The turnover of cargoes among the member states of GUAM - Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova – will reach $10 billion in the next five years, the group’s secretary-general says. Valeri Chechelashvili told a news conference Wednesday on the outcomes of the two-day international conference, “Transit opportunities of GUAM countries”, held in Baku that bringing the trade turnover to this level was also possible in the future. The orders for the transportation of consignments among the orga...... полностью

The Azerbaijani government has decided to increase the price of oil envisioned in the projections on the 2008 budget, Finance Minister Samir Sharifov has said. Under the proposed changes, the price may be raised from the current $50 to $70 a barrel, he told a parliamentary commission meeting on Wednesday. “The price in world markets currently exceeds $100. I therefore believe this change should be made,” the minister said. Sharifov said the measure would allow to boost budgetary contr...... полностью

The World Bank has allocated a $300 million loan for the repair of Azerbaijan’s highways. The maturity of the loan allotted under the Highway 2 Project is 40 years, while the grace period is 10 years, the bank said. The project aims to reduce road transport costs and improve access, transit and road safety by upgrading and rehabilitating selected sections of the existing East-West and North-South corridors. The additional financing will be for the upgrading of a remaining 112 km of the hi...... полностью

The Ministry of Labor and Social Security has proposed to increase the amount of unemployment allowance from 24 manats to 60 manats ($72). The ministry intends to submit the proposal to the Cabinet of Ministers shortly. Presently, 2,819 people or 6% of the unemployed people in Azerbaijan, are receiving unemployment benefits.*... читать

A meeting of the Azerbaijani and Greek businessmen will be held in Baku on April 15. The event will be organized by the Greek embassy in Baku. A delegation comprising representatives of eight companies of Greece will visit Baku on April 14-17 to establish trade and economic relations with Azerbaijan, the Greek embassy said. During the visit, the delegation will become familiar with the investment climate and business opportunities in Azerbaijan.*... читать

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has allocated a $260,000 grant to the Azerbaijan State Committee on Securities to boost the securities market of the country. The allocation will be used to open the branches of the Committee’s National Depository Center in different regions of the country in view of the fact that part of the joint-stock companies in Azerbaijan are operating outside the capital Baku. The center, which currently has a branch only in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, will...... полностью

South Korean representatives are due to visit Azerbaijan on April 21 to mull a project on clearing the oil-polluted areas in the Absheron Peninsula, a wide area encompassing the capital Baku. The announcement was made by Minister of Energy and Industry Natig Aliyev while hosting a Korean delegation headed by the vice-president of the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Janh Se-Cheong on Wednesday. An agreement on launching the project is to be signed during a visit by the Korea...... полностью

The prices for housing in Azerbaijan are predicted to grow 25% by the year-end. Those working in the construction sector explain the hike by the 36% increase in the cost of construction materials registered in January-March 2007. Contractors say that the prices for metal fittings and concrete have risen the most of late. The cost of a ton of fittings has increased $400 compared to early March. 987 of the 1,987 buildings commissioned last year were residential buildings. Industry experts say t...... полностью

The European Union’s (EU) subcommittee held its meeting in Baku on Thursday. The current situation in the energy, transport and environmental sector in Azerbaijan and EU member countries were discussed during the meeting held at the Ministry of Transport. Views on regional cooperation in the transport sector, including issues related to aviation and sea transport were exchanged as well. Azerbaijan joined the European New Neighborhood Policy (ENNP) in July 2004. The program envisions coopera...... полностью

The Azerbaijani government and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Action Plan for 2009-2011 in Baku on Monday. The document, inked by Economic Development Minister Heydar Babayev and IDB director for Country Operations Yusuf Khan, covers over 10 projects to be implemented with the bank’s financial assistance in the social, finance, agriculture, transport and energy sectors. Khan said the IDB planned to open a new credit line for a number of bank...... полностью

