Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 11 / Trend E. Ismayilov /
Approximately, 1 ton (32 150 troy ounces) of the purchased gold, conforming to the requirements of LBMA was transferred to Azerbaijan by UK's Brink's Global Services on January 11, 2013 and temporarily stored in the vaults of the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan, SOFAZ said today.
Some 14 934 kg of gold (480 146 troy ounces) was included into SOFAZ investment portfolio as of December 31, 2012.
The gold purchased by the Fund is temporarily stored in JP Morgan's London vault considering its experience and competitive storage costs.
In total, SOFAZ plans to purchase 30 tons of gold in connection with a risk of price changes over two years.
According to SOFAZ's investment strategy approved by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev dated Dec. 29, 2011, up to 5 % of SOFAZ total investment portfolio may be invested in gold in 2012.
SOFAZ was established in 1999 when its assets amounted to $271 million. As of Dec. 1, 2012, SOFAZ's assets hit $33.895 billion.
The main purposes of the fund are the accumulation of funds and placement of the fund's assets abroad to minimise the negative impact on the economy preventing a 'Dutch syndrome' to ensure savings for future generations and to maintain the current socio-economic standard in the country.
The official exchange rate is 0,7848 AZN/USD on Jan. 11.