IBA to be privatized this year

Minister for state property Farhad Aliyev has specified an exact date for privatization of the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA), which has been a source of speculation for 3 years.

According to him, IBA will be denationalized this year. He added, however, that he himself does not believe that privatization of Azerbaijan’s most profitable bank is expedient.

The delay in privatization is explained by the fact that EBRD claimed 51% of the bank’s shares, something the Azeri party was opposed to. As a result of negotiations, EBRD agreed to a stake of 20%.*