According to Rouholla Dehqan, managing director of Tehran Securities Exchange Technology Management Company (TSETMC), share transactions capacity in the new trading system is 10 times higher than what is available now.
“The present platform that is used by the equities markets is capable of processing 2,000 transactions per second. The new system handles 20,000 transactions per second,” he was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency.
Dehqan said the platform is ready for use and the TSETMC is awaiting for the exchange markets to sign contracts. Iran has two equity markets, Tehran Stock Exchange, Iran Fara Bourse and two commodity exchange markets i.e. Iran Mercantile Exchange and Iran Energy Exchange.
The need for replacing the trade platform came to the fore as the existing system was overwhelmed by the systemic increase in the number of investors and the ensuing increase in deals.
Those in charge say they are unable to upgrade the system due to the US sanctions. The outdated platform has caused interruptions in stock trade particularly when markets see a strong surge in trade or when a company goes public.
Investors have often complained that their (buy and sell) orders are not processed on time by the system or often processed with delay inflicting heavy losses.
Investor interest in IPOs is seen as the primary aspect pushing the trading platform to saturation point. During IPOs huge numbers of people line up to buy shares.
Pointing to the swarm of new investors joining the bourse in the past two years, Dehqan said “the new platform will be functional and accommodate even if all investors simultaneously trade in stocks.”
Data released by the Central Securities Depository of Iran show that the number of active trading codes reached 36.8 million in July. About 2 million codes were issued in the first four months of the current fiscal year that started in March.
The past year and a half saw a flurry of new investors into the stock market unheard of in the 53-year history of Iran’s bourse.
In March 2021, marking the end of previous fiscal year, the number of trading codes stood at 36.7 million -- 257% higher compared to the 10.2 million issued up until March 2020.
The dramatic upsurge in the number of investors in a relatively short period is said to be due to the traction of the share market among the public in light of its historic gains in the first half of the previous year.