Press Review 03/15/2016

Official newspapers write about official receptions of the President, while the non-governmental media focus on the financial and banking system of the country and social problems.

The Azadlig leads an expert opinion on the central bank foreign exchange auctions. According to Oktay Hagverdiyev, currency is sold at auction at a high rate. The banking system has lost its balance and does not act on the basis of economic laws.

Most commercial banks' owners do not understand the banking and think only about the credits, Hagverdiyev said.

The expert Gubad Ibadoglu believes that the Oil Fund stuffing of $ 400 million monthly in the market does not satisfy the needs.

Currently, the debts of banks, public and private companies in Azerbaijan to foreign banks exceed 10 billion dollars. The expert considers it impossible to meet the needs at the expense of National Bank and the Oil Fund.

Novoye Vremya writes that there is a shortage of cigarettes in Baku shops. The author writes about the cigarette sale ban for cash, and for this reason retailers do not deliver cigarettes to the retail network.

After the second devaluation the smokers were forced to embark on a search for cheaper smokes, which, in turn, paved the way for smuggling cigarettes.

In Azerbaijan, people spend 8.3% of their daily income on cigarettes and there is growth of the illegal cigarette business, which brings a huge profit. Thus, 3-5 vehicles with cigarettes cross the border daily and 20 monthly. The net income of smugglers in this sense is 10 million Euros a month.

The Yeni Musavat writes that in the current crisis situation, the issue of Azerbaijan's membership in WTO becomes relevant. The expert Natig Jafarli says that all countries are negotiating to join the WTO. However, Azerbaijan since 1997 has been doing everything not to go there, citing the protection of the internal market.

The expert believes that in order to protect the domestic market we need to strengthen the new production and not rejection of the WTO. The WTO is sabotaged by high-ranking officials, as new customs and tax rules consistent with international standards are required.

The Bizim Yol: The Head of the State Commission Maleyka Abbaszadeh said that in January of this year, she sent to the Office for Combating Corruption materials and complaints related to her former spokesman Elnur Nagizadeh. She also said that the State Commission has nothing to do with his scam and falsification of documents.