Athens is interested in creating an energy corridor between Azerbaijan, Turkey, Greece and Italy to take Azerbaijani gas to European markets, Greek Minister of Development Christos Folias has said on a visit to Baku. “Azerbaijan and Greece take the same position in this respect,” Folias told the press after meeting with Minister of Energy and Industry Natig Aliyev. He said Greece was looking to buy 1 billion cubic meters of gas a year from Azerbaijan and that the resource-rich South Caucas...... полностью

Baku and Ashgabat have settled the long-standing dispute over Azerbaijan’s debt to Turkmenistan for gas supplies from the Central Asian state. A relevant agreement was signed in the Azerbaijani capital on Wednesday. The arrears remained outstanding since the early 1990s. The Turkmen side claimed the debt amounted to $44.8 million, but Azerbaijan argued the real figure was only $18 million. The amount of the arrears was not elaborated at the signing. “The debt issue that had long remained u...... полностью

Representatives of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey gathered in Baku Thursday to discuss construction of a major railway to link the three countries. The third meeting of the steering council focused on the work done in 2007 to implement the Baku-Tbilisi-Gars project as well as the budget for building the Marabda-Kartsakh section of the rail line in Georgia. General Director of the Marabda-Kartsakh Railways LLC Ramaz Georchadze said preparations for construction operations in the Georgian te...... полностью

Jordan’s businessmen are interested in Azerbaijan’s non-oil sector and are ready to implement joint projects, Jordanian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Secretary General Farouq Hiari, said in a meeting with Azerbaijani Minister of Industry and Energy Natig Aliyev on Monday. During the meeting, the parties discussed issues on cooperation in the field of oil refining as well as exchanged views on export of the Azerbaijani crude oil to Jordan.*... читать

The insurance business has turned into a profitable field in Azerbaijan, a conclusion enabled by estimates of government experts. 30 insurance companies operating in the country collected 147 million manats ($169 million) in fees but paid out only 35 million manats ($42.1 million) last year, according to the Finance Ministry. Thus, companies working in the field are channeling only a minor amount of the funds into insurance contributions. Only one company’s payments exceeded collections by th...... полностью

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev who started a visit to the country’s western regions on Monday attended the ground-breaking ceremonies of several new enterprises in the city of Ganja. The facilities – Filizsaflashdirma ore refining company, a steel foundry complex and an aluminum plant – will be constructed to boost the development of Azerbaijan’s non-oil sector. 1,800 jobs will be opened when the enterprises are commissioned. The Ganja Steel Complex will produce a million tons of steel a...... полностью

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has cited delays in the privatization of large state-owned enterprises in Azerbaijan. The bank conducted research on 29 transition economies worldwide jointly with the World Bank. The assessment was based on a 1 to 4+ point scale. 1 means that a given country has absolutely failed to do away with central planning of its economy, while 4+ indicates that standards inherent to the world’s developed countries are being applied there. ...... полностью

The United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has allocated a $600,000 grant to the Azerbaijan State Social Protection Fund (SSPF) to assist the government in developing pension programs for the country’s citizens. A relevant agreement was signed by US Ambassador Anne Derse and SSPF Chairman Salim Muslimov on Monday. The grant will be used to partially fund technical assistance to review individual pension account systems in various countries and design a national system for Azerbaij...... полностью

Some Azerbaijani businesses could be relocated to Iran in the future as production costs in the neighboring country are two to three times below those in the domestic market, a reliable source said. If the relocation proves economically viable for both countries, the move will further depend on the outcome of political talks. Therefore, the measure remains under a question mark for the time being. The source also said that Iran played the role of an important transit state for Azerbaijan,...... полностью

A major foreign bank syndicate will allocate $500 million to Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR. The sides have signed a relevant loan covenant. BNP Paribas, Calyon, Cooperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank (Rabobank), JPMorgan Chase Bank, Societe Generale, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Ltd., the Bank of Tokyo – Mitsubishi UFG Ltd., as well as the Malta subsidiary of Akbank TAS acted as organizers of the credit during the initial syndication period. The loan will be disb...... полностью

