BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 13. The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan's (SOFAZ) assets increased by 13% from the beginning of 2023 ($49 billion) to $55.5 billion as of September 30 this year, SOFAZ told Trend.
The SOFAZ data revealed that its revenues from January through September 2023 amounted to 14.87 billion manat ($8.75 billion) and its expenses were 3.58 billion manat ($2.1 billion).
In the structure of expenses, 3.55 billion manat ($2.09 billion) fell on transfers to the state budget, 10.8 million manat ($6.3 million) has been directed to financing the "2019-2023 State Program on increasing the international competitiveness of the higher education system of Azerbaijan" and 6.1 million manat ($3.59 million) is the “State Program for the Education of Youth at Prestigious Universities of Foreign Countries for 2022-2026”.
From January through September 2023, the revenues of SOFAZ related to the implementation of oil and gas agreements amounted to 12.2 billion manat ($7.18 billion), including 11.4 billion manat ($6.7 billion) from oil and gas profits, bonus payments of 800.7 million manat ($471 million), transit revenues of 800,000 manat ($470,590), and acre account payments of 3.6 million manat ($2.1 million), the fund said.
Meanwhile, the revenues from managing SOFAZ’s assets amounted to 2.65 billion manat ($1.56 billion), and the extra-budgetary expenses of SOFAZ were 257.8 million manat ($151.6 million) due to the difference caused by the variation in exchange rates.
SOFAZ was established in 1999, and at that time, its assets amounted to $271 million.
The State Oil Fund's guidelines provide that its funding may be applied to critical national concerns as well as the building and reconstruction of infrastructure projects that are strategically significant.
The primary goals of SOFAZ are to build up resources, invest those riches abroad, and assist continuing socioeconomic activities in the nation in order to reduce the fund's negative economic effects.