In the third auction by the Privatization Agency on Sunday, 60 refueling stations in 13 provinces were put up for auction, out of which 39 were sold.
“The largest number of refueling stations offered were in the province of Tehran with 15 station of which 13 were sold. On average there were three prospective buyers per station. Some only had one interested buyer and others such as Minab refueling station in Hormozgan province had 35 interested parties”, said Seyyed Jaffar Sobhani, Consultant Managing Director of the Privatization Organisation of Iran.
The base price for these 39 stations was 2000 billion IRR ($61.7m) and the selling price was 37% higher than the base price and close to 2750 billion IRR ($84.9m).
“The main point in yesterday’s auction was the transfer of these stations to the true private sector. Since station owners can establish carwashes, garages, etc. alongside their stations, these auctions have always attracted the interest of the true private sector”, added Mr Sobhani.
The cash price expected upfront for all stations is 30% of total value, with 85% of installments in a three to four year period and the remaining 15% is to be paid back in a two year period.
In the auctions on Sep 4th, 100 refueling stations were offered and the total value of the transfers was close to 3500 Billion IRR ($108.1m).
In the second set of auctions this year, a total of 40 stations were offered in 14 provinces out of which 25 stations in 11 provinces were sold.
Sources: Oil Ministry of Iran official reports
Official exchange rate has been applied.
