Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 29
By Azad Hasanli – Trend:
The volume of investments in the economy of Azerbaijan will increase by 20.85 percent in manat terms, according to the forecast of Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings agency (S&P).
The S&P report says that the volume of investments will increase by 8.58 percent in US dollar terms.
In 2018, investments in the Azerbaijani economy will amount to about 17.94 billion manats, $10.49 billion.
S&P forecasts an increase by 19.24 billion manats ($10.99 billion) in the volume of investments in 2019.
These indicators will stand at 20.38 billion manats ($11.2 billion) and 21.68 billion manats ($11.39 billion) in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
According to the report, an increase in investments along with the start of gas output within the second stage of development of Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field will contribute to the growth of the country’s economy by 2.7 percent in 2018 and by 3.5 percent in 2019-2021.
Significant investments in the economy, according to S&P, will also be put under the contract on the development of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli field, which last year was extended until 2050.
The agency makes its forecasts based on the calculation that in 2018, the average rate of Azerbaijani manat against the US dollar will stand at 1.7 manats. However, according to S&P analysts, the manat rate against the US dollar will decrease in the future and stand at 1.97 manats per dollar in 2021.