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Viewing cable 08BAKU627, BUSINESS LEADERS EXPERIENCE ONGOING CHALLENGES IN

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08BAKU627 2008-07-02 12:03 2011-08-26 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Baku
VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKB #0627/01 1841203
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 021203Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAKU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5623
INFO RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 2896
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
UNCLAS BAKU 000627 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD EINV KCOR PREL AJ
SUBJECT: BUSINESS LEADERS EXPERIENCE ONGOING CHALLENGES IN 
AZERBAIJAN'S INVESTMENT CLIMATE 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
 
1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: Business and IFI leaders gave visiting 
Special Representative for Economic and Business Affairs 
Frank Mermoud an overview of increasing problems in 
Azerbaijan's business climate, stating that in some 
instances, corruption and monopolistic practices were on the 
rise.  They agreed that a new Presidential Business Council 
(PBC) could open a dialogue between the President of 
Azerbaijan and business leaders and lay a foundation for 
improved transparency, a stronger economy, and increased 
opportunities for American business.  We have been discussing 
this idea with Azerbaijani Government and business leaders, 
and recommend the Department include this on the agenda for 
our next Economic Partnership Commission meeting.  End 
summary. 
 
2.  (U) During a June 26-27 visit to Baku, Special 
Representative for Economic and Business Affairs Frank 
Mermoud met with representatives of several businesses, 
business associations, and international inancial 
institutions, including Coca-Cola Country Finance Director 
Okan Gursan and Supply Chain Manager Rana Mammadova, 
International Bank of Azerbaijan Chairman Jahangir Hajiyev, 
World Bank Senior Operations Officer Saida Bagirli, 
International Finance Corporation Country Officer Aliya 
Azimova, EBRD Head Of Office Francis Delaey, AmCham President 
Maksoud Mirzoyev, British Business Group (BBG) Treasurer Rod 
Fraser.  Most of these officials outlined ongoing problems in 
Azerbaijan's business environment as well as possible 
solutions. 
 
-------------------- 
COCA-COLA'S PROBLEMS 
-------------------- 
 
3.  (SBU) Coca-Cola representatives provided the most 
sobering picture of the business climate in Azerbaijan, 
citing weak infrastructure, product counterfeiting, 
institutional corruption, and monopolistic competition as the 
greatest difficulties.  Finance Director Okan Gursan said 
that when Coca-Cola applied for a permit to expand its plant, 
the Baku Architecture and Town Building Head Office 
accepted payment of their 8,500 AZN permit fee but refused to 
give a permit unless Coca-Cola paid a bribe of USD 100,000. 
Gursan said Coca-Cola refused to pay the bribe and instead 
continued to build without this permit.  In May, Coca-Cola 
wrote to Presidential Chief of Staff Remiz Mehdiyev to 
complain, and in response received a refund of the 8,500 AZN 
permit fee.  Gursan said that when Coca-Cola representatives 
asked about this, they were presented two back-dated letters 
from the Architecture and Town-Building Head Office that 
cited alleged construction plan flaws, and Gursan said that 
was the first time Coca-Cola had heard of these alleged flaws. 
 
4.  (SBU) Gursan and Mammadova also cited difficulties in 
bottle production.  They said Coca-Cola had been importing 
resin from South Korea for bottle production, but that these 
imports were stopped by the State Customs Committee, and 
shortly after, a man appeared offering to sell resin for what 
he promised would be a lower price.  Mammadova invited this 
unnamed man to submit an offer letter, but the offer letter 
he submitted made no mention of price.  Mammadova said she 
suspected this man planned to monopolize imports of resin and 
resell them at a higher price to the Azerbaijani market.  She 
said Coca-Cola held firm and refused to purchase his resin at 
his unnamed price, and after 28 days, their resin was 
released from Customs, but they were forced to pay 
approximately 2000 to 3000 AZN per day in handling charges. 
Gursan said that although police had halted a counterfeit 
cola operation in Ganja that was putting counterfeit product 
into re-used Coca-Cola bottles, they suspected the problem 
would reappear elsewhere. 
 
