Fitch affirms Azerbaijan's BB+ rating

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Azerbaijan's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB+' with a Stable Outlook,  FitchRatings informs. The rating is supported by Azerbaijan's very strong external balance sheet, low public debt and strong financing flexibility from large sovereign wealth fund assets. 

Fitch forecasts the current account returns to a surplus of 7.9% of GDP in 2021, from last year's deficit of 0.5%, before narrowing to average 5.3% in 2022-2023, mainly driven by our lower forecast average oil price (of USD55/b in 2022 and USD53/b in 2023, from USD63/b this year) but still the highest in the peer group. The net sovereign asset position is projected to increase to 84.1% of GDP at end-2023, from 83.1% at end-2020, compared with the 'BB' median of -2.1%.