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IFC Expects SECO’s Approval of Technical Assistance to Protect Investors’ Rights and to Develop Capital Market in Azerbaijan

Business Materials 28 February 2008 14:23 (UTC +04:00)

Azerbaijan, Baku, 27 February / corr. Trend I. Khalilova/ The International Finance Cooperation (IFC) has submitted a project on the technical assistance for Azerbaijan to protect investors' rights and to develop the capital market to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) of the Switzerland for a consideration, the representative of IFC in Azerbaijan Aliya Azimova said.

The project has been carried out since 2007; however its budget has not been determined yet. Its total value will be defined after SECO approves the grant. The project will be financed by SECO and IFC in the early stage and will covers 5 years.

According to Azimova, currently the project focuses on the improvement of the licesing system, and simplifying the registration procedures of the business. Data in this direction will be collected and current licenses will be analyzed to decide whether there is any need for them. As a result, the list of the licenses that will function will be made more concrete and the procedures for those wishing to obtain them will be simplified. The amount of the license fees will also be determined.

"We want transparency in the license system and entrepreneurs to be well aware of the type of the license, the procedures to be taken and its cost," Azimova said.

IFC will assist in simplifying procedures to grant licenses to the construction firms after the next presidential decree which is being developed at present.

The Ministry of Economic Development of Azerbaijan is planning to put a limit to the areas of business to which permanent and emergency licenses are granted.

In line with the decree by Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan on 29 December 2006 on Kinds of Business Areas Requiring Special License, the list of licenses and the sum of fees were determined. The list includes 50 commercial areas. One more area, the sale of the hand-made jewelry was added to the list in 2007.

The sum of the license fee ranges from AZN220 to AZN25,000 depending on the areas of business.

The correspondent can be contacted at: [email protected]

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