Azerbaijani State Oil Fund brings another batch of gold

Azerbaijan, Baku, April 5 / Trend E. Ismayilov / Additional 1 ton of gold (32 150 troy ounces) purchased by the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) in compliance with the rules set forth by the LBMA was imported to Azerbaijan by the UK's Brinks Global Services on April 5, 2013 and temporarily stored in the vaults of the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan, SOFAZ said today. "The total amount of gold imported by the Oil Fund to Azerbaijan is approximately 4 tons (128 600 troy ounces)," the message said. The first batch of gold (32 150 troy ounces) was delivered to the country on January 11, the second batch - Feb. 1 and the third batch - March 1. Some 18 666 kg (600 146 troy ounces) gold was included into SOFAZ investment portfolio as of April 5, 2013. Some 14 934 kg of gold (480 146 troy ounces) was included into SOFAZ investment portfolio as of December 31, 2012. The gold is temporarily stored at the Central Bank till SOFAZ's new building is built. SOFAZ buys physical gold on the London Metal Exchange and temporarily stores it in JP Morgan's London vault. In total, SOFAZ plans to purchase 30 tons of gold in connection with a risk of price changes over two years. According to SOFAZ's investment strategy approved by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev dated Dec. 29, 2011, up to 5 % of SOFAZ total investment portfolio may be invested in gold in 2012. SOFAZ was established in 1999 when its assets amounted to $271 million. As of Jan. 1, 2013, SOFAZ's assets hit $34.129 billion. The main purposes of the fund are the accumulation of funds and placement of the fund's assets abroad to minimise the negative impact on the economy preventing a 'Dutch syndrome' to ensure savings for future generations and to maintain the current socio-economic standard in the country. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az