefore, people can [00:22:44] see where these assets have been invested. [00:22:48] It is calculated daily, and the asset composition [00:22:51] in general, that is, what part is deposits, what part is bonds, what part is now, [00:22:55] possibly, the discounting of documentary credits, [00:22:59] is specified daily. Their regulations, [00:23:02] articles of association, prospectus, financial statements [00:23:06] are audited. Financial statements are prepared every three months and [00:23:09] audited every six months. All documents will be disclosed [00:23:13] through the Tanam and Codal systems. [00:23:16] Their articles of association and prospectus are also available [00:23:24] for investors to track where the resources have been [00:23:28] invested. There is one point that you mentioned, [00:23:31] the guarantee. [00:23:33] Well, if we want to talk about regulations and what we have written, [00:23:37] there is fundamentally no principal guarantee. [00:23:41] However, the asset composition has been arranged in such a way [00:23:45] that not only will the principal of these investors not be lost, [00:23:48] but also at least [00:24:20] Mr. Shahraei, the head of the Central Bank's foreign exchange financing department, is on the program's communication line. [00:24:24] Mr. Shahraei, please tell us that I also asked Mr. Iranshahi about [00:24:28] the cooperation between the Stock Exchange Organization and the Central Bank, both in terms [00:24:32] of supervision and in terms of regulations, which they spoke [00:24:35] about. Please also tell us how this cooperation [00:24:39] from the Central Bank is working out, how you are supervising, [00:24:42] and what other policies the Central Bank has [00:24:46] to make the established methods [00:24:50] and these types of methods that you are currently working on [00:24:53] more widespread and [00:25:06] and capital market on the establishment of the first currency investment fund [00:25:09] and wish that this instrument be a source of blessing [00:25:13] for the people and the country's economy. As [00:25:16] our friends mentioned, this fund and similar funds that [00:25:31] will be added to the group of currency funds are the result of months of close [00:25:34] and continuous cooperation between the Central Bank and the Securities [00:25:38] and Exchange Organization. The directive for supervising the currency operations [00:25:41] of this fund was approved by the Central Bank's Supreme Board [00:25:45] last month, and the executive guidelines were also drafted [00:25:48] in joint meetings with the Stock Exchange. The implementation phase has now been reached. [00:25:52] An important point that actually needs to be emphasized [00:25:55] is that this is perhaps the first financial institution in the country throughout [00:25:59] all periods that is fully registered in currency. [00:26:02] That is, all processes, including the issuance and cancellation of investment [00:26:06] units, profit payment, and principal repayment, [00:26:09] and actually the important point [00:26:13] is that no conversion to rial is allowed, and this is stated [00:26:17] in the directive, and the Central Bank's supervision of the currency [00:26:21] operations management and other bodies will definitely [00:26:25] ensure that previous experiences are not repeated in this fund. [00:26:28] That is, the fundamental feature of this fund, [00:26:32] apart from the complete security that is preserved due to the currency [00:26:36] nature of the investment in the fund and does not link to rial, [00:26:40] the main target audiences of the fund can be [00:26:43] divided into two main groups. The first group [00:26:47] are currency holders within the country, which includes both [00:26:50] natural and legal persons. In the form of [00:26:53] cash or currency transfers, they can actually [00:26:57] invest in the fund, and the permitted resources, as I mentioned, [00:27:01] are both cash and transfers. [00:27:16] are investing inside the country and also do not want to convert [00:27:19] it into national currency and also want to benefit from investments [00:27:23] in the country. It might be interesting for our dear [00:27:27] viewers that we currently have billions of dollars [00:27:30] of attractive projects. [00:27:53] and in fact, we have ready consumption that, along with the accumulation [00:27:56] of resources that will be done through people [00:28:00] and other sources, this opportunity will arise for the country's [00:28:03] dormant capital to be directed [00:28:07] towards productive investment. [00:28:10] How many ready projects are in line, for example, that need [00:28:14] it? Can we estimate? [00:28:17] We have a demand of billions of dollars for the issuance of foreign currency Murabaha [00:28:21] bonds. Primarily, we only allow exporting companies [00:28:24] to issue foreign currency bonds. This means that they should not [00:28:27] need to secure foreign currency for repayment. Instead, the project [00:28:31] itself should generate foreign currency. Therefore, [00:28:35] the projects that are currently in line and completing their studies [00:28:38] amount to 1.6 billion dollars. [00:28:42] Different numbers were raised in the program. The central bank must have an estimate [00:28:45] based on these discussions and the issue [00:28:49] of rocket scans and rocket money in the hands of people and companies. How much is the central [00:28:52] bank's estimate? We started with 10 billion, Mr. Iranshahi, [00:28:56] and reached 50 billion, Mr. Sarkani. The central bank [00:28:59] should also give us a number so we can see the total and average. [00:29:06] It's not, meaning we have three target groups here that I mentioned to you: domestic [00:29:09] holders, both natural persons, a part of whom are [00:29:13] the same household currencies, legal [00:29:15] entities, and another target group is Iranians abroad, [00:29:19] and if you add up their numbers, it will definitely exceed the 50 billion [00:29:23] they mentioned. But the estimate of household [00:29:26] currencies, because it's actually how much more? What is your estimate? Can you give us an estimate for [00:29:30] each section? Because, as I said, it must be based on a [00:29:34] scientific and standard study, and since this study [00:29:37] has not been published anywhere, referring to a number is a speculation. [00:29:41] I wanted to know that you, in the central bank, after all, it seems [00:29:45] you should have an estimate of a possible number. [00:29:48] One of the scientific methods that had happened [00:29:52] in bank safe deposit boxes that had been stolen [00:29:56] was based on the sampling that had been done and [00:29:59] had been provided to all safe deposit boxes, and this is also in the sample [00:30:29] of safe deposit boxes, which we estimate that in this [00:30:54] in its size, another numerical example that just came to my mind is that the country [00:30:58] in the previous year, which was very.