Weekly economic review (Jan. 22-26)

Azerbaijan in top 3 in WEF's Inclusive Development Index

Azerbaijan ranked third among the developing countries in the annual Inclusive Development Index 2018 of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Designed as an alternative to GDP, Inclusive Development Index" more accurately reflects the criteria by which people assess the economic progress of their countries. In the current report, Azerbaijan received 4.69 points out of seven possible.

Lithuania and Hungary are leading in the index among the developing countries. Norway, Iceland and Luxembourg are leading among the developed countries.

TOP-10 developing countries in "Inclusive Development Index 2018":

TOP-10 developed countries in "Inclusive Development Index 2018":

Azerbaijani banks to use artificial intelligence for communications

Azerbaijani banks will develop new channels of communication through artificial intelligence technologies, a source in the financial market of the country told Trend.

The source said that the new technologies stipulate use of targeted bot products and such solution will be in introduced in one of the local banks, which has not been named yet.

The scope of bot programs activity can vary. The company operating in public catering field has already tested it.

By implementing this technique in the banking field, users can order credit cards through the Facebook page of the bank. In restaurant business, one can place an order or get additional information through Facebook Messenger by using this bot. This innovative technology will save time and improve widely provided service-level.

Two banks in Azerbaijan may merge

Azerbaijan's Bank of Baku OJSC is considering the possibility of merger with the country's AFB Bank OJSC, a source in Azerbaijan's banking market told Trend Jan. 22.

This issue is under discussion, according to the source.

"The merger with the AFB Bank can become an alternative to increasing the authorized capital of the Bank of Baku," the source noted. "Both options are being considered. Details will be known in the near future."

The Bank of Baku has been operating in Azerbaijan since 1994.

The AFB Bank has been operating in Azerbaijan since 2008.

Ilham Aliyev meets chairman of VTB Bank Management Board

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with President and Chairman of VTB Bank Management Board Andrey Kostin in Davos.

Kostin stressed that VTB Bank is determined to develop its activities in Azerbaijan, expressing particular interest in increasing the volume of capital.

The VTB Bank president noted the importance of studying mutual investment opportunities and hailed successful cooperation with Azerbaijan's State Oil Fund. He thanked President Aliyev for giving support in these areas.

President Aliyev emphasized the expanding cooperation between the country and VTB Bank, stressing that Azerbaijan State Oil Fund is one of the active stockholders of the bank. The head of state noted Azerbaijan`s interest in broadening cooperation with VTB Bank, expressing his confidence that this will contribute to the expansion of the private sector`s activities in Azerbaijan.

President Ilham Aliyev met with member of Mastercard Management Committee

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with member of the Management Committee of Mastercard Timothy Murphy.

Timothy Murphy emphasized Mastercard`s role in and projects as part of successful reforms implemented in Azerbaijan under leadership of President Ilham Aliyev to develop electronic commerce and electronic payment. He said Mastercard is broadly used in electronic payments in Azerbaijan, pointing out successful cooperation with other banking and payment systems.

President Ilham Aliyev said appropriate authorities in Azerbaijan were tasked with taking measures to increase the volume of cashless payments as part of successful reforms conducted in recent years. The head of state stressed the significance of Mastercard`s involvement in these projects.