ECONOMY
Asian Development Bank expects improvements in Azerbaijan`s agricultural sector and tourism
Baku, April 19 (AZERTAC). Supporting growth in non-oil sector and reducing dependence on oil revenues represents utmost importance for Azerbaijan. This is said in the Asian Development Bank report titled “Asian Development Outlook 2011”. GDP growth of 5% in 2010 was markedly lower than in previous years which saw large inflow of investment into the economy, particularly in the oil sector, the ADB report says. “Growth in oil economy including natural gas production is estimated to have slowed to 1.8%. Non-oil economy has also grown, as it coped with the challenges of a global recession. Strong growth in non-oil sector was driven mainly by public investment and infrastructure projects, which brought about 20.3%-growth in the construction sector,” says the report.
In addition, the report reads that “the improvement of infrastructure, especially roads, railways, power industry is important for the non-oil sector.”
Moreover, the ADB expects “significant growth in non-oil sector in 2011-2012.”
“Oil prices are projected to grow in 2011 and remain high in 2012. The main task for the government is to maintain macroeconomic stability. The growth of oil revenues will further increase social spending and investments in infrastructure that should stimulate the private sector and improve the investment climate. Azerbaijan`s overall GDP growth will be 5.8% in 2011-2012. The oil sector will continue to grow at around 3%-4% as oil and gas form the basis for growth in future years. Non-oil sector will increase in the reporting period by 8% in both years.”
In particular, inflation will grow 7.5% in 2011 on the backdrop of global growth of price pressures and will fall to 7% in 2012.
The current account surplus is expected to reach 27.8% of GDP in 2011 and 25% in 2012.
The report also says that developing the non-oil sector and diversifying the economy is the government`s longer-term priority. Agriculture, manufacturing, telecommunications, and tourism all have potential for growth.
Azerbaijan is now ranked 54 out of 183 in the World Bank`s Doing Business 2011 report, ahead of most countries in the region. This ranking reflects progress over the past year in providing access to credit and simplifying tax payment procedures.
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