No changes in SOFAZ investment portfolio foreign currency structure
The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) hasn’t changed the
foreign currency structure of its investment portfolio for
2016.
On Dec.29, the president of Azerbaijan issued a decree on the
approval of main directions (of the program) of using SOFAZ funds
for 2016.
Thus, 50 percent of assets may be placed in US dollars, 35 percent
- in euros, five percent - in British pounds, and the remaining 10
percent - in other currencies.
Some 35.9 percent of the total investment portfolio of SOFAZ is
concentrated in euro (over 11 billion euros), five percent - in
British pounds (1.13 billion pounds), 1.5 percent - in Japanese yen
(63.95 billion yen), 1.4 percent - in Chinese yuan (3.04 billion
yuan), one percent - in Turkish lira, 0.5 percent - in Australian
dollars, 1.4 percent - in Russian rubles, 1.2 percent – in Korean
won, 1.1 percent - in other foreign currencies. The remainder of
the portfolio (3.2 percent, or $1.1 million) is concentrated in
gold.
Also, SOFAZ will be keeping more than $100 million to support
the liquidity of its funds at a level sufficient for the timely and
complete ensuring of cash and other transfers scheduled in
connection with the fund’s expenditures in 2016, as it was in
2015.
SOFAZ will be keeping these funds in short-term highly liquid money
market instruments. This amount may be reduced below the level of
$100 million only for the period of up to seven days.
In accordance with the program for 2016, the oil fund may transfer
up to 60 percent of the total value of its investment portfolio to
foreign managers, as it was in 2015. At the same time, one foreign
manager can receive no more than five percent of investment
portfolio.
The volume of portfolio transferred to the Treasury Department of
the World Bank (WB) within the framework of RAMP (Reserve assets
management programme) shouldn’t exceed $500 million.
The projected total value (average weighed volume) of the
investment portfolio of SOFAZ for 2016 was set at 51.3 billion
manats. For 2015, the forecast was formed at the level of 28.2
billion manats, for 2014 - 27 billion manats, for 2013 - 25.2
billion manats, for 2012 - 23 billion manats.