President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has consolidated authority over the future of state-owned credit institutions, granting the presidency final say on their reorganization and dissolution under a newly signed decree, Azernews reports.
Day: January 8, 2026
Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO), part of AZCON Holding, transported 9,085,935 tons of cargo in 2025, marking a 5.38 percent increase compared to 2024, the company announced, Azernews reports. This growth reflects expanding transport activity by ASCO’s diverse fleet, which includes tanker, dry cargo, ferry, and Ro-Pax vessels.
The increase in 2025 was driven in part by strong performance in dry cargo transportation, where…
The National Bank of Georgia said the country’s international reserves reached a “historic high” of about USD 6.16 billion at the end of 2025, following a December increase of USD 342.6 million. According to NBG data, the annual figure represents a 38% increase (USD 1.7 billion) from 2024.
Attributing the growth to the bank’s “sound and consistent policy,” Tamta Sopromadze, head of the Macroeconomics and Statistics Department at the National Bank of Georgia, said gold accounted for 16.3% of international reserves in December, or USD 1.002 billion. She said the price of gold has doubled since the purchase, contributing an additional USD 502.3 million to the foreign exchange reserves.
The National Bank reiterated that “international foreign exchange reserves are an important guarantee of a country’s macroeconomic stability” and that it increases reserves “when market conditions allow.”
Over the past year, the NBG has made foreign currency purchases through the Bmatch trading platform. Monthly net purchases totaled USD 101.7 million in March, USD 266.4 million in April, USD 245.4 million in May, USD 266 million in June, USD 416.9 million in July, USD 199.6 million in August, USD 100 million in September, USD 167.4 million in October, and USD 308.2 million in November. Overall, the NBG made net foreign currency purchases of USD 2.07 billion between January and November 2025.
The steady refilling of reserves follows NBG’s major foreign currency interventions in 2024, when it sold more than USD 900 million amid mass protests over the Foreign Agents Law in the spring and again ahead of the October 26 parliamentary elections.
Also Read:
- 08/01/2026 – Georgia’s Annual Inflation at 4% in December 2025
- 25/12/2025 – NBG: International Reserves Over $5.8 Bln After November Purchase of $308 Mln
- 16/09/2025 – One Person Detained Over Alleged Scheme of Laundering up to $700 Million
- 29/07/2025 – NBG Replenishes International Reserves as IMF Praises Georgia’s ‘Resilience’
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#Azerbaijan’s Post-War Strength President Ilham Aliyev Reflects on the #Karabakh Victory Diplomatic Triumphs and the Shifting Geopolitical Landscape #Diplomacy #Geopolitics #RegionalStability #SouthCaucasus #InternationalRelations— Today.Az (@TodayAz97) Jan 8, 2026