Inflation could be contained at single digits in Azerbaijan in 2008 if price hikes in world markets subside, Economic Development Minister Heydar Babayev says. “The increase is predicted to range between 11% and 13% under the 2008 budgetary package,” he told a board meeting of the ministry on Wednesday. Babayev noted that external factors contributed to price rises in the country last year. Inflation made up 16% in 2007, according to official figures, but informal sources put the indica...... полностью

2007 marked remarkable accomplishments in all spheres of Azerbaijan’s socio-economic development, Economic Development Minister Heydar Babayev told a board meeting on the outcomes of last year on Wednesday. Babayev noted that the country maintained its leadership in the world on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2007, which amounted to 25%. GDP exceeded 25.2 billion manats ($30 billion), or 6.5 billion manats above the previous year. Per capita GDP increased 23.6% to $3,473. The coun...... полностью

German company RWЕ has become the sixth shareholder of the project on building the NABUCCO pipeline that will take Caspian gas to European markets. The company’s participation in the project was endorsed in Vienna. Chief executive officer of RWE Gas Midstream Stefan Judisch expressed confidence that the $6 billion project would step up the security of Europe’s gas supplies. Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler told the ceremony that he saw no hurdles in the way of implementing the project o...... полностью

Grain production will surge in Azerbaijan in 2008 to hit record highs compared to last year, Minister of Agriculture Ismat Abbasov told reporters. “Additional grain was sown in an area of 129,000-130,000 hectares in 2007. This means that there will be reserves of additional 300,000 tons of wheat this year,” he said.*... читать

Social and labor practices in some joint ventures and businesses with foreign capital operating in Azerbaijan are in violation of the national legislation and employees’ rights, the local trade unions body said. “Observations show that rights violations mostly occur in foreign companies. In a number of these businesses, employers impede the establishment of trade unions and the signing of collective agreements,” chairman of the Confederation of Azerbaijani Trade Unions, Sattar Mehbaliyev, sai...... полностью

High indicators were achieved in Azerbaijan’s economic and social development in 2007, the State Statistics Committee chairman Arif Valiyev says. He told a press conference on the outcomes of the year on Wednesday that the Gross Domestic Product, a key macro-economic figure indicating the country’s growth, increased 25% to reach 25.2 billion manats ($30 billion). Most of the GDP – 59.2% - was made up by the industries, while smaller percentages – by other fields such as agriculture and forest...... полностью

Russian giant Inter RAO EES plans to raise the price for electricity sold to Azerbaijan, an energy executive said. “We have received a new proposal from the Russian side. We are scrutinizing it jointly with the government and will state our position on the matter by April 10,” vice-president of the state-owned energy producer Azerenergy, Marlen Asgarov, said. RAO EES intends to raise the price for electric power by 30%. To offset the hike, it has offered for Azerbaijan to raise the price f...... полностью

Poverty kept dropping in Azerbaijan to make up 16% as of late 2007, the State Statistics Committee chairman told a press conference on the outcomes of the year on Wednesday. Arif Valiyev recalled that the figure was 20.8% in 2006, saying the rapid reduction of the poverty level was driven by the rising income of the population and wages of citizens. Another key reason for the improvement is the opening of a great number of jobs in the country. Valiyev pledged that the process will be cont...... полностью

Inflation made up 16.7% in Azerbaijan in 2007, the state statistics body said while drawing up the outcomes of last year. “This was an undesirable development in the national economy,” the State Statistics Committee chairman Arif Valiyev told the press Wednesday. Food prices rose 16.2%, whole those on other goods – 10.5%, and fees on services 25.3%. Inflation made up 2.5% in December alone. Valiyev said outside factors were among those that affected domestic prices. “Some 45% of the de...... полностью

An Azerbaijani delegation led by Minister of Economic Development Heydar Babayev left for Estonia and Latvia on Monday. The delegation includes representatives of the Ministry, Azerbaijan Foundation for Export and Investment Promotions (AZPROMO) and Azerbaijan Investment Company as well as businessmen. The prospects of Azerbaijan’s economic cooperation with Estonia and Latvia will be discussed during the visit. Babayev will meet with Estonia’s Prime Minister, Parliament Speaker, Minis...... полностью

