Azerbaijan’s H1 securities trading volume falls 32% to $14.7B

Photo: Trend News Agency

BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 13. In the first half of 2026, the total trading volume on Azerbaijan’s securities market decreased by 32%, or 11.9 billion manat ($7 billion), compared to the same period last year, totaling 25 billion manat ($14.7 billion).

This was stated in the “Financial Stability Report” published by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA).

The decline in trading volume during the reporting period was mainly due to a decrease in the volume of repo and reverse repo transactions conducted with the Central Bank. Trading volume in the corporate securities market increased by 24% or 400 million manat ($235.4 million) compared to the first half of last year. The turnover of government securities decreased by 62% or 2.6 billion manat ($1.5 billion).

Trading volume in the primary market for corporate securities increased by 65%, or 600 million manat ($353.1 million), reaching 1.5 billion manat ($880 million). At the same time, trading volume in the secondary market for these securities decreased by 34%, or 200 million manat ($117.7 million), to 400 million manat ($235.4 million).

Trading volume in the primary market for government securities decreased by 53% or 1.2 billion manat ($710 million) compared to the same period last year, while trading volume in the secondary market decreased by 73% or 1.4 billion manat ($820 million). The report attributes the decline in trading volume in the government securities market to a lower volume of new issuances by the Ministry of Finance.

Activity in the repo and reverse repo markets also slowed. In the first six months of 2026, the total volume of these transactions decreased by 30.9%, or 9.7 billion manat ($5.7 billion), compared to the same period last year, totaling 21.6 billion manat ($12.7 billion). However, the CBA noted that overall activity in the repo market remains at a satisfactory level.

The volume of government securities in circulation also decreased during the reporting period. Compared to the end of last year, this figure fell by 20%, or 1.8 billion manat ($1.1 billion), to 7.2 billion manat ($4.2 billion). The main reason for the decline was a lower volume of new issuances by the Ministry of Finance.

At the same time, the volume of banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan in circulation increased by 30%, or 100 million manat ($58.8 million), reaching 500 million manat ($294.2 million).

In the first half of 2026, investment companies also recorded growth in their balance sheet figures. Compared to the end of last year, their assets increased by 2% or 2 million manat ($1.1 million) to 123 million manat ($72.3 million), while liabilities rose by 9% or 6 million manat ($3.5 million) to 70 million manat ($41.1 million).