YEREVAN (Aysor.am), March 9–The Armenia-Syria Business Forum will be held in Aleppo on March 22-23 within the framework of an official visit of Armenia’s President Serge Sarkisian to Syria.
Executive Director of Armenia’s Chamber of Commerce Araik Vardanian said in an interview with Aysor’s correspondent that more than 15 Armenian organizations have already sent their applications [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA), March 5–The EBRD said it has provided a $10 million loan to Ameriabank for lending to local companies under its Medium Sized Co-financing Facility (MCFF). It said in a press release that the facility is aimed at supporting the development of the private sector in Armenia.
Ameriabank is the sixth largest bank in Armenia [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA), March 4—The trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Armenia is unique, said the Counselor of the Embassy of Russia in Armenia and the Head of Mission of the Federal Agency “Rossotrudnichestvo” in Yerevan, Victor Krivopuskov.
“Today, Russia’s share in the total commodity turnover of Armenia is more than 22percent,” he said Wednesday in [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA), March 4–Technoparks will play an important role in the development of science intensive economy in Armenia, said Tigran Sarkisan, Prime Minister of Armenia on Wednesday during the meeting with delegation of international investment company ARTOC group headed by Shaphik Gabre, President of the Company.
The prime minister welcomed Mr. Gabre and said that he [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA), March 3– International company ARTOC Group is interested in investing in Armenia, its president Shafik Gabr, told Tuesday in Yerevan during a meeting with Armenian Minister of Economy Nerses Yeritsian.The ministry’s press office said it was the first visit of Mr. Gabr to Armenia. He was quoted as saying that his company wants [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA), March 3–Armenian tax and customs authorities collected a total of 51.1 billion dram of different revenues in the first month of 2010, by 22.3 percent or 9.3 billion dram more than a year ago, the Ministry of Finance reported.
According to the ministry, 40.2 billion dram were collected as taxes and duties, of which [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA), March 2–Armenia welcomed Monday the reopening of a key border crossing on the Russian-Georgia border that had been used by Armenian businessmen as the only overland conduits to the outside world. The Upper Lars border crossing was closed by Moscow in June 2006 for repairs.
The crossing is effectively the only land crossing between [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA), March 1–Armenia’s economy in 2010 January grew by 2.4 percent compared to January 2009, the National Statistical Service reported. The overall GDP in current prices totaled 149.5 billion dram. The GDP deflator index was 110.5 percent against January 2009.
According to official figures, the construction sector grew by 5 percent resulting in a 0.4 [...]
YEREVAN (Public Radio of Armenia), February 26–The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a $5 million loan for the Additional Financing for the Armenia Social Protection Administration Project (SPAP). The Additional Financing will expand activities under the ongoing SPAP to further improve the delivery of social protection and employment services by strengthening institutions and [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA), February 25– Armenia can enjoy two times higher than the economic growth planned for 2010, if uses natural and human resources properly, Tatul Manaseryan, adviser to Armenian Parliament Speaker, said Thursday at a press conference. “I think that 1.2 percent is quite modest outlook. Armenia has greater room for stabilizing and developing its economy,” [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA), February 19–The Armenian median wage in January grew by 8.8 percent from a year before to 101,704 dram, the National Statistical Service reported. The public sector median wage rose by 12.3 percent year-on-year to 86,499 dram, but when compared to December 2009, it fell by 22.2 percent.In the private sector it grew 5.2 percent [...]
YEREVAN (RFE/RL), February 24–The main opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK) unveiled on Tuesday a detailed plan of actions which it said are necessary for a “radical transformation” of Armenia’s flawed economic system.
The 15-page program was developed by a team of economists led by former Prime Minister Hrant Bagratian. It lists 100 policy measures which the [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA), February 24—Bank VTB (Armenia) obtained Agent status in the market of mid-term and long-term state (treasury) coupon bonds in Armenia.
Bank VTB (Armenia) plans to activate transactions with securities as in primary, as well as in secondary markets and activate provision of investment services to the clients on the account of competitive tariff policy.
The bank [...]
YEREVAN (RFE/RL), February 23–Armenia’s worst recession since the early 1990s has come to an end, a senior government official claimed on Monday, citing official statistics that show the Armenian economy growing last month for the first time in over a year.
According to preliminary data released by the National Statistical Service (NSS), Gross Domestic Product (GDP) [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA), February 22— “About 500 young families in Armenia can obtain apartments though the government program ‘Available Apartments for Young Families,’” Mher Yedigaryan, Executive Director of Universal Credit Organization (UCO) “Apartments for the Youth” said.
“The demand of participation in the program will be rather high. The number of beneficiaries will be about 300 families [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA), February 22—”Armenia is confident to step into 2010 and intends to continue its policy of stable economic development,” said the Minister of Finance Tigran Davityan on Saturday during a speech at the Seventh International Economic Forum called “Bridge-2010,” in the Armenian resort town, Tsakhkadzor.
“We are optimistic to enter a stage of economic development [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA), February 19–Armenian entrepreneurs are becoming more optimistic about the availability of loans in 2010, Grant Thornton International reported in its 2010 International Business Report sent to ARKA News agency by Grant Thornton Amyot, audit and consulting company.
According to the report, the global crisis is subsiding now, and private companies’ hope for greater financing [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA), February 18– The introduction of new accumulative system will be effective and fair in Armenia, said Vardan Aramyan, Deputy Minister of Finance on Monday. “The current Armenian pension system does not give opportunities of worthy social protection to the citizens,” Aramyan said.It is ineffective and as in the whole world it goes to deficit. The [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA), February 16 — Mark Lewis, who headed an IMF delegation’s visit to Armenia, said in an interview with a local daily Kapital that Armenian GDP may exceed the projected 1.2 percent growth this year to reach 2 percent.He described, however, the government’s projection as “quite real.” According to the IMF’s “Prospects for the Global [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA), February 10—Karapet Gevorkian, a representative of German KfW Bank in Armenia, said today Armenia will join the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE).
