Regulated Forex Market Unaffected by Fire

EghtesadOnline: Managing director of the company overseeing the regulated foreign exchange market said Friday’s fire will not have a major impact on the opening of the long-awaited currency market.

News ID: ۷۸۴۸۸۵

23 September 2019

The market is on the 5th floor of Central Bank of Iran's second building in Ferdowsi Street in downtown Tehran, which caught fire on Friday evening when repairs were underway.

"Servers and vital equipment are kept separately in a safe place…the loss is limited to office furniture which will be repaired in a week," Mahmoud Shekasteband told IRNA on Saturday.

Tehran Fire Department said no one was injured in the incident adding that it was investigating the cause of the fire, Financial Tribune reported.

Residents in the building were evacuated and firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze.

The market was set up after the CBI decided to restore stability to the chaotic forex market. It will function as an intermediary between money changers and forex buyers.

Currency so far has been traded in a limited manner in money exchange shops and the so-called integrated forex deals system known as Nima, which is a platform for exporters and importers to buy and sell currency.

The regulated market was due to start work on August 12. The delay is said to be related to the CBI’s obligations vis-à-vis the company in charge of the new market and the minimum number of banks and exchange bureaus required to join before the opening of the market.

Rules for launching the first-ever forex market in Iran were approved in January by the Money and Credit Council.