MP Gudrat Hasanguliyev Scrutinizes Credit Concentration and State Oil Fund Return Rates

Member of Parliament Gudrat Hasanguliyev addressed the legislature on the structural imbalances in commercial lending and questioned the investment performance of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ), advocating for comprehensive economic liberalization.

Hasanguliyev pointed out that while the corporate credit portfolio expanded 8.1% year-on-year to reach 17.82 billion manats by September 2026, capital distribution remains heavily skewed toward conglomerates. Annual lending growth surged by 23% for large corporations, 19.7% for micro-enterprises, and 13.3% for small businesses, whereas medium-sized enterprises recorded a modest 4.6% increase due to elevated bank risk perceptions, prohibitive interest margins, and operational opacity.

Highlighting that transfers from SOFAZ are slated to cover 33.2% of state budget revenues next year, the lawmaker contrasted SOFAZ's asset returns with Norway's Government Pension Fund Global: "Norway's sovereign wealth fund manages $2.29 trillion in assets while generating an annual yield of 15.1%. Azerbaijan's Oil Fund holds $74 billion, yet yields only 6.2%. How can such a disparity be justified when managing a smaller capital pool is considerably more agile? The cabinet must confront these underlying inefficiencies." In his closing remarks, Hasanguliyev urged the government to end administrative interference in private enterprise, initiate large-scale privatization drives, foster corporate transparency, and establish fair market competition.