$1.4B deficit expected in SOFAZ budget for 2023

Next year, the budget revenues of the State Oil Fund (SOF) are expected to be 43.1% less than this year's forecast - 8,990.9 million manats ($5.3 billion), and budget expenses are expected to be 1.8% less than this year's forecast - 11,392.3 million manats ($6.7 billion), Report informs, citing the opinion of the Accounting Chamber on the Fund's next budget.

According to the document, 6,571.4 million manats ($3.9 billion) or 73.1% of SOFAZ's revenues in 2023 will be net revenues from oil and gas sales. At the same time, the Fund will receive 4.3 million manats ($2.5 million) from account payments, 23.6 million manats ($13.9 million) from transit, 800.8 million manats ($471 million) from bonus payments, and 1,590.9 million manats ($935.9 million) from the management of its assets.

Next year, 11,280 million manats ($6.6 billion) or 99% of SOFAZ expenses will be transferred to the state budget. In addition, the Fund allocated 38.5 million manats ($22.6 million) to the "State program on increasing the international competitiveness of the higher education system in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2019-2023", 36.7 million manats ($21.6 million) for the "State Program for 2022-2026 for enabling youth to study in prestigious foreign universities", and 37.1 million manats ($21.8 million) on its management.

Thus, a deficit of 2,401.4 million manats ($1.4 billion) will appear in the SOFAZ budget in 2023 (the forecast for 2022 is a balance of 4,192 million manats ($2.5 billion)).