OREANDA-NEWS. February 17, 2010. Committee’s chairperson Rufat Aslanli says that if to examine the structure of overseas investors’ interest then one can see that shares is an important tool in great demand for them.

“There are investors who focus mainly on tools of fixed profitability and debt instruments. But investors show an interest mainly to shares as country’s economy demonstrates stable growth. Under such conditions investors are interested more in acquisition of shares than in debenture stocks,” Aslanli said.

The Baku Stock Exchange’s listing has included so far only two issuers on international standards.

“Foreign investors also have interest to corporate bonds, but there appear a question of their profitability. I think that the market will regulate it during the year,” Committee’s chair said.

Since April 2009 the Securities Committee has observed intense rise of overseas investors’ interest to the Azerbaijani market.

“There is a range of pre-conditions for that – stable macroeconomic situation, country’s international position (overall foreign debt that is more than two-fold less than its reserves), growth of GDP, industrial output, etc. That gives an impulse to the interest of foreign investors. The issue here is in presentation of adequate instruments of the market. The market is still at stage of formation and its major tool is governmental securities – treasury bonds and notes of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan. Currently profitability on them has dropped. Medium-term papers are quoted less than 3%. Nevertheless, there an interest to them, and as for us, we pursue policy of increasing supply to the market to take advantage of this interest,” Aslanli said.

He also pointed out that in the first months of the past year when there was grave shortage of liquidity at international financial markets, many international investors experiencing need in liquidity sold their assets not only in Azerbaijan but also at developing markets.

“The March of 2009 was the bottom of international financial markets. Certain outflow of foreign investors and capital was observed in Azerbaijan until March as well. They invested mainly in governmental securities,” Aslanli emphasized.