2023 can be considered an important year for the securities sector in Azerbaijan.
During the year, the management of the Baku Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Depository Center (NDC) was changed. The Board of Directors and the Supervisory Board of both institutions were reformed.
Besides, the systems at BSE and NDC were updated last year. The Securities Trading System (STS) and the Central Depository Platform (CEDAR), created together with Montran, one of the leading corporations in the field of financial technologies, were launched.
During the reporting period, the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) did not issue a license to any investment company, and issuing a license for the newly created Novocapital Investment Company CJSC was postponed until 2024. Moreover, the license of InvestAz Asset Management LLC, which is engaged in the management of investment funds, has expired. With this, the number of companies managing investment funds in the country dropped to 1. Currently, only AzFinance Asset Management LLC has a license in this field. Also, during the year, BTB Capital Investment Company OJSC changed its name to Assist Finance Investment Company due to the change of founder (Bank BTB OJSC sold the company).
2023 was an active year in terms of stock and bond issues in Azerbaijan. Both financial and non-financial organizations increased their authorized capital through the capital market and borrowed money. From this point of view, it should be noted that the Asian Development Bank issued a bond in manat for the first time, as well as the state-owned Azerbaijan Caspian Sea Shipping CJSC placed a bond worth $100 million. With this, the number of state companies that issued bonds in Azerbaijan reached 3, together with the State Oil Company (SOCAR) and AzerGold JSC. In the meantime, the CBA has started to release the yield curve estimated for government bonds.
In a statement to Report, Parvane Gasimova, deputy director of one of the investment companies in the country, a member of the Azerbaijani Bar Association, commented on the results of last year: "2023 can be considered the year of infrastructure improvement for capital market participants. This year, the market was not marked by an unusual surge. Most of the operations were carried out with government securities. I believe that next year's market will be more prone to development."
