Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr I. Khalilova / The Azerbaijan Leasing Companies Association (ALCA) has plans to expand its membership. According to the President of the ALCA, Azer Mammadov, the negotiations in this connection with leasing companies are in progress. Several banks wishing to proceed to leasing operations in the near future also intend to join the Association.
According to the estimates of the International Finance Corporation, there are over twenty companies and banks in Azerbaijan engaged in leasing. However, in Mammadov's opinion, only five to six companies take an active part in that field. The reason for this is explained by a lack of skilled workers specializing in leasing. The list of such specialists is also expected to be extended. The most disputable issue for the banks is establishment of leasing enterprises in the form of departments or subsidiaries.
Inactive leasing operations are the reason that membership of the ALCA is down from twelve to only nine. Gunay Leasing, AzerLeasing, and NBC Bank left the Association. According to Mammadov, several of them will be able to come back as soon as leasing operations are invigorated.
The ALCA was established in 2005 within the framework of the project on technical assistance to the development of leasing in Azerbaijan of the International Finance Corporation (IFC).