196 state properties to be put up for auction in mid-August

By Azernews

By Sara Israfilbayova

The State Committee on Property Issues of Azerbaijan will hold an auction on privatization of state property on August 15.

The auction will exhibit 196 state properties, of which 75 are small state enterprises, 101 are non-residential areas and 20 are joint-stock companies, the Committee said.

The authorized capital of joint-stock companies varies from 69,000 manats ($40,500) to 850,000 manats ($499,300).

The joint-stock companies, put up for the auction, include organizations specializing in cotton growing, poultry farming, in the spheres of transport, construction, trade, production, processing and others.

Small state enterprises, put up for the auction, are located in Baku, Ganja, Mingachevir, Sumgayit, Absheron, Shamkir, Khachmaz and etc.

Twelve non-residential areas are located in other cities and regions of the country, and the rest are in the capital city.

In order to protect state property and effectively manage it in the new economic realities, President of Azerbaijan signed a decree on May 19, 2016.

Under the decree, the acceleration of the state property privatization process has been defined as an important direction of the economic policy.

The portal for privatization – privatization.az, launched in July 2016, reflects all necessary information about the facilities, their addresses, location, and even initial cost and aims at facilitation of the process. The website is available in Azerbaijani and English. “Why Azerbaijan is special” section available on the website explains the reasons and advantages of investing in the country.

The privatization process is designed to attract both foreign and local investors, as well as develop the business environment of Azerbaijan.

Moreover, the State Committee on Property Issues held the first electronic auction on July 4.

The "electronic auction" service, which is available on the website privatization.az, combines the privatization procedure of vehicles and equipment. In the future, it will be possible to privatize small state enterprises and facilities, joint-stock companies through electronic auction. Now, the corresponding work in programming is under development.