BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. The budget revenues of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) amounted to 9.2 billion manat ($5.4 billion) in the first half of 2024, while expenditures amounted to 6.4 billion manat ($3.7 billion), Trend reports via SOFAZ.
Meanwhile, the fund's revenues from oil and gas agreements amounted to almost 6.4 billion manat ($3.7 billion), of which 5.6 billion manat ($3.2 billion) came to SOFAZ from Azerbaijan's oil and gas exports; bonus payments accounted for 775.9 million manat ($456.4 million); revenues from hydrocarbon transit gave 300,000 manat ($176,476); and acreage payments - 3.6 million manat ($2.1 million).
Moreover, investment income from SOFAZ asset management amounted to 2.8 billion manat ($1.6 billion).
“As part of its obligations to the state budget, SOFAZ made a transfer to the state budget of the country of 6.3 billion manat ($3.7 billion) in the first half of the year,” the information from the fund noted.
Under the SOFAZ expenditure item, a total of 5.2 million manat ($3 million) was allocated to finance the "State Program on Increasing International Competitiveness of Azerbaijan's Higher Education System," and 7.1 million manat ($4.1 million) was allocated to the "State Program on Education of Youth in Prestigious Higher Education Institutions of Foreign Countries for 2022-2026"—7.1 m million manat ($4.1 million). Furthermore, the fund's operating expenses from January through June 2024 amounted to 11.6 million manat ($6.8 million)," the information notes.
The fund's statement separately emphasized the success of investing SOFAZ assets in equities.
“Achievements in the field of artificial intelligence technologies and optimistic expectations in this sector have significantly strengthened the global IT equity market. As a result, valuations in stock markets remained high during the first half of the year, which became a driver for the growth of returns for the part of the investment portfolio that was placed in relevant stocks,” the statement noted.
Referring to the stability of global financial markets, SOFAZ noted that “there was less uncertainty about interest rates in financial markets compared to previous quarters,” which is important for the fund's asset management.
To note, SOFAZ has been operating since 1999 and accumulates revenues from the realization of Azerbaijan's international oil and gas contracts.
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