Azerbaijan aims for investment rating from S&P and Moody's, Minister says

Azerbaijan plans to achieve an investment rating from international rating agencies "Standard & Poor's" (S&P) and "Moody's," according to Finance Minister Samir Sharifov, who spoke in an interview with "Report," as cited by Azernews.

Sharifov highlighted that significant positive changes have been occurring in Azerbaijan's economy in recent years. "On one hand, Azerbaijan's foreign exchange reserves are increasing, and on the other, debt obligations are decreasing. As a result, this leads to an increase in net financial assets. This is undoubtedly a very positive and reliable factor for every investor who wants to invest in Azerbaijani securities and debt," he said.

The minister expressed optimism that rating agencies would recognize these improvements. "The rating agencies show a certain amount of greed towards Azerbaijan. However, despite this, initially, Fitch Ratings increased the default rating of Azerbaijan's long-term foreign currency issuer by one step and raised it to the level of investment credit rating. I assume that 'Standard & Poor's' and 'Moody's' will take similar steps. Meanwhile, 'Moody's' international rating agency has changed the forecast of the Azerbaijani government's issuer and highly unsecured foreign currency ratings from 'stable' to 'positive,' giving us hope that this will happen sooner. In other words, we are quite optimistic that these processes will find their fair solution," Sharifov added.

Earlier in July, Fitch Ratings raised Azerbaijan's long-term foreign currency issuer default rating from "BB+" to "BBB-" and assessed it with a stable outlook. According to Fitch, the upgrade reflects Azerbaijan's strong external balance sheet, ongoing current account and fiscal surpluses, reduced foreign exchange sensitivity, low public debt, and evolving monetary policy.