Iran plans to offer venture capital funds at stock exchange

TEHRAN, Iran, July 13 Trend: Iran plans to offer shares of venture capital (VC) funds at the Tehran stock exchange to support startups, said Vice President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari, Trend reports citing Mehr News Agency. "Shares of venture capital funds will be offered at stock exchange since the establishment of VC funds has improved," he said. "Startups are highly in need of VC funds and they can not solely function by loans. Startups grow by support of venture capital funds," he said. " So far four exchange traded funds (ETF) were accepted at the stock exchange and three more will be added. Collective financing should become a new cultural trend and there should be more investment in it," he said. "The artificial intelligence can be progressive for customers at the stock exchange. The knowledge-based economy can produce new apps every day," he said. "One of the big challenges in economy is setting value for intangible assets. We have startup companies that do not have physical presence, so the pricing has become difficult," he said. " At the moment, 32 knowledge-based companies, valued at $42 billion are part of stock market trading, while two other companies are to join and 15 other companies received primary approval."