The proposal to list the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) on the stock market comes at a time when Iran is facing major energy imbalances, international sanctions, investment shortages, and price distortions caused by state intervention. Despite possessing vast oil and gas reserves, the country continues to struggle with an opaque and complex oil export structure.
The Stock Exchange Organization has suggested that these two companies be offered on the capital market to improve transparency, enhance financing capacity, and increase efficiency. However, this idea has a long history and has been repeatedly proposed in previous governments without being implemented.
Energy and capital market experts hold differing views:
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- Some see this move as an opportunity to increase transparency, attract investment, and modernize the industry, but emphasize that it requires serious legal and institutional reforms.
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- Others highlight major legal, constitutional, and governance challenges, arguing that oil and gas resources are public and intergenerational assets and should not be fully or extensively privatized.
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- In the context of sanctions, some experts believe that even stock market listing would not necessarily lead to real transparency and could reduce investment attractiveness.
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- It is also emphasized that without clarifying debts, reforming financial structures, and defining the government’s governance role, such a move could create new risks.
Overall, experts conclude that listing these companies can only be successful if deep structural reforms and improvements in both domestic economic conditions and international relations are achieved; otherwise, its impact would be limited or potentially negative.
Source: Shargh News Daily