----------- 
IFIs' VIEWS 
----------- 
 
5.  (SBU) International financial institutions (IFIs) painted 
a similar picture of a business climate hostile to 
non-government actors.  IFC Country Officer Aliya Azimova 
said that the share of non-oil GDP generated by the 
government sector increased from 35% in 2004 to 81% in 2007, 
and that the non-oil share of private investment fell from 
13% to 7%.  EBRD Head of Office Francis Delaey said he found 
it curious that the Azerbaijani Government wanted to use only 
concrete in road construction and not asphalt, and 
said he suspected a well-placed concrete oligarch might be 
behind this.  He added that IFIs are generally seen as an 
 
impediment by the GOAJ because of the standards they impose. 
For example, he said the EBRD had been tasked with 
re-financing AzerEnergy so as to impose financial discipline, 
but that this decision had been made against the will of 
AzerEnergy who were refusing to share financial documents 
with the EBRD. 
 
6.  (SBU) EBRD's Delaey said that large-scale companies not 
shielded from bureaucracy by Production-Sharing Agreements 
(PSAs) were generally finding Azerbaijan to be a very 
difficult business environment.  As an example, he said that 
LaFarge and Heidelberg Cement had wanted to come to 
Azerbaijan but were not given access to quarries.  Delaey 
also said that large companies in Azerbaijan were forced to 
split themselves into smaller sub-companies so as to stay 
beneath the radar of the GOAJ.  Delaey mentioned a real 
estate firm that was managing a large building and had 
divided itself into a painting company, an 
elevator-maintenance company, and other such sub-companies. 
 
--------------------------- 
BUSINESS GROUPS' MIXED VIEW 
--------------------------- 
 
7.  (SBU) Rod Fraser of the British Business Group and 
Maksoud Mirzoyev of AmCham did not dispute that the business 
climate in Azerbaijan was challenging, but Mirzoyev described 
experiences with customs that were the opposite of 
Coca-Cola's.  Mirzoyev said that some companies that complain 
about difficulties with customs agents were themselves being 
dishonest by not showing customs agents full invoices for 
goods they imported.  Speaking in his capacity as Managing 
Director of McDonald's Azerbaijan, Mirzoyev said "I never pay 
bribes, I always show a full invoice, and I clear customs in 
two hours!" 
 
-------------------------------- 
THE PRESIDENT'S BUSINESS COUNCIL 
-------------------------------- 
 
8.  (SBU) In order to improve companies' efficiency within 
the Azerbaijani business climate, Mermoud suggested that 
companies advocate for the creation of a "President's 
Business Council" (PBC).  A PBC could include American 
companies operating in Azerbaijan as well as local companies 
and representatives from multinational companies operating 
around the world.  Mermoud said that, to be effective, the 
new PBC should be solutions-based, not problems-based but 
nevertheless have some sort of mechanism established to help 
resolve issues that arise.  Rather than providing a forum for 
business leaders to vent grievances, 
the PBC could be a forum where the President of Azerbaijan 
would meet with business leaders about his vision for the 
country and the role business could play in bringing that 
vision to life.  In time, Mermoud envisioned that such a 
Council would slowly allow the President to learn more about 
his country's business climate and the changes necessary in 
government to allow business to grow.  Business leaders such 
as Maksoud of AmCham, Fraser of BBG, and Jahangir Hajiyev, 
Chairman of the International Bank of Azerbaijan, expressed 
keen interest in such a project, but all agreed that for the 
PBC concept to be approved by the President, it must be 
emphasized that he would have ownership of such a group and 
would set its solutions-based agenda. 
 
9.  (SBU) Comment: Working with AmCham, we have been 
promoting the idea of some sort of business advisory council 
to the President or "Presidential Business Council" with 
Azerbaijani government and business leaders.  The next 
session of the bilateral Economic Partnership Commission 
(EPC) presents a good opportunity to secure GOAJ agreement to 
this concept, and we recommend that the Department include 
this idea in our proposed communique and list of deliverables 
for the next EPC meeting.  We will follow up 
with EEB and EUR. 
 
10.  (U) Mermoud cleared this message. 
DERSE