2014 February 20 (Thursday) 18:26:50
In January of this year, the turnover of corporate securities in Azerbaijan amounted to 303.4 million manat, which is 4.7 times more than in the comparable period of 2013.
Growth was achieved mainly due to placement of IBA shares , as well as purchase and sale of bonds of the Azerbaijan Mortgage Fund (AMF) in the secondary market .
According to the State Committee for Securities , last month the amount of placement of shares on 105 transactions equaled 106.7 million manat, or 105.2 million manat more than in January 2013. Secondary market share fell to one of the lowest in the history of the stock market in Azerbaijan - 458.8 thousand manats, including the Baku Stock Exchange - 223,600 manats. In January last year , the figure was 28.6 million manat.
Transactions with shares also became less active. If in January 2013 on the secondary market were concluded 363 transactions, in the past month the figure was 298.
On the backdrop of low volume of placement (22,454,600 manats or minus 12 %) in seven transactions , the secondary corporate bond market was pretty hot . The volume of the secondary bond market amounted to 173.8 million manat, which is 20 times higher than in the same month last year. However, stock exchange statistics shows that there is still the main tool is the AMF bonds , which accounted for about 96 % of the market. It is noteworthy that, despite the low interest rate (3 % per year) , covered bonds of AMF are quite popular among financial companies, which purchased hitherto bonds totaling 176 million manat.
Investors are also of interest in the bonds of AccessBank, Bank of Baku, Finca Azerbaycan, Bakcell Ltd and Unibank. - 08B-
Economics
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Last week, Azerbaijani media reported an impending increase in retail bread prices, attributing the rise to an increase in product weight. The following day, an official notification confirmed that the government had no intentions of sanctioning a bread price hike in the country. However, the threat of a price increase for this staple food remains for another reason.
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S&P Global Ratings has revised its risk assessment of Azerbaijan’s banking sector, upgrading the outlook from "stable" to "positive."
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In recent days, there have been claims that bread prices in Azerbaijan have risen. Social media users report that the price of bread has increased by 5-10 qepiks. According to consumer complaints, it is difficult to find weight information on factory-produced bread, commonly known as "zavod çörəyi" in Azerbaijan. In many cases, bread packaging does not include weight details. Similarly, bread sold at smaller bakeries and tandir houses often lacks information apart from the price.
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A trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers, transport ministers, energy ministers, and heads of customs services of Russia, Iran, and Azerbaijan is set to take place soon to discuss the progress of the Rasht-Astara railway project, a key element of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). This was announced by Iran’s Ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali.
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