A new report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) examining “selected issues” in Iran’s economy, including the expansion of non-oil exports and the role of women in the labor force, places special emphasis on the importance for Iran to develop the government securities market, which is a priority under the Sixth National Development Plan (NDP).
The report, authored by an IMF team in cooperation with the Iran Parliament Research Center, establishes that the “deficit and gross funding needs of the [central government] are set to rise as securitization of arrears and financial sector reform advance.” Iran’s gross financing requirements will rise from the current level of 4.5 percent of GDP to 15 percent of GDP by the end of the decade.