Azerbaijan, Baku, July 23/ Trend, E. Ismayilov/
The average annual interest rate of SOCAR's (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) loans is 2.5 times lower than those of other oil companies in the region, SOCAR's Vice-President Suleyman Gasimov said in an interview that was posted in the SOCAR Plus magazine.
"There is a need for long-term financing under favorable conditions in order to modernize assets within the country and abroad, to construct and acquire new, implement work on the stabilization and increasing the oil and gas production. We can proudly say that, the implemented work in previous years and achieved results have created conditions for cooperation with leading financial institutions. The support of the Azerbaijani government alongside with the international financial institutes in attracting necessary resources for financing the projects of SOCAR is also invaluable," Gasimov noted.
According to him, the adoption of international financial reporting standards in attracting loan capital, the use of the modern software, the ratings, received from the world's famous rating companies, the adoption of standards on fighting against corruption and on increasing of transparency and other similar internal standards has created favorable conditions for attracting long-term loan resources with low interest from the leading commercial banks of the world.
In addition, according to Gasimov, SOCAR has introduced another innovation for attracting loans, by releasing $500 million worth Eurobonds with 5 years circulation term and with an annual interest rate of 5.45 percent in 2012 and $1 billion worth Eurobonds with 4.75 percent interest rate and for 10 years period in 2013.