Privatization of Iran Khodro and Saipa / Is it the domestic or foreign customer?

Arash Nahandian/ According to Tejarat News, this is despite the fact that during the four months that have passed since the issuance of these eight decrees by Ebrahim Raisi, there is still no serious action to transfer the government’s shares in Iran Khodro and Saipa It has not been done and we have only witnessed some correspondence between the head of the privatization organization and the minister of industry, mining and trade in this regard.

The discussion of the privatization of Iran Khodro and Saipa and the transfer of the government’s shares in these two major car manufacturers of the country is a relatively old issue, and we have seen efforts to realize this issue in the government of Hassan Rouhani. One of the ambiguities that always exists in this case is the issue of the accumulated losses of these two car manufacturers and also the government’s shares in Iran Khodro and Saipa are collateral.

In addition to approximately 23% of the government’s shares in Iran Khodro and Saipa, there is also a significant amount of Tudli shares, which in the letter of Dr. Hossein Gurbanzadeh, the head of the Privatization Organization, to Fatemi Amin, the Minister of Peace, explained about the transfer of Tudli shares and government shares together. The face of the data block to preserve their value.

Who is the customer of Iran Khodro and Sapia?

According to the proposal of the head of the private organization on how to sell the government shares, and the fact that he announced some time ago, due to the fact that the government shares in these two companies are pledged, it is not possible to transfer them, there are some uncertainties in this matter for the people. it has been created. In the situation that, at least until today, there is no news about the release of the government’s shares, how did the head of the privatization organization correspond with Reza Fatemi-Amin about this issue?

Who is the client of the government and privatization organization’s program for the block transfer of shares?

In a situation where both the Ministry of Security and the private organization are talking about the block offering of Todli and government shares of Iran Khodro and Saipa, it is most likely that if the shares are to be sold, we will eventually witness the transfer of said shares to large companies or consortia. The discussion of which companies can afford or are willing to do this usually leads us to component companies.

At the beginning of this year, there was a news about the desire of a consortium consisting of Zarmakaron, Golrang, Mihan and Mammut companies to buy government shares in Iran Khodro and Saipa companies. According to some experts, the not-so-good condition of component companies and the discussion of their accumulated losses indicate that these companies probably do not have enough competence to manage self-manufacturers and get them through the crisis they are going through.

On the other hand, some say that selling shares to consortiums that do not have enough experience in the field of the automobile industry and have lined up to buy government shares simply because they have the required capital may be a wrong decision and ultimately cause the automobile industry to suffer in the meantime.

Is it possible to sell shares to foreign companies?

Considering the fact that according to some, there is no qualified customer to buy government shares in Iran Khodro and Saipa, and if the shares are handed over to the existing options, the possibility of solving the problems of these two self-proclaimed companies and improving their situation is very little, the discussion of selling shares to Foreign self-made companies are mentioned.

The successful experiences of selling bankrupt foreign automobile companies have shown that perhaps the best solution to cure the root disease of two Iranian automobile giants is to sell the shares of these two companies to foreign investors. In addition to the successful experiences of the purchase of Dacia by Renault or, for example, the purchase of Opel by the Peugeot Group and finally the launch of various joint ventures between Western and Chinese automakers, it shows that Iran’s automobile industry can also take such a path.

Of course, the main obstacle in this direction is undoubtedly the issue of sanctions, which, in addition to making European automakers run away from Iran’s automobile industry, has also made Chinese automakers unwilling to work directly in Iran’s automobile industry. Considering the status of JCPOA negotiations and the deadline of almost two months left until Ebrahim Raisi’s order to hand over the government’s shares to the private sector, this option does not seem to be practical either.

Why should Iran Khodro and Saipa be privatized?

About how the government has caused damage to the automobile industry and the loss of Iran Khodro and Saipa, it has been confirmed so far. From the changes of the CEOs of these two companies with the change of governments and ministers to the forced hiring and forcing these two companies to make some non-economic investments and most importantly, the issue of mandatory pricing; We all know the losses and losses of government management on these two Iranian automobile giants.

Thanks to the government’s control over Iran Khodro and Saipa, these two companies have significant surplus labor and their production efficiency per manpower is very low compared to global standards. The reason for this is undoubtedly the imposition of manpower on these two companies by the government and parliament, and for this reason, experts believe that the government’s withdrawal from Iran Khodro and Saipa can have significant benefits for this company in the long run.

Does the government really intend to sell its car stocks?

Meanwhile, only a few months after the start of his activity, Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi issued an eight-point decree to organize the automobile industry, the most important clause of which was undoubtedly the elimination of government management of the automobile industry. Although this may seem good on the surface, about a month before that, we saw the change of CEO of Iran Khodro by the new government. Two weeks before Farshad Moghimi, the CEO of Saipa was removed from his position and replaced by Mohammad Ali Timuri. These two cases show that the 13th government is not unwilling to interfere in the automobile industry.

Whether the government really intends to sell its shares in these two automobile companies, or whether it will do it half-heartedly like the previous government, is not yet clear. The existence of fundamental problems, including the fact that the government’s shares are collateral in these two companies, is one of the fundamental issues that have not yet been determined, and it must be seen whether we will see progress in this field within two months until the end of September.

Will the private car maker solve the industry’s problems?

Years of government’s mismanagement of the automobile industry, especially Iran Khodro and Saipa, have resulted in the accumulated losses of these two automobile companies reaching 55 thousand billion tomans. The issue of these two companies being unprofitable, along with various other problems, raises the issue of whether their privatization can lead to the improvement of the situation of Iran Khodro and Saipa?

Undoubtedly, the road ahead for Iran Khodro and Saipay is not smooth at all, and if they are privatized, these two companies will definitely face a lot of problems. But the issue that many experts emphasize is that if the government withdraws from these two companies, some basic problems such as mandatory pricing will be removed, and this can greatly improve the situation of these two companies.

Another benefit of the government’s withdrawal from the automobile industry is management stability in these two companies, which can significantly improve their situation in the long run. On the other hand, the withdrawal of the government can greatly facilitate the future investments of foreign companies in these two companies. Undoubtedly, the non-government of Iran Khodro and Saipa will make it more attractive for European and Asian companies to invest in them.

Will Iran Khodro and Saipa be privatized?

Currently, considering all the events that have happened since the issuance of the President’s order to withdraw the government management from these two companies and the statements of the President of the Privatization Organization regarding the government’s shares being pledged, it seems that during the remaining two months until the end of September this year, there will be no evidence. Let’s be private about this.

On the other hand, the absence of a qualified customer who can take Iran Khodro and Saipa out of the quagmire in which they are stuck and organize their situation with strong management leads us to the conclusion that by September we will witness the transfer of government shares to the private sector. we will not be For now, we have to wait and see what will happen in this field during these two months.

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