BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 9. A meeting was held at the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) with representatives of the French Business Confederation (MEDEF) this week, Trend reports.
During the meeting, the main directions of monetary policy, measures to combat inflationary processes, and issues of participation in banking and insurance activities were discussed.
Besides, it was reported this week that the e-KYC (Know Your Customer) system, created by the CBA and aimed to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion, will be commissioned in 2023.
Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecasted that given the increase in inflationary pressure, the CBA will keep the discount rate at the current level (7.75 percent) or increase it.
It was also reported this week that ADB offered to issue a $35.7 million loan for the construction and commissioning of a 230 MW solar power plant in Azerbaijan to Masdar Azerbaijan Energy.
Along with the above, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Union (EU) and the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Fund (AZPROMO) reached an agreement on technical cooperation in attracting foreign direct investment in the non-oil sector of the Azerbaijani economy.
As part of this technical cooperation, the EU will develop proposal packages and an investment attraction strategy for five priority areas of the Azerbaijani economy.
It was also reported that as of early April 2022, the current loan portfolio of EBRD projects in Azerbaijan amounted to nearly 811 million euros.
Most of the project portfolio (721 million euros or 88 percent) fell on investments in sustainable infrastructure, 71 million euros (nine percent) - investments in industry, trade and the agricultural sector, and 24 million euros (three percent) - investments in financial institutions.
According to another report of this week, in the first months of 2022, transactions carried out using the Apple Pay platform accounted for three percent of the total non-cash turnover of Kapital Bank.
Azer Turk Bank said this week that it continues to expand its customer service network and opens a fourth innovative branch. The branch offers various banking services to its clients, including the issuance of loans and the issuance of payment cards. It was noted that in the near future, in accordance with the same concept, three more branches of the bank would be opened.
Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani Yelo Bank informed about the launch of its first digital branch, adding that, unlike traditional branches, here all operations are carried out without a cash desk, through devices.
Besides, this week the Fitch Ratings agency shared its forecasts that the average annual inflation in Azerbaijan in 2022 will amount to 8.7 percent.
In addition, the agency revised the forecast for Azerbaijan's balance of payments surplus for 2022. It noted that the current account surplus of Azerbaijan's balance of payments in 2022 is expected to make up 23.7 percent of GDP, which is 15.8 percent higher than the previous forecasts.