Economy of Iran - Ownership

Ownership

Following the hostilities with Iraq the Government declared its intention to privatize most industries. Sale of state-owned companies proceeded slowly, mainly due to opposition by a nationalist majority in the parliament. In 2006 most industries, some 70% of the economy, remained state-owned. The majority of heavy industries including steel, petrochemicals, copper, automobiles, and machine tools remained in the public sector, with most light industry privately owned.

Article 44 of the Iranian Constitution declares that the country's economy should consist of state, cooperative and private sectors based. The state sector includes all large-scale industries, foreign trade, major minerals, banking, insurance, power generation, dams and large-scale irrigation networks, radio and television, post, telegraph and telephone services, aviation, shipping, roads, railroads and the like. These are publicly owned and administered by the State. Cooperative companies and enterprises concerned with production and distribution in urban and rural areas form the basis of the cooperative sector and operated in accordance with Shariah law. As of 2012, 5,923 consumer cooperatives, employed 128,396. Consumer cooperatives have over six million members. Private sector operate in construction, agriculture, animal husbandry, industry, trade, and services that supplement the economic activities of the state and cooperative sectors.

Since Article 44 has never been strictly enforced, the private sector has played a much larger role than that outlined in the constitution. In recent years the role of this sector has increased. A 2004 constitutional amendment allows 80% of state assets to be privatized. Forty percent of such sales are to be conducted through the "Justice Shares" scheme and the rest through the Tehran Stock Exchange. The government would retain the remaining 20%. In 2005, government assets were estimated at around $120 billion. Some $63 billion of such assets were privatized from 2005–2010, reducing the government's direct share of GDP from 80% to 40%.