Press Review 23/12/2016

Unreasonable government promises, the people’s financial problems, and the growth of dollarization of the economy are the leading topics of today's press.

The newspaper Azerbaijan writes about the success of AAAF-Park Holding and the implemented numerous projects, including residential buildings and complexes, villas, and sports infrastructure.

The website Azadliq.info assesses the current economic situation in the country, calling it an extreme crisis that has deepened over the past two years.

On the one hand the country’s currency reserves are coming to an end, but on the other, implementation of new projects starts. According to the author, all this is visibility since none of the projects would be implemented. In this connection, the author recalls the credits that the state took from international financial institutions.

Echo writes about the growing poverty in the country. Food costs have risen since the devaluation of the manat. While earlier food costs made up 40-50% of the household income, today they make up more than 60%.

Over 50% of the population faces with greater financial difficulties. During this period, the population spent 49.8% on food, beverages and tobacco, 17.3% - on textiles, clothing and footwear, 6.5% - on electrical goods and furniture, 5.8% - on motor fuel , 1.4% - on pharmaceutical and medical goods, 0.8% - on computers, telecommunications equipment and other products, and 18.4% - on other non-food goods.

Novoye Vremya writes about the dollarization of the economy. According to the Central Bank, 70% of bank deposits in the country are denominated in dollars, which is the highest figure in the last decade. The move away from the national currency means that the Central Bank and private banks will need “international reserves or new loans in volumes more than usual.”