BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 6. Azerbaijan's net fiscal asset position remains a core credit strength and closely mirrors its strong external balance sheet, Trend reports with reference to the S&P Global Ratings.
“We expect the consolidated net general government asset position to remain above 50% of GDP through 2028, supported by continued SOFAZ savings and low public debt. Our measure of net general government debt includes only SOFAZ's externally held liquid assets (the sovereign's most readily deployable buffers) and excludes less-liquid holdings (around 10% of GDP in 2024), which would take longer to mobilize under stress,” the latest report by S&P reads.
The rating agency’s analysts note that fiscal transparency compares favorably with that of many regional peers, including several Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) sovereigns.
“SOFAZ publishes detailed audited annual reports with clear disclosure of its asset composition, investment strategy, and performance. However, despite its strong transparency, Azerbaijan's net general government asset position remains more modest than those of larger GCC sovereign wealth funds.
AqrarKredit's liabilities, which amounted to about AZN9.06 billion (as of October 2025) in sovereign-guaranteed loans from the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBAR) linked to legacy banking-sector support, are included in our measure of general government debt. Excluding these guaranteed obligations, direct gross government debt is low: it was roughly 13% of GDP at end-2024, with a favorable structure. About half is in local currency and most external obligations are owed to official creditors. Commercial foreign-currency debt remains limited to two Eurobonds maturing in 2029 and 2032, keeping refinancing risks contained,” the report says.