Kazakhstan’s leading telecommunications company KazakhTelecom plans to buy assets of Azerbaijani companies. The joint-stock company’s board chairman Askar Jumangaliyev said the purchases were part of the giant’s plans on the acquisition of assets abroad. “We intend to take part in the privatization of rampantly developing assets of Tajikistan’s... читать

Georgian officials are due in Baku to discuss prices for the supplies of Azeri gas to the neighboring country that were suspended early this month, Azerbaijani Prime Minister Artur Rasizada told the press in Tbilisi where he attended the inauguration of the new Georgian president. He said the price issue was not only up to the Azerbaijani government but also depended on the volume of gas produced in the capital Baku and the views of local companies selling gas. “It would be better if the ...... полностью

Inflation made up about 29% in Azerbaijan in 2007, a local research group has said, despite government projections citing a figure twice below that level. The consumer price index rose 28.96%, with a 30.04% increase registered in the capital Baku and 27.58% in the country’s regions, according to the Economic Research Center (ERC) that calculates inflation using alternative methods. Head of the center Gubad Ibadoglu said the highest price hikes were observed in fees on services – 40.28%, wh...... полностью

Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR could buy out a Georgian gas distribution company that will be sold after hopes were dampened for other foreign investors, Georgia’s media reported. The decision to put KazTransGas Tbilisi on sale this spring came after Kazakh investors that are already working in the South Caucasus republic failed to strike a common ground with the Georgian government. Under the tender terms, all of the company’s 29 gas distribution networks except the ones operating in th...... полностью

The supplies of Azeri gas to Georgia have been suspended, Azerbaijan’s state-controlled supplier Azerigas said. The company’s president Alikhan Malikov said all of the commitments stipulated by a relevant contract signed by the two countries have been met but a new agreement is now to be inked to resume gas deliveries to the neighboring South Caucasus republic. “Talks on the issue continue with the Georgian side,” he added. Georgia has been meeting its domestic demand on account of Azeri g...... полностью

The world’s leading banks are entering Azerbaijan’s market, the country’s central banker has said. German Commerzbank and US Citibank intend to launch operation in Azerbaijan in 2008, the National Bank of Azerbaijan (NBA) board chairman Elman Rustamov said. “These banks initially established representations in the country. Starting this year, the status of these representations will be increased and they will be turned into subsidiaries,” Rustamov said. Analysts say that the entry of n...... полностью

A raise in interest rates on social mortgages that aim to provide affordable housing to citizens would be unacceptable and bring about an end to the concessional mortgage system in Azerbaijan, local analysts have warned. The State Mortgage Fund, a body in charge of such allocations operating under the central bank, has offered to raise the rates from the current 4% to 7% to increase its charter capital. But experts from the Economic and Social Development Center said higher interest on social...... полностью

Chinese state oil firm CNOOC is seeking to participate in new projects being implemented in Azerbaijan, the company’s vice-president Sun Sian-Sheng said on a visit to Baku. “We are looking to expand existing cooperation with the state oil company SOCAR,” he said. Sian-Sheng said the delegation he is heading comprises representatives of numerous joint ventures with the corporation’s capital operating in Azerbaijan. He pointed to the high level of cooperation between the two countries, ...... полностью

President Ilham Aliyev has described the year 2007 as successful for the Azerbaijani economy. Addressing a cabinet meeting dedicated to the outcomes of last year and objectives facing the country in 2008, Aliyev emphasized that the country’s Gross Domestic Product grew 25%. Thus, economic growth in Azerbaijan has made up 96% in the past four years as a result of economic reforms, an unprecedented development around the world. Industrial production increased 24% in 2007. The president con...... полностью

An Azerbaijani-Belarusian business forum started in Baku on Friday. A 15-people strong delegation from Belarus led by First Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Food Nadezhda Kotkovets is attending the two-day event organized by the Azerbaijan Economic Development Ministry and the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO). The Azerbaijani side is represented by government officials, the Azerbaijan Investment Company, AZPROMO and representatives of 30 companies. The sides...... полностью

