Azerbaijan, Baku/ corr. Trend I.Khalilova / The National Bank of Azerbaijan (NBA) has reported that the gross amount of external capital invested into the economy of Azerbaijan in 2006 totaled $5.1 bln, an increase of 3.3% from the figures 2005.
A significant increase of the investments is linked with the completion of the financingof foreign investors' large-scale projects within international oil and gas contracts. Because of this, direct investments to the oil and gas sector has decreased by 9.9% compared to the figures from the year before last. Last year the amount of repatriated direct investments allocated for the economy of the country in previous years and direct investments for external economy totaled $5.8 bln, an increase of 43.7%. In 2006 the amount of repatriated investments for the oil and gas sector equaled $5.1 bln, an increase of 81.7%.
The gross amount of direct investments allocated for the economy of the country totaled $3.8 bln, where oil and gas amounted to 90.3%, a decrease of 4% from the previous year. These investments were made for construction work in the territory of Azerbaijan within oil and gas projects by BP Exploration Ltd (Shah Deniz), South Caucasus Pipeline Company and Azerbaijan International Operating Company on Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli fields. Over the last 10 years, $22.5 bln has been put into the oil and gas sector, of which $13.3 bln has been repatriated (mainly as oil).
From 1 January 2007, the liability to foreign investors in the non-oil sector amounted to $11.3 bln, of which 80.9% or $9.2 bln falls on shares in oil and gas projects within international oil contracts.