June 10
Azerbaijan, OECD sign memorandum of understanding
Azerbaijan and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) signed a memorandum of understanding, Azerbaijan's Deputy Minister of Taxes Sahib Alakbarov said on Monday speaking at the opening of the International Seminar entitled 'Audit of multinational enterprises', which launched its work in Baku.
"Two years ago, close cooperation was established between our country and the OECD. A delegation from the organisation arrived in Azerbaijan and became acquainted with the tax system and Ministry activities on-site. The draft memorandum to be signed in the near future is a logical continuation of this collaboration," Alakbarov said.
Minister: Afghanistan interested in using Azerbaijani satellite
Afghanistan is ready to consider the possibility of the use of resources of Azerbaijan's first telecommunications satellite Azerspace / Africasat-1a, Minister of Communication and Information Technologies of Afghanistan Sangin Amirzai said in Baku at a meeting with the Minister of Communications and Information Technologies of Azerbaijan Ali Abbasov.
According to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, in the framework of the meeting it was decided to establish a working group and to prepare proposals for the further cooperation between the two countries in the field of information and communication technologies
CBA to continue to protect national currency through sterilization
In order to prevent significant strengthening of Azeri manat the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) has conducted sterilization of currency to the sum of about $1 billion since the beginning of 2013, CBA Deputy Chairman Khagani Abdullayev said. "To date, the Central Bank has acquired over $1 billion on the foreign exchange market for this purpose," Abdullayev said.
According to him, the amount of further intervention of the Central Bank will be determined by such factors as the state of the currency market, demand for imports in the country and so forth. "We expect that the current account surplus in the balance of payments will exceed $10 billion by the end of the year. Naturally, this affects the amount of supply and demand. We expect that supply will exceed demand, as in previous years. We expect the clean sterilization by the end of the year," Abdullayev said.
June 11
Minister: Great potential is available for developing Azerbaijan-Bosnia and Herzegovina relations
Azerbaijan and Bosnia and Herzegovina have great potential to develop their cooperation in trade and their economies, Azerbaijani Minister of Economic Development Shahin Mustafayev said at a meeting with Bosnia and Herzegovina's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija. During the meeting, the sides exchanged the views on the development of trade and economic relations between the two countries. They discussed the Azerbaijani side's participation in various infrastructure projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
June 12
IFC provides FINCA Azerbaijan with loan to manage its currency risks
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing risk management support to FINCA Azerbaijan, one of the country's microfinance leaders, to hedge part of its foreign currency borrowings into Azerbaijani Manat and enhance its ability to increase access to funding for micro-entrepreneurs, particularly in rural areas.
IFC has executed the first currency-forward transaction with the notional amount of $10 million under an agreement signed in April 2013. This will allow FINCA Azerbaijan to hedge its currency risk in US dollars and continue lending through its large network of branches serving over 140,000 entrepreneurs.