The head of the Iranian Privatization Organization (IPO) announced that two Iranian automobile industry’s giants (Iran Khodro and Saipa) will be divested till the current year (The middle of March of 2009).

Gholam-Reza Heidari Kord-Zanganeh in an interview with Mehr reporter announced that According to the Budget Law of the current year (1388), Iran Khodro and Saipa will be divested till the end of this year. He stated: ˝regarding this matter, there is no Delay in transferring the two companies and the legal deadline for divesting them, is the end of this year.˝

About the by-law of Pricing state-owned companies, the head of IPO expressed: ˝The by-law of Pricing is the newest international by-law and it has used the most advanced methods of accounting, auditing and financial.˝

˝In this by-law, profitable method, net Assets method, mean method; and other methods for pricing the shares of divestible state-owned companies has been predicted. ˝, He added.

Emphasizing that any criticism for pricing of 275 state-owned companies which have been divested among the last 4 years is not acceptable, Kord-Zangeneh restated: ˝In accordance with this subject, none of the companies divestiture have been cancelled because of the pricing. ˝

With emphasis on transferring management based on stock ownership, he said: ˝Shares and management of companies have been divested both and no case that opposes this subject exists so far. ˝