Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 5 / Trend A. Akhundov /
The World Bank looks forward to continued cooperation with Azerbaijan in the development of capital markets, WB Acting Country Manager Rufiz Chiragzade said at a conference on the 15th anniversary of the National Depository Centre today.
"Azerbaijan is developing rapidly today. However this success, particularly in the area of poverty reduction, has been achieved mainly by revenues from the oil and gas sector," he said. "This revenue is expected to be preserved at the same level over the next 10 years, but they can be reduced in subsequent periods.
Therefore, it is necessary to diversify the economy and develop the non-oil sector to maintain the momentum of economic growth.
"It is very important to develop the capital markets," he said. "The development of capital markets is also important in terms of expanding the range of financial services."
"The Azerbaijani financial system makes a great contribution to the economic development of the country," he said. "However, financial services in Azerbaijan are mainly rendered through the banks."
The increase in the capital market volume will affect the growth of the non-oil sector of the economy. "The more they are innovative, the more new products and the more alternatives appear for investors," he said.
The World Bank (WB) has provided Azerbaijan with a loan worth $12 million to implement the project of modernising the capital market. The project will be financed by a loan of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD part of the WB).
The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has approved allocation of technical assistance of $1.6 million for the two components under the capital market development project in Azerbaijan. These relate to improvement of the legal framework and the development of new financial instruments to promote supply on the market.