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Fitch: Azerbaijan’s external assets to reach about $50 billion

23 November 2020 10:35 (UTC +04:00)

Fitch Ratings forecasts Azerbaijan’s external assets to total $49.8 billion at end-2020 (31 months of current external payments; CXP), down from $50.4 billion (28 months of CXP) at end-2019, APA-Economics reports citing Fitch

Considering the fact the SOFAZ’s assets account for the major share of the country’s external assets, Fitch notes that the current pace of FX sales by the state oil fund SOFAZ is consistent with the authorities' revised budget plan for 2020 announced last August and sufficient to maintain the fixed exchange rate at 1.7 AZN/USD.

Under Fitch's baseline assumption of gradually rising oil prices in 2021 and 2022, risks of a disorderly devaluation remain low. Nevertheless, the ongoing second wave of COVID-19 infections increases downside risks to the outlook.
Note that as of October 1 2020, SOFAZ’s assets amounted to $43.2 billion.