Press Review 07/09/2016

The development of sports, high prices, insufficient compensation for demolished housing, the fall of the manat, and trade decline are the leading topics of today's press.

The official newspaper Azerbaijan has published an article about the Chess Olympiad passing in Baku. The author argues that the holding of this event is an indicator of Azerbaijan’s transformation into a political, economic and cultural center of the region.

The author also believes that the success of Azerbaijani chess players came just for the period of independence. The author lists all significant international sporting events held in Azerbaijan.

The Azadlig newspaper’s website reports about the coming price increase and accordingly a large deficit, which awaits the country. The rise is evident in food prices.

The author gives examples of the growth of prices of specific product names. The expert Nemat Aliyev explains this with the falling exchange rate of the manat and the wrong policies of the Central Bank, as well as the dependence of the domestic market on imports at 70-80%.

Echo writes about the need to increase the amount of compensation for the demolished homes. Compensation in the amount of 1,500 manats per 1 sq. meter is too small and needs revision. The expert Rashad Aliyev considers individual approach to this issue necessary. The judge Nariman Agayev recalls that 600,000 people reside in the houses to be demolished. These houses were built in the Soviet period. In 9 districts of Baku such housing will be demolished. In the coming 5 years 289 buildings will be demolished.

Novoye Vremya has published an article titled Manat Needs Salvation. The fever that has hit the banking system of Azerbaijan, has been going on for more than two weeks. People who objectively need  currency cannot buy it. Foreign tourists who leave the country cannot change the AZN remaining with them. All this causes a lot of questions. Meanwhile SOFAZ sold 50 million USD to 30 banks on the 6 September auction.

Bizim Yol writes that wholesale trade is on the verge of closing. In the major shopping centers, in addition to price increase, the sale of goods is limited. In the wholesale shops for clothing, carpets and textiles they say that prices are rising due to the growth of the dollar. The author writes about the rapid closure of shops due to the fall in the population’s purchasing power.