Headline changed, details added (first version posted at 12:16)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 19
By Anvar Mammadov – Trend:
Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Finance plans to start preparing a strategy for privatization of the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA), Finance Minister Samir Sharifov has told reporters in Baku.
Consultants having international reputation will be attracted to this process, according to him.
“As you know, we have already completed the process of restructuring the bank’s external liabilities. We think that it is already possible to take the pre-privatization steps. This point was also discussed at a meeting with President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Suma Chakrabarti, and the EBRD expressed a desire to participate in IBA’s privatization. It is too early to speak about concrete steps – we will prepare a strategy, in the development of which international consultants will most likely participate,” Sharifov said.
He noted that this strategy must be approved by the government.
“After approval, the bank will be declared open for privatization. This will probably happen in early 2018,” he added.
On July 15, 2015, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on the measures for rehabilitation related to the preparations for privatizing the state-owned shares of the International Bank of Azerbaijan OJSC.
In order to restore the bank's financial position, the distressed assets of the bank were transferred to state-owned Aqrarkredit non-bank credit organization. Aqrarkredit CJSC provides the IBA with liquid assets in exchange for distressed assets.
Restructuring of IBA’s foreign liabilities has been recently completed.
Azerbaijan has been a member of EBRD since 1992. Since then, the bank has invested about $2.8 billion in 161 projects in Azerbaijan’s financial, corporate, infrastructure and energy sectors.