Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 24
By Azad Hasanli - Trend:
Azerbaijan's strategic foreign exchange reserves exceeded the country's external debt by 5.2 times as of 2015, said the report issued by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan.
The country's external debt exceeded $6.894 billion (10.751 billion manats) as of Jan.1, 2016, which accounts for 19.8 percent of the country's GDP, according to the Ministry of Finance.
Accordingly, the country's strategic foreign exchange reserves are $35.85 billion which is enough to cover the import of goods and services in a 26-month period.
"Azerbaijan continues to be among world leaders for the ratio of strategic foreign exchange reserves to GDP," said the report.
The situation which Azerbaijan's economic partners faced in 2015 affected the dynamics of money transfers, according to the CBA report.
Money transfers to Azerbaijan stood at $1.183 billion in 2015, according to the preliminary data, while it was $1.7 billion in 2014 and $1.58 billion in 2013.
"Foreign investments made in Azerbaijan's fixed capital were equivalent to seven billion manats (44 percent of the total volume of investments in the fixed capital) in 2015, according to the State Statistical Committee," said the report.
The growth rate of foreign investments has reached 43.8 percent, according to the CBA report.
The country maintained its international rating throughout the year which became one of the factors positively affecting the money transfers, said the report.
The UK, Norway, Turkey, Russia, Iran, the US, Japan, Malaysia and Sweden accounted for the major part of investments made in Azerbaijan's fixed capital.
The official exchange rate on Feb. 24 is 1.5593 AZN/USD.