Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 18
By Huseyn Valiyev – Trend:
Against the background of stabilization of the economy, the year 2018 was marked by an accelerated resolution of issues related to problem loans in Azerbaijan’s leasing market, Hikmet Ibrahimov, general manager of Ansar Leasing, told Trend.
He said no particular activity was observed from the point of view of sales throughout the year.
“If we compare last year with the preceding one, of course, the situation was much better,” he noted. "The portfolio of problem loans declined sufficiently. Speaking specifically about our portfolio, the decline was at the level of 10 percent, which, of course, is more than we expected.”
Changes to the Tax Code will give their positive effect especially to business, and leasing market will become more business-oriented, he said.
A positive point is that the state has begun to pay more attention to the non-oil sector, and this also creates acceptable conditions for leasing companies, he noted.
"Leasing companies, unlike banks, have the necessary skills in financing equipment,” he said. "I think the spheres of production and services will be the drivers of the leasing market development this year. This may be cargo transportation or manufacture and processing of agricultural products.”