BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 17
By Eldar Janashvili - Trend:
Being among the energy exporting countries, Azerbaijan, with its large sovereign assets and currency reserves, is in a favorable position to cope with an external shock, Trend reports citing a report of the Moody's Investors Service international agency.
According to the report, the presence of significant sovereign assets and foreign exchange reserves in countries such as Azerbaijan (Ba2 rating with a stable outlook), Kazakhstan, Qatar (Aa3 rating with a stable outlook) and the UAE (Aa2 rating with a stable outlook), as well as high currency flexibility of Russia and Kazakhstan (Baa3 rating with a positive outlook) will provide a sufficient buffer to withstand external economic blows.
In this context, Azerbaijan, thanks to the experience of adapting to a deep and potentially long shock, has a higher chance of coping with the danger of the crisis than countries such as Oman, Iraq and Bahrain, said the report.
During periods of high oil prices, many sovereign energy exporting states have accumulated significant sovereign assets that will provide a certain degree of stability at lower prices for a longer time, the Moody’s noted.
In most cases, including Azerbaijan, the liquid part of these assets significantly exceeds state debt, or is equal to it and potentially available to cover the budget deficit and pay off debts.
Moody's Investors Service assigned Azerbaijan a credit rating at Ba2 with a stable outlook.
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