Azernews.Az

Leading international business and consultancy company The Business Year (TBY) and the Chairman of the Executive Board of Pasha Bank, Farid Akhundov, have held a business meeting to discuss the achievements of the financial institution since it was established in 2007, the new business strategy the institution is to implement, and the opportunities Pasha Bank sees to continue its impressive growth over the last five years.

Akhundov stated that Pasha Bank, which has a capital over 140 million manats ($179.4 million), is already implementing a new three-year strategy in which the bank will be focusing on supporting SME growth in Azerbaijan, contributing even further to the diversification of the Azerbaijani economy, introducing new private banking services, and further developing its activities in the bond market.

The Pasha Bank chairman, who met with TBY Country Manager Ms.Gulay Sultan and Country Editor Mr. Ruben Martinez, also talked about the first five years of activities for Pasha Bank, which have been "extremely positive" for the institution. "We have literally built the bank, with a very ambitious strategy and acquired a high reputation in the corporate sector. Over one-third of our capital base is generated by business."

Other topics included the institution’s strategies abroad; Pasha Bank has opened its first representative office in Georgia. Pasha Bank wants to become a regional institution and is already eyeing other potential markets in which to expand its activities, always with the aim of backing Azerbaijani entrepreneurs who want to broaden their business activities. "We are determined to see today’s SMEs as tomorrow’s large corporate players in the Azerbaijani economy and Pasha Bank wants to support their national and regional growth," Mr.Akhundov said.

After the success of TBY’s first publication on the Azerbaijan’s economy, its research team is back in the country preparing a 2012 edition. The team is in the process of conducting more than 150 face-to-face interviews with Azerbaijan’s top decision makers to better understand and more accurately reflect the business sentiment in the country.

The research will be published in The Business Year: Azerbaijan 2012, and will be one of the most comprehensive reviews of the Azerbaijani economy published internationally. The target readership of the publication includes top executives, policy makers, and media representatives around the world.