[citation needed] The history of Iran Mercantile Exchange and its links with the "international trading floor of crude oil and petrochemical products in the Kish Island" (IOB) have been published.
The geographical location is at the Persian Gulf island of Kish which is designated by Iran as a free trade zone.
[8] The Kish Bourse was officially opened in a videoconference ceremony on 17 February 2008, despite last minute disruptions to the internet services to the Persian Gulf regions.
Currently the Kish Bourse is only trading in oil-derived products, generally those used as feedstock for the plastics and pharmaceutical industries.
[9] Due to technical problems, the oil bourse never proceeded, and the plans were finally abandoned after a vote by the Iranian Parliament on 7 January 2020.
As the Oil Bourse in Kish is developed, the plan is to establish a Petrobourse denominated by the Iranian rial, the euro and other major currencies.
March 2006 the Petroleum Minister of Iran, Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh, announced that due to "technical glitches", the Bourse launch was postponed, with no new date set.
[22] March 2007 The New York Times reported that China's state-run Zhuhai Zhenrong Trading, the biggest buyer of Iranian crude worldwide, began paying for its oil in euros late last year.
Iranian officials have said for months that OPEC member's customers switched their payment currency away from the dollar as Tehran seeks to diversify its reserves, but news of the Zhenrong change is the first outside confirmation.
[citation needed] January 2008 Iran's Finance Minister Davoud Danesh-Jafari told reporters that the bourse will be opened during the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution (February 1–11).
The communique from the Cabinet states that the "Ministry of Finance and Economics Affairs is required to take measures in making the petrochemical byproducts bourse operational by the end of February 2008.
November 2009: IME reported that "the international trading floor of crude oil and petrochemical products in the Kish Island was put into operation.