The Azerbaijan Investment Company (AIC) plans to sign a memorandum on the opening of a credit line with the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) in 2008, its executive director said. Anar Akhundov noted that if the signing takes place, the funds borrowed by the AIC will be used to participate in various projects. Moreover, the company is considering conducting an audit into its operation and is in talks on the matter with the world’s leading auditing and accounting companies Ernst & Y...... полностью

Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR is preparing to launch construction of a new petrochemical complex in the country, its president Rovnag Abdullayev told journalists Friday. According to preliminary estimates, the facility to be built close to the Caspian Sea shores will have the annual processing capacity of some 10 million tons of crude. The company intends to build a similar complex in the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan in the future. “A master plan on these projects is cur...... полностью

An Azeri-Egyptian business forum started in Baku on Thursday. 40 Azeri entrepreneurs and a 15-people strong delegation of businessmen headed by Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Faiza Aboul Naga are attending the event. Azerbaijani Economic Development Minister Heydar Babayev, in his remarks, pointed to the advanced relations between the two countries but expressed disappointment that the bilateral commodities turnover is below desired level. “As of nine months of 2007, Azeri...... полностью

President Ilham Aliyev has approved the 2008 budget of the State Oil Fund (SOFAR), the body that holds Azerbaijan’s revenues from oil production and exports. The fund’s revenues were set at 3.609 billion manats ($4.296 billion), while expenses – at 1.681 billion manats (about $2 billion). Over 90% of the revenues is made up by net profit from the sale of the country’s hydrocarbon resources. In addition to that, SOFAR will receive funds from the implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (B...... полностью

Cellular communication fees will go down in Azerbaijan next year in light of increasing competition in the domestic market, Minister of Communications and Information Technologies Ali Abbasov said. Abbasov said fees on the use of the Internet will be slashed as well. “Azerbaijan’s access to the world wide web has increased 40 times in the past three to four years. Prices in the field have decreased compared to the previous years to some extent,” he told the press Monday. The minister ...... полностью

The minimum wage and social allowances will be raised in Azerbaijan since January 1, President Ilham Aliyev has pledged. Addressing the public after inaugurating a diagnostics center in the southeastern Ali-Bayramly district, Aliyev said another increase was in store for the second half of the year. As of October 1, 2007, 1,204,400 pensioners were registered by the State Fund for Social Security. They account for about 30% of the employed citizens. Average pensions rose 62% in comparison ...... полностью

Several commercial banks in Azerbaijan will face the threat of bankruptcy in 2008 due to staunch competition expected in light of the entry of major foreign banks to the domestic market, a local group predicts. “Some local commercial banks are not ready to compete with overseas financial institutions,” head of the Economic and Social Development Center Vugar Bayramov says. He noted that US bank Citigroup Inc., which intends to open a subsidiary in the country next year, operates in over ...... полностью

French bank Societe Generale will establish the first investment bank in Azerbaijan. The new bank will ensure allocation of a greater amount of funds, the National Bank’s department head Adishirin Gasimov said. Gasimov said all banks operating in the country were carrying out petty transactions. The French bank plans to purchase 50% of the shares in one of the local banks and thus enter the country’s banking sector.*... читать

The annual trade turnover between Poland and Azerbaijan makes up $70 million, which is a considerably low figure, the Polish ambassador to Azerbaijan said. Krzysztof Krajewski told reporters that the sluggish trade relations were due to the lack of charter flights between the two countries. He said that Baku and Warsaw were in talks on the matter. The Polish diplomat said that the mutual visits by Polish and Azerbaijani presidents and foreign ministers had paved the way for bringing bilate...... полностью

Azerbaijan tops the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) for economic growth, the world-famous US investment group Goldman Sachs said. The oil-rich South Caucasus state ranks 61st worldwide, according to the group’s assessment that covered 170 countries. International organizations have repeatedly confirmed that the former Soviet republic is the leader in CIS for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth. Luxembourg is the fastest-growing economy, while Zimbabwe is the most underdeveloped...... полностью