Press Review 19 February 2018

Investments in Azerbaijan, the problems of financing small and medium-sized businesses, the hindrances to the distribution of the comedy The Death of Stalin, and the reduction in lending are the leading topics of today's press.

The newspaper Azerbaijan writes that the investments go mainly to the non-oil sector. The author claims that for foreign investments in Azerbaijan perfect conditions have been created, including the legal framework. Last year, foreign institutions and organizations invested AZN 8,607.4 million in Azerbaijan. Of this amount, 7,086.4 million manat belongs to investors in the UK, Turkey, Malaysia, Switzerland, Russia, Iran, Japan, the United States and the Czech Republic.

At the Cabinet meeting on the results of 2017 it was announced that 14.6 billion dollars had been invested in the country's economy.

The newspaper Yeni Musavat discusses what kind of businessmen are given preferential loans. The author claims that in developed countries, the share of small and medium-sized businesses in GDP is 50%, and employment is over 60%.

In the EU countries, 99% of enterprises are small and medium-sized businesses. According to the expert R. Hasanov, loans for entrepreneurs are not available in Azerbaijan and this weakens the economy of Azerbaijan. According to this indicator Azerbaijan ranks 112 among 190 countries in the World Bank"s Doing Business report.

The website Azadliqinfo.az writes that the Azerbaijani authorities are obstructing the showing of the British comedy The Death of Stalin in Azerbaijan, as in Russia. However, there is no such prohibition either in Belarus, or in Kazakhstan, or in Armenia.

In the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan, the ban is attributed to disrespect for the fallen heroes, meaning ridicule of Marshal Zhukov and participants of the Great Patriotic War.

Despite the fact that the country declares its independence, the authorities act on the advice of the Kremlin.

The newspaper Echo publishes a report on the problems of private sector development. Azerbaijan took a course to develop the non-oil sector of the national economy, and agriculture was chosen as a priority. That is why a large number of state programs were adopted over the past year. This is important for ensuring the domestic consumer market, as well as for developing export potential.

The state should create conditions that would be beneficial for the private sector to work in agriculture. -0----