Press Review 14/12/2016

The reforms in the economy, the decline in the construction sector, the attitude to the restoration of the activity of currency exchange offices, and the reasons for the crisis in the country are the leading topics of today's press.

The newspaper Azerbaijan writes about the strategic essence of economic reforms in the country. The author appreciates the decree of President Ilham Aliyev "On the development of the national economy and the main sectors of the economy." It is about creating a new economy with lower oil prices. The author analyzes the strategic roadmaps, noting their significance.

The website Azadliq.info writes about the crisis in the construction market Darnagul. And the crisis is experienced not only by the state-run construction, but also by the private one. It is immediately reflected in the market of building materials. Most building materials have increased in price by 30% or more, and the purchasing power of the population has become even lower.

Echo has published an article titled "Do we need to return currency exchange offices in Azerbaijan?"This topic is discussed with the expert Akram Hasanov. In Azerbaijan, as in Europe, in principle, today there are no currency exchange offices. However, in our country compared to Europe, there are more bank branches that exchange currency. Today the problem is that many banks simply do not sell currency. “Exchangers” would not help here even if they were available. In many developed countries, there are no exchange points. Moreover not all bank branches are engaged in currency exchange, largely because people are used to non-cash payments. The decision to close the exchange offices, which was adopted at the beginning of the year was right, as these offices often violated the rules of currency exchange and did not actually obey the banks. Only the Financial Market Supervision House can resume the exchange offices in the country. Since January 2016, Azerbaijan has stopped the work of currency exchange points operating outside the banks and their branches. As a result of that, people wishing to exchange currency can do so in 750 bank branches throughout the country (data of the Central Bank by the end of 2015).

Novoye Vremya has published an article entitled "Galloping inflation gaining momentum." No matter how many representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan have spoken about their desire to achieve single-digit inflation, this could not be done. Moreover, inflation beats all records. And talk about the single digit is not necessary. The prices for consumer goods and the tariffs for services increased by 12.1% year on year in Azerbaijan in January-November 2016. Food prices rose by 14.1%, non-food products - by 16.8%, and tariffs for paid services rendered to the population - by 5.6%. To counter the growing inflation rate is possible only by joint efforts of state agencies, business and society. The economy is in decline. The faster start real economic reforms, the sooner it will be possible to curb the threat of galloping inflation turning into hyperinflation.