He said Armenia’s membership with EFSE was discussed by Armenian Central bank governor Arthur Javadian during a December 2009 visit to Germany, when the shareholders of the European Fund for Southeast Europe [...]
YEREVAN (Golos Armenii), February 10 — The percentage of oil product imports on the Armenian market in 2009 decreased by 14 percent to 344,510 tons compared with 400,136 tons in 2008, according to the annual report published by the Customs Service of Armenia.
Mushegh Yelchyan, the deputy director of the largest Armenian oil company called Flash, [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA), February 9—Paylak Yailoyan, director of Yerevan’s metropolitan subway system, said last Friday construction of a new station to be located in the city’s Achapnyak district will kick off in 2011.
He said the construction will be backed by a loan from the Asian Development Bank and a government allocation. Talks with the bank were [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA), February 4–Armenian nominal median wages last December rose by 9.5 percent year-on-year to 131,850 dram, or $347. According to the Armenian National Statistical Service, the median wage in December grew by 27.5 percent from the preceding month, when it was 103,403 dram.
The highest median wage in December was in the southern province of [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA), February 3–The opening of the Armenian-Turkish border won’t affect demand for domestic products, Araik Vardanyan, executive director of Trade Chamber of Armenia, said on Wednesday.
He finds concern over possible dominance of Turkish goods on domestic market to the detriment of Armenian manufacturers groundless.
On the contrary, this will drive prices for some goods down.
Vardanyan [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA)–Arsen Ghazarian, the chairman of the Union of Armenian Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, said this year’s economic growth may exceed the government-projected 1.2 percent target for 2010.
In an interview with ARKA news agency, he said larger than projected economic growth can be achieved given a consistent implementation of government-designed anti-crisis measures and effective operation of [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA) – Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian recently instructed cabinet ministers to concentrate their efforts on economic growth in 2010.
“Summarizing 2009 results and hearing ministers’ reports, we should put a special emphasis on the accumulated resources and outline future steps to speed up economic growth in 2010,” the prime minister said. “For that, we [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA)–Armenia-based Ameriabank is set to receive $30 million worth loans from two large Dutch lending organizations- Dutch FMO (Nederlandse financierings-maatschappij voor ontwikkelingslanden n.v.) and DEG (Deutsche investitiх ons – und entwicklungsgesellschaft MBH).
A press release by Ameriabank said it has completed talks with both organizations and will direct $20 million at boosting businesses, and $10 [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA)–During the passing year Armenia has managed to avoid one of the worst economic scenarios, the secretary of the parliamentary faction of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Eduard Sharmazanov said.
“I can say that it is right to prevent rather than cure, and that is the way the government of Tigran Sarkisian and the [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA)–The South Caucasus Railways (SCR) company CEO Shevket Shaidulin said today the company does not plan to revise its pricing policy next year, but said some rate changes will be made in compliance with railway policies of former Soviet republics with regard to domestic and international cargo transportation.
Shaidulin said the main focus next year will [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA)–Vazgen Safarian, chairman of a presidential Public Council’s committee in charge of financial and economic issues, said today Armenia could sell $250 million worth electricity to neighboring Turkey if both countries normalized their relations.
Speaking at a news conference he said Armenian exports to Turkey may skyrocket to $300 million a year and apart from [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA)–The National Statistic Service of Armenia informed that between January-November 2009 the average monthly salary was 98,992 dram which was increased by 11.3 percent compared with the same period in 2008.
Salaries in budget organizations were 82,125 dram, which is 16.4 percent more than the period of January-November 2008. Compared with October 2009, its level [...]
YEREVAN (A1 plus) – The “State Treasury of Precious Metals and Stones” of the Armenian Ministry of Finance set the following prices in dram for state purchasing and issuing of a gram of chemically clean metal (for the state standard bar) of precious metals for December 21-27, 2009:
GOLD: Buy: 12,428.09 (-510.68), Issue price: 13,508.79 (-555.09),
SILVER: [...]
YEREVAN (A1 plus) – On December 18, the Armenian Government Press Center hosted a signing ceremony of two contracts by the Millennium Challenge Account -Armenia (MCA-Armenia) SNCO.
The contract for rehabilitation of the Ararat Valley Drainage System (Package I) was signed with Sahakyanshin CJSC (Armenia) and the Contract for Rehabilitation of Tertiary Irrigation Canals (Package I) [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA)–Armenian commercial banks’ credits to the private sector rose by 33.4 percent in January-September of 2009 to 381 billion dram.
According to their interim statements for Q3, their overall credits and other borrowings to clients rose to 691 billion drams at the end of September from 639.3 billion drams on December 31, 2008. It appears [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA)–World Bank (WB) Yerevan Office head Aristomene Varoudakis told journalists today that the WB plans to release a $160 million loan to Armenia in 2010 for the implementation of eight projects.
“We plan that in 2010 the WB Board of Directors will approve eight programs which will be ratified by Armenian National Assembly,” he said.
Aristomene [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA)–Araratbank said its indices have grown by 30 percent this year, including assets and credit investments. A deputy executive director of the bank, David Harutyunian, said the bank’s assets stand now at 40 billion dram, its credit portfolio at 15.5 billion dram and incomes at 350 million dram.
Speaking at a news conference Monday at [...]
YEREVAN (ARKA