Azerbaijan's finance ministry said Jan. 27 that the government raised its stake in OJSC International Bank of Azerbaijan to 76.73% from 54.96% following a capital injection of 600 million Azerbaijani manats.

The additional capital was injected by the government in December 2016 through a share issue to bolster the bank's financial health.

The government also reiterated its commitment to continue its support for the bank and carry out measures, including providing the lender additional capital in 2017 as necessary, to improve its financial situation.

The lender, which holds roughly a third of the country's banking assets, said in a statement on its website that its authorized capital increased to 1.24 billion manats following the share issue, according to a Jan. 28 Reuters report.

As of Jan. 27, US$1 was equivalent to 1.94 Azerbaijani manats.