Azernews.Az

BAKU – Azerbaijani companies are interested in placing their securities in world markets, the State Securities Committee chairman has said.

Rufat Aslanli told a press conference Friday that it is time to place both sovereign and corporate bonds in international capital markets, as liquidity is currently very high and the yield is low.

"Moreover, our country and the whole region, as well as the situation in developing markets of the region are very attractive for investors," Aslanli said.

Earlier, the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR said it plans to hold a road show of eurobonds in 2011. Aslanli said that SOCAR had approached the State Securities Committee for consultations on eurobonds. "However, discussions are underway at the level of consultations, which is not grounds to say that there are specific initiatives," Aslanli said.

SOCAR’s Vice-President for Economic Affairs Suleyman Gasymov said earlier that the company's legal adviser has been tasked with drafting a contract and a legal overview for investors. But he added: "This takes time. Afterwards, we will conduct presentations in various markets."

According to Gasymov, the first bond placement is estimated at $500 million, which will be available in five equal tranches over a five-year period.

"The US market is currently more interesting for SOCAR," he said. "The company would also like to place eurobonds in European as well as Asian markets, particularly in Singapore, as SOCAR Trading has a representative office there and we are expanding our operation in the country."

The issue of eurobonds was initially planned for 2009, but SOCAR later postponed it until the situation in world capital markets improves, the SOCAR vice-president had said.

SOCAR's consultancy on the bonds issue, US Citibank, offers to place the bonds in the U.S., considering the anticipated interest in the American market.

Azerbaijan has not yet realized its plans to place eurobonds in foreign markets. The Finance Ministry has yet to determine the terms for the placement of the securities. Moreover, several Azerbaijani banks have postponed bond issuance.

The International Bank of Azerbaijan has declared bond placement in the amount of $200m, while Unibank - $150m and Bank Standard $150-200m.