Azerbaijan invests $12b abroad last year: Central Bank

Azerbaijan invested $11.8 billion abroad in 2013, according to a balance of payments for 2013 published by the Central Bank.

The amount was generated through direct investments ($1.478 billion), portfolio investments ($322.8 million), and other investments ($9.959 billion).

The oil and gas sector received $1.039 billion of the direct investments, while $438.9 million fell to other sectors. Other investments included trade loans and advances ($4.83 billion), loans and advances ($256 million), and deposits and cash ($4.87 billion).

The commitments worth $5.27 billion were formed in Azerbaijan in 2013, some $2.617 billion of which fell to direct investments, while $1.04 billion fell to portfolio investments.

FDI in Azerbaijan's economy amounts to $6.3 bln

The balance of payments of 2013 also shows that the total volume of foreign direct investments in Azerbaijan's economy amounted to $6.3 billion in 2013, and the specific weight of the oil and gas sector in this volume stood at 82.4 percent.

These investments were used to finance work in Azerbaijan, mainly carried out under oil and gas projects by BP Exploration Ltd (Shah Deniz) and the Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC) at the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli block of fields.

The volume of direct investments in the non-oil sector amounted to $1.108 billion, accounting for 17.6 percent of the total volume of direct investments attracted in the country, the CBA estimations shows.

Current account surplus amounts to over $12 bln

The CBA also said as of 2013, Azerbaijan's current account surplus amounted to $12.3 billion, 17.22 percent less than the same period in 2012.

The current account surplus of the oil and gas sector in Azerbaijan amounted to $22.1 billion.

(Azernews)

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