BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 11. A decree on amendments to the law "On the Central Bank" was discussed in the Milli Majlis (Parliament) of Azerbaijan, in which it was proposed to grant the Central Bank the right to conclude agreements and contracts, Trend reports.
The CBA will be able to negotiate and conclude cooperation agreements with central banks of other countries, international financial and credit organizations and institutions, as well as conclude clearing and other agreements.
Moreover, Chairman of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan Taleh Kazimov noted during the session of the parliament that annual inflation in Azerbaijan at the end of the year will be 8.3 percent.
The World Bank has appointed a new regional manager for Azerbaijan. The duties of the regional manager will be transferred to Stefanie Stallmeister from July 1.
The CBA and the WB also discussed technical assistance projects.
Also this week, the issues of forming a partnership framework document for 2023-2028, the status of investment projects between Azerbaijan and the World Bank, as well as potential opportunities for joint projects were discussed.
This week, the Presidium of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a loan of up to 34 million manat (about $20 million) for the Azerbaijani Bank Respublika OJSC in order to increase access to loans for women entrepreneurs and borrowers working in the field of production, processing and trade in agriculture of Azerbaijan.
The funds will be allocated to Bank Respublika by the second quarter of 2024, the loan will be provided to Bank Respublika for a period of three years in local currency or US dollars.
The public-private Partnership Office of the ADB will prepare a roadmap for public-private partnership within the framework of the Partnership Strategy for 2024-2028.
The international S&P Global Ratings rating agency confirmed the long-term and short-term sovereign credit ratings of Azerbaijan in foreign and national currencies at the level of "BB+/B" with a stable outlook.
The "stable" forecast reflects expectations that favorable hydrocarbon prices will support Azerbaijan's financial position and balance of payments next year, despite the projected medium-term decline in oil production.
S&P Global Ratings has released a forecast according to which inflation will average 12 percent in 2023 compared to almost 14 percent in 2022, it should gradually decrease to 5 percent by 2025 in the future, in Azerbaijan.
The forecast says that Azerbaijan's current account balance will amount to 17.8 percent of GDP in 2023, as well as 15.6 percent of GDP in 2024, 14.4 percent in 2025 and 13.3 percent in 2026.
Analysts of the international S&P Global Ratings rating agency predict that Azerbaijan will maintain the de-facto binding of manat to US dollar at the level of 1.7 manat to one US dollar until 2026.
Azerbaijan's nominal GDP is projected at $77 billion for 2023, $81 billion for 2024, $84 billion for 2025, and $87 billion for 2026.
In addition, the agency forecasts the average annual economic growth rate of Azerbaijan at the level of 1.4 percent for 2024-2026.
Analysts at S&P Global Ratings expect that the surplus in Azerbaijan's foreign trade will be at the level of 27 percent of GDP in 2023. Azerbaijan's foreign trade surplus will amount to 24.9 percent of GDP in 2024, 23.6 percent of GDP in 2025, and 22.5 percent of GDP in 2026.
S&P Global Ratings expects that the growth of real investments will be 2 percent in Azerbaijan in 2023.
S&P also estimates the growth of real investments in Azerbaijan at the level of 2 percent in 2024, 2025 and 2026 each. Regarding the foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, the agency's analysts predict that by 2027, foreign exchange reserves will reach $12.6 billion.