The State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) reports that as of December 31, 2024, SOFAZ's assets increased by 7.1% totaling 60 031.4 million US dollars, compared to 56,069.7 million US dollars at the beginning of the year.

During the period of January – December 2024, budgetary revenues for the period totaled 18 039.0 million manats, while budgetary expenses amounted to 12 896.4 million manats.

SOFAZ's revenue streams originating from oil and gas agreements stood at 12 243.7 million manats during the same period. This included 11 461.4 million manats from the sale of oil and gas, alongside bonus payments totaling 778.2 million manats, transit revenues of 0.5 million manats and acreage fee of 3.6 million manats.

Additionally, the investment return from managing SOFAZ's assets amounted to 5 795.3 million manats, reflecting a portfolio return of 6.0%.

Within the framework of the 2024 SOFAZ budget implementation, a total of 12 781.0 million manats were transferred into the state budget during the reporting period. 34.0 million manats were directed to financing the "2019-2023 State Program on increasing the international competitiveness of the higher education system of Azerbaijan," while 47.3 million manats were allocated for the "State Program for the Education of Youth at Prestigious Universities of Foreign Countries for 2022-2028." Additionally, operational expenses of SOFAZ amounted to 34.1 million manats for the January - December 2024 period.

SOFAZ's extra-budgetary revenues totaled 1 592.2 million manats, attributed to revaluations in exchange rates.

In 2024, SOFAZ’s asset growth was primarily driven by investment income generated through its asset management activities, as well as non-budgetary revenues.

The positive trend in global stock markets observed throughout the year continued into the fourth quarter, further contributing to the growth of the Fund's assets. This was primarily driven by the strong performance of major technology companies and investor optimism regarding potential policy measures expected to enhance corporate profitability following the U.S. elections.

However, despite ongoing interest rate cuts by major central banks, the increase in government bond yields during the last quarter pulled down the positive return achieved by fixed-income investments earlier in the year. These yield increases were observed mainly in long-term U.S. government bonds and largely attributed to economic uncertainties such as inflation and rising government debt levels.

Despite the slowdown in the rise in the price of gold in the last quarter, gold still made a substantial contribution to the Fund's base return in 2024. Key drivers of this trend included high geopolitical risks, elections in numerous countries throughout the year, and increased demand for gold from central banks.