Azernews.Az

By Leman Mammadova

Azerbaijan pays special attention to the cooperation with international organizations in the development of the country's securities market.

Azerbaijan Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FIMSA) and representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have held talks on the issue of manat bonds by the Bank.

Ibrahim Alishov, Acting Chairman of the Executive Board of FIMSA, and Matteo Patrone, EBRD Managing Director for Eastern Europe and Caucasus, discussed the issue of manat bonds, measures to develop the securities market of Azerbaijan, and prospects for further cooperation.

Alishov stressed that the issue of bonds in manats by the international financial structures will provide additional incentives for the development of the country's securities market.

He also briefed on the launch of the state registry of movable property and private credit bureaus to improve the financial availability of small and medium-sized businesses.

Patrone, in turn, talked on the work done by FIMSA and EBRD in the development of the securities market.

He pointed to the Bank’s new strategy for Azerbaijan that was announced in April and emphasized that lending to small and medium-sized businesses as well as agribusiness are the priorities of this strategy.

Patrone also stressed the importance of further expansion of cooperation between the sides.

In total, the EBRD has allocated almost 3.3 billion euros for projects in various sectors in Azerbaijan. The largest share of investments accounts for the energy sector (50 percent). At the moment, the number of active EBRD projects in Azerbaijan is 45, and in total, the Bank has implemented 167 projects in Azerbaijan. The current portfolio of projects is worth 1.4 billion euros. Major share of investments accounts for to the private sector.

The foreign financial institutions registered abroad have the right to issue bonds in Azerbaijan since March 2019.

Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) has become the first international financial institution to issue bonds in Azerbaijani manats.

BSTDB issued the first tranche of Azerbaijani manat bonds worth 10 million manats ($5.88 million) on August 1, which was directed to the development of entrepreneurship in the country. The total amount of manat bonds, which the BSTDB plans to issue, equals 50 million manats ($29.42 million) and will be allocated in tranches during the year.

Lending in national currencies appeared after the crisis of 2007-2008, when the monetary units of emerging markets fell sharply. Thus, it became too risky to take loans in dollars and to receive revenue in own currency.

The Asian Development Bank is also interested in issuing and placing manat bonds.

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Leman Mammadova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888

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