Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Azerbaijan's state oil fund SOFAZ held a meeting of the Supervisory Board on April 24.

The meeting, chaired by Azerbaijan's Prime Minister and Chairman of SOFAZ's Supervisory Board Artur Rasizade, discussed the fund's annual report and audited financial statements for 2013 and a report on execution of the 2013 budget.

The Supervisory Board approved the SOFAZ's 2013 annual report and Auditor's (PricewaterhouseCoopers) Report as submitted by the executive director of the fund.

After endorsing the oil fund's 2013 budget execution project, the Supervisory Board recommended the document to be approved by the President.

Prime Minister Artur Rasizade was re-elected as the Supervisory Board's Chairman-in-office for the next term.

SOFAZ, an entity that accumulates and manages Azerbaijan's oil and gas revenues, was established in 1999 with assets worth $271 million.

The main purposes of the fund are the accumulation of funds and placement of assets abroad to minimize negative impacts on economy, prevent the 'Dutch disease', ensure savings for future generations, and maintain the current social and economic standards in the country.

The assets of SOFAZ totaled $36.319 billion as of March 1, 2014.

In 2013, some 3.3 percent of SOFAZ's investment portfolio was invested in gold, 1.8 percent in real estate and 4.1 percent in shares.