Manufacturing sector of Iranian economy is slowly going
under the top tier government control, started with transfer of Iran Khodro, Seipa (car manufacturers)
to the Bonyads where they (Bonyads = charitable foundations owned by
clergies) own 60% stake in of each Iran Khodro and Seipa.
By some accounts 43% of auto part manufacturing industry belongs to Bonyads.
The building material manufacturing, cement factories, bricks and concrete
block factories, to some degree, the metals are also owned by Bonyads. There
are plans to bring the metal and steel industry under Bonyads total ownership.
This instance prove the move to that direction: The Shahid Investment Company a
subsidiary of Bonyad-e Shahid, made a successful bid for Industrial development
and Renovation Organization, The irony is that the government allocated fund to
Bonyad-e Shahid for such purchase. The goal of the Top Tier government is to
recycle the capital from public (government) to private ownership of clergies.
The goal of privatization is not to make the Iranian Economy more efficient and
effective and free but to weaken the government divestment and transfer the
capital to clergys holding companies.
The Iranian stock market was created to serve as an instrument for transferring
the ownership of Iranian public owned capitals to clergy owning sector, where
the Bonyads and clergy owned foundations legally buy the stocks of the public
(government) holding companies stocks and eventually change the board of
directors and transfer the companies to Bonyads.
Although some argue that the synergy created by this transformation will help
the socio-economic development in
While this transformation is taking place, Bonyad-e Mostazafan (the poors
foundation) has increased its food import due to the impact of ownership change
from the government own companies to the clergies owned charitable foundations
to help mitigate the short fall of job loss and increase in poor families. The Bonyad-e
Mostazafan was created to give hand out to loyal clergies followers and to make
the poor dependant on the clergies, mosques and also to create the impression among the poor
that Islamic government helping its poor citizens.
Bonyade Astan Qods, one of the oldest foundations owns more then it can
handle, such as Petrochemical companies, petrochemical industry is also
dominated by Bonyads where the only chance to break away from oil dependence
economy is seen, the charitable foundations has put their plans in motion to
dominate the future
oil replacement commodities.
The only companies and business which are allowed to import cars, trucks, tractors,
combines and agribusiness equipments are charitable foundations that owned by
supreme leader and his office, revolution guards corps and Basij militia.
The mining exploration, consultations and extractions are also awarded to revolution
guards corps owned foundations.
All the revenues from the charitable foundations business activities are
distributed among the clerics who work for the office of supreme leader in
different part of Tehran and other cities, revolution Guards corps high ranking
staff such as majors, colonels, major generals and generals, the army generals,
the navy and Air force
generals and Basij militia high ranking staff, in the mean time, some of the
countrys budgets are also allocated to win votes among the citizens, and this
funds are distributed to the poor who attend clerics arranged and managed
religious activities.
The business monopoly is the real problem with this economic
arrangement, where the business man can not compete with charitable foundations
either by law or
by sheer size of the charitable foundations facilities. As a result the whole
economy is controlled by a class of military-mafia that no one will have a
chance to compete and do business in
business from
In the age of free market economy and free trade where the boundaries and tariffs
among the regional countries have been demolished Iranian government still
struggles with concept of fighting goods and services smuggling into Iran,
which in this day and age is a shameful practice but to protect the charitable
foundations interests and the interests of supreme leader, the revolution
guards corps, the Basij Militia and other religious owned business, Iranian
military and revolution guards corps are actively fighting the goods and
services smuggling into the country. We should take note that the fight against
the smuggling is not the fight against the drug
trafficking and drugs smuggling, the fight is against importing wheat, flour, sugar,
fruits, cooking oil, rice, candy bars, breads without government permission
and yet the government will not issue license for import of such products to
citizens unless the citizen is well connected to the office of supreme leader
and absolute guardianship of the clergy.
Payam Omid
payamomidvar@yahoo.com