Rules Governing the Entry and Exit of Foreign Investors in the Iranian Capital Market

Investing in the capital market (or, in other words, trading security by individuals) requires preliminaries and formalities and also involves the various stages of the investor's presence in the capital market, i.e. the stages of entry, activity, and exit. Therefore, identifying the preliminaries and formalities governing the entry, activity, and exit stages regarding foreign investors interested in investing in the capital market of the country is important due to the foreignness and lack of sufficient information on the governing regulations - in other words, on the process of investment in the capital market. In this research, it has been attempted to examine the concept of "investor", "foreign investor in the capital market of the country" and "the entry and exit of foreign investor in the capital market" according to the existing regulations. In addition, the rules governing the entry and exit of foreign investors in the capital market are studied considering the "Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act" and the "Regulations on Foreign Investment in Exchanges and Offshore Markets" (the new code) and highlighting their weaknesses and strengths as compared to the former code passed in 2005. Finally, some suggestions are also offered. Foreign investment in the capital market is considered important, as it involves two basic issues, namely “foreign investment” and “capital market” (Qasemi-Hamed & Baqeri-Motlaq, 2013). Concerning the importance and necessity of foreign investment, suffice to say that in today's world, not only developing countries but also developed countries attempt to attract foreign investment and compete in this area (Baqeri-Motlaq, 2012).
Such advantages and necessities have caused this type of investment to be considered by the country's administrators despite the fact that the legislator has not stipulated it in the “Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act” for the first time in 2005 according to the bylaw passed by the Council of Ministers. The "Foreign Investors' Investment in the Stock Exchange Bylaw" passed in 2005 dealing merely with the issue of foreign investors investing in the stock market, which is in fact one of the pillars of the capital market in the country, due to some deficiencies and problems, was replaced by the " Foreign Investment in the Exchanges and OTC Markets Bylaw" in 2010 (Baqeri-Motlaq, 2012).     Under the aforementioned bylaw, the possibility of foreign investment in OTC markets has also been provided as a pillar of the capital market. However, the bylaw does not foresee any mechanism for the possibility of foreign investment in the commodity exchange, and it does not include it. One of the most important factors in foreign investment in the capital market is to get acquainted with the concept of investor, foreign investment, and the way of entry, activity, and exit from the capital market from the point of view of the governing regulations in the host country (Lashkari, Emamverdi, & Hamzei, 2012).
Considering the provisions included in the 2005 and 2010 bylaws, this article revolves around three main axes, including entry, activity, and exit. The present article studies the rules governing the entry and exit of the foreign investors from the capital market considering Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act and Foreign Investment in the Exchanges and OTC Markets Bylaw (the new bylaw) and highlighting its weaknesses and strengths as compared to the previous bylaw approved in 2005.
Despite the lack of stipulation in the Law of Promotion and Protection of Foreign Investment, the necessity of attracting foreign capital to the capital market of the country has not been neglected by the administrators of the country. Although the former bylaw caused some barriers and constraints for the foreign investors, it was considered a positive step towards the legal acceptance of this type of foreign investment. The former bylaw attempted to cover foreign investment in the stock exchange under the “Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act”. While it seems that another approach is considered in the new bylaw, and also because foreign investment in the capital market is one of the activities taking place in this market, therefore foreign persons are exempted from referring to the Organization for Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance Of Iran to obtain investment licenses and also complying with the requirements for the withdrawal of capital from the country, and the authority to grant foreign investment licenses in the capital market and decide on the withdrawal of capital from the country is determined by the Securities and Exchange Organization as an entity governing the capital market, which it seems to be a positive step towards facilitating foreign investment in Iran's capital market.
Although the new bylaw, in contrast to the former bylaw, has positive implications for the entry and exit of foreign investors from the capital market, in some cases, it also has some shortcomings. It does not predict foreign investment possibility in the commodity exchange and does not provide a comprehensive definition for the mentioned investment. Therefore, it is expected that the weaknesses and strengths of the "Foreign Investment in the Exchanges and OTC Markets Bylaw" are taken into account by adopting a newer bylaw in the future in order to approve the bylaw covering the entire capital market of the country. In addition, effective steps should be taken to avoid any ambiguity and confusion for foreign investors and considerable foreign investments are attracted to the country's capital market in this way.