Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct.1 / Trend, I. Khalilova /
Investors have complained that their rights have been violated by as many as 140 joint stock companies in Azerbaijan in 2010 - 8 percent of the total - according to complaints received by the Azerbaijani State Securities Committee, its chairman Rufat Aslanli said.
"The shareholders appealed in connection with the unfair distribution of dividends by the joint stock companies," Aslanli said.
"We are working with these joint stock companies so that minority shareholders will receive their dividends." he added.
Since the beginning of privatization in the country in 1995, 1,700 joint-stock companies were established in Azerbaijan with a total of about 100,000 shareholders.
According to Aslanli, there are about 1,000 majority shareholders while the rest are minority shareholders who acquired their shares during privatization through the conversion of privatization vouchers.
"Today, not all of the 1,700 joint stock companies operate at a profit. Among them there are joint stock companies which have suspended operations or operate at a loss," Aslanli said.Meanwhile, according data from the State Securities Committee, the situation is improving. Just 299 joint stock companies were the subject of similar complaints in January-August of 2009.