BSTDB may release second tranche of manat bonds

By Trend

The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is considering the possibility of releasing the second tranche of its manat bonds in 2020, depending on the situation on the local market, BSTDB told Trend.

The BSTDB will continue to support the initiatives of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) aimed at providing support to emerging markets, as well as providing access by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to financing in local currency, alongside the existing mechanism for financing the SMEs provided through Turan bank.

The bank noted that Azerbaijan is taking measures in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, similar to those used in other countries, such as restrictions on border crossings, strict quarantine procedures, suspension of educational institutions, restaurants, shopping centers, etc.

Along with the foregoing, in order to mitigate the negative economic consequences of these restrictive measures, the government introduced tax incentives and vacations to companies to not fire workers, provided cash payments to the needy, and implemented other measures to help economic agents to overcome the pandemic and to restart their activities once the pandemic is over, said BSTDB.

"Besides the consequences of the pandemic, Azerbaijan is also suffering from falling oil prices on world markets, and it’s difficult to separate the influence of these two factors on the economy. Unfortunately, we have recently seen an increase in the spread of the COVID-19 in Azerbaijan, but we see the government’s efforts to keep the situation under control and pay maximum attention to public health problems," the report said.

The bank believes that these measures will be effective and the country's economy will begin to recover soon.

The BSTDB was founded by Azerbaijan, Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Armenia, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia. The authorized capital of the bank is 3.45 billion euros.