The value of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan’s (SOFAZ) investments in gold bars amounted to 47.7 billion manat ($28.06 billion), and their share in assets amounted to 37.9% as of January 1 this year.
According to Trend’s calculations based on the fund’s financial report, the value of gold investments was approximately 2.3 times higher than the figure recorded on January 1, 2025. At the beginning of 2025, SOFAZ’s investments in gold bars were valued at 21.08 billion manat ($12.4 billion).
Thus, the value of the fund’s gold assets increased by 26.62 billion manat ($15.66 billion) over the year.
Other figures in the report also confirm that gold’s share of SOFAZ’s investment portfolio has increased. Gold bars accounted for 20.5% of the fund’s total assets on January 1, 2025, rising to 37.9% by January 1, 2026. As a result, gold’s share of total assets increased by 17.4 percentage points over the year.
With gold accounting for 37.9% of total assets, it has become one of the principal components of SOFAZ’s investment portfolio.
According to SOFAZ’s financial report, the fund’s investment portfolio includes bonds, equity investments, real estate, infrastructure, and private equity funds, as well as other financial instruments alongside gold bars.
Gold investments played an important role in increasing the fund’s investment revenues in 2025. Income from gold bar investments amounted to 16.85 billion manat ($9.91 billion) last year, compared with 3.39 billion manat ($1.99 billion) in 2024. Thus, revenues from gold investments increased approximately fivefold over the year.
The increase in income from gold investments also had a significant impact on the Fund’s overall financial results. SOFAZ ended 2025 with a net profit of 26.9 billion manat ($15.8 billion), approximately 3.4 times higher than its 2024 result.
An increase in the reported value of investment assets and income generated from those assets are related but distinct measures. Asset values reflect the valuation of the portfolio as of the reporting date, while investment income reflects revenues affecting financial results during the relevant period.
As of January 1, 2026, SOFAZ’s total assets amounted to 125.72 billion manat ($73.95 billion), an increase of 22.5% compared with the beginning of 2025.
As of that date, the fund’s equity stood at 125.25 billion manat ($73.68 billion), while liabilities amounted to 471.69 million manat ($277.46 million). Over the year, equity increased by 22.5%, and liabilities rose by 11.3%.
The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan was established by a presidential decree dated December 29, 1999. Its primary objective is to ensure the accumulation and effective management of revenues and other funds generated from the exploration and development of the country’s oil and gas reserves, as well as from the fund’s own activities, in the interests of present and future generations of Azerbaijani citizens.
