BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 16. S&P Global Ratings agency has upgraded the long-term issuer credit rating of the Azerbaijan Business Development Fund (ABDF) from "BB-" to "BB", with a stable outlook.
The data obtained by Trend from the agency shows that the short-term rating was affirmed at "B".
ABDF was established on January 1, 2025, through the legal merger of EDF (Entrepreneurship Development Fund) and AIC (Azerbaijan Investment Company) under the Ministry of Economy.
The operational integration process is currently ongoing, and the formation of the management board of the combined structure is expected by the end of 2025.
As of mid-2025, EDF’s assets stood at 1.05 billion manat (approx. $615 million), and AIC’s at 374 million manat (nearly $220 million).
The fund supports entrepreneurship and economic diversification, with EDF providing concessional loans and AIC investing in non-oil sectors.
EDF wrote off 192 million manat ($112.9 million) in fully reserved bad loans at the end of 2024, reducing its problem loan ratio to 1.4 percent by mid-2025, down from 24 percent in late 2023 - much below the sector average of five-six percent.
Loans issued by EDF in recent years show strong performance, with reserves at three percent of the portfolio, covering problem loans twice over.
AIC’s equity investments carry higher risk, but overall capitalization of the merged entity remains very strong, supporting the rating upgrade.
S&P expects ABDF to maintain high capitalization and prudent risk management, with consolidated IFRS financials due in June 2026.
