Jun 05 2009 |
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Iran to sell majority stake in BSI by year-end
Friday, Jun 05, 2009
Gulf News
Dubai: The Iranian government is set to privatise 51 per cent of Bank Saderat Iran (BSI) by the end of 2009, BSI chairman and managing director Hamed Borhani told Gulf News.
At a road show event targeting UAE and Iranian expatriate investors late on Wednesday, Borhani said six per cent of the bank's 18.6 million shares will be offered on the Tehran Stock Exchange soon.
Larger blocks of shares will later become available to retail and institutional investors, he added.
The bank controls $32.3 billion (Dh118.5 billion) in assets and employs more than 30,000 workers.
About 45 per cent of the bank's international assets are controlled by its branches which are based in Qatar and the UAE.
In 2006, the bank was blacklisted by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control for allegedly transferring about $50 million to Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic jihad between 2001 and 2004.
Despite repeated denials of the accusation by the bank's leadership and the Iranian government, BSI 's US-based assets remain frozen and the American government has prohibited its citizens and American companies from dealing with the bank.
The European Union has taken similar measures against Bank Mellat , Iran's largest bank, but has not acted against BSI .
Still, the bank recorded a net income of $125 million in 2008.
Borhani said he hopes a new attitude in Washington, under the new administration, will help lift the sanctions now in place.
"In a very tough situation, we created profit," Borhani said.
Earlier this year, the government sold six per cent of Bank Tejarat and five per cent of Bank Mellat .
By Ahmed A. Namatalla, Staff Reporter
© Gulf News 2009. All rights reserved.
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