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Steven Mann, is in Baku for energy talks. Several projects, including the trans-Caspian project will be discussed during the US official’s working visit. Mann held meetings at the Foreign Ministry and the state oil company SOCAR on Monday. He also exchanged views on cooperation in the energy sector with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The United States backs the trans-Caspian project that envisions taking the hydrocarb...... полностью

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called on Hungarian businessmen to make hefty investments in the fast-growing South Caucasus republic on Tuesday as the two countries’ entrepreneurs gathered in Budapest to explore avenues for economic cooperation. “Azerbaijan is a country open for investments, and foreign investments exceeding $10 billion have been made in our country to date. These investments are protected well,” President Aliyev told the business forum that followed Monday’s talks with H...... полностью

Inflation will make up 16% in Azerbaijan in 2008, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) predicts. The Gross Domestic Product will grow 25% in the resource-rich South Caucasus republic this year, the bank said in its report. But government experts predict inflation at about 12%. The Azerbaijani government has pledged to contain price hikes at single digits or slightly above 10%. The report also said inflation indicators will be high, but average consumer prices are...... полностью

The date for the next meeting of the working group on the Caspian legal status has been set. The once postponed talks may take place in early April, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Iran Abbasali Hasanov said. The diplomat said that the Caspian states made their positions closer during the talks held over the past few years. “But it is difficult to say something in advance,” Hasanov said. Azerbaijan, Russia and Kazakhstan have already signed bilateral agreements on the Caspian status, while Ir...... полностью

Azerbaijan is expected to agree the new price for natural gas exports to Georgia by March. The announcement was made by Minister of Energy and Industry Natig Aliyev in a meeting with the neighboring country’s Energy Minister Aleksandr Khetaguri on Wednesday. Both countries’ experts are currently working on a new draft agreement on the supplies, the Azerbaijani ministry told AssA-Irada. Georgia has been meeting its domestic demand on account of Azeri gas since last year. Azerbaijan now int...... полностью

New money will be released into circulation in Azerbaijan, the central banker has said. The National Bank of Azerbaijan (NBA) has passed a decision to issue coins worth 1 manat ($1.2) and 200 manat banknotes. The 1 manat banknotes already in circulation will still be used thereafter, the NBA board chairman Elman Rustamov said. He said the measure was due to the excess of money in use. “Relevant proposals have been prepared and discussions are under way.” According to a presidential decr...... полностью

The state-owned share of Azerbaijan’s leading cellular provider Azercell has been privatized. A relevant agreement was signed at the State Committee on Property Management on Monday. The share was offered to the other founder of the company, Turkey’s Azertel Telecommunication Investment Foreign Trade Co. Inc, and the proposal was accepted. The acquisition makes the Turkish company the sole proprietor of the cellular operator. The shares that amount to 35.7% of Azercell’s overall stock are...... полностью

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has pointed to existing hurdles for entrepreneurial activity in the country. “At times officials put forth baseless demands to entrepreneurs, and I am aware that such negative instances have yet to be fully eliminated,” he told a conference on Monday dedicated to the four-year outcomes of the state program on socio-economic development of the regions. The head of state instructed mayors and heads of relevant bodies attending the event not to impede the wo...... полностью

Azerbaijan is about to raise the sales price for the gas produced from its biggest offshore field Shahdaniz, Minister of Energy and Industry Natig Aliyev says. “Under the existing agreement, Azeri gas should be sold to Turkey for $120 per 1,000 cubic meters within a year since production begins. After that, the sales price is to be raised,” he told reporters on Monday. Aliyev said the company in charge of selling gas has already launched talks on the matter. “I believe that Azerbaijan shou...... полностью

Azerbaijan’s refineries are able to refine only 60% of produced gas, Minister of Energy and Industry Natig Aliyev told the press. He was replying to a question concerning the rising death toll from carbon dioxide in the country that has already reached 20, according to official estimates. “There are no capacities to fully refine gas, which necessitates increasing the capacity of local refineries,” Aliyev said, adding that this would require considerable funds. The minister said that on ...... полностью