The Tehran stock  Exchange  opened in April 1968. Initially only Government bonds & certain state backed certifies were traded in the market. During 1970's the demand of capital boosted the demand for the stocks. At the same time institutional changes like the the transfer of share  of  public companies & large private firms owned by the families, to the employees & the private sector led to the expansion of the stock market activity. The restructuring of the economy & following the Islamic revolution expanded the public sector control over the economy & reduced the need for private capital. At the same time the abolishment of interest bearing bonds terminated their presence in the stock market. As a result of these events, Tehran stock exchange started a period of standstill. This stop came to end in 1989 with the revitalization of the private section through privatization of state-owned enterprise & promotion of private sector economic activity based on the the first Five-Year Development plan of the country. Science then the stock exchange has expanded continuously. By the end of the year 1996, a total of 220 companies with a market capitalization of about $18 billions were listed in Tehran stock Exchange. TSE index stood at 2,150.54 points showing & annual average growth rate of 44.4%. TSE council is the highest authority in the stock exchange. State officials as well as the private sector representatives & specialists of members of the council . The governor of the central bank presides over the council. Other constituent of the organs of TSE are acceptance committee, Arbitration board & broker organization. The board of directors of the latter is the highest policy-making authority in TSE & appoints the general secretary as the chief executive officer, CEO, for a period of two years. Repeated appointment is permitted without any restriction. There are two senior deputies acting under the secretary general who are responsible for economic & technical affairs & administration finance respectively. Presently, Tehran stock market has 47 registered brokers & 122 employees. Trading in TSE is based on  orders sent by brokers. Trading hours are 09:30-12:00 am Saturday to Wednesday, with the exception of public holidays. There are plans to expand the online   trading facilities for provinces through VSAT system & to proceed with full automation of the exchange. Trading fees include 0.5% payable by both sides. The two parties also pay development charge of .025%. In addition the seller pay 0.5% tax at source. Presently, TSE trades mainly in securities offered by financial & non-financial companies. The introduction of project based participation bonds that bear a fixed annual return during the period of the project possibility of diversification in the stock exchange. TSE is a member of FIBV, a foundation member of federation of Euro-Asian stock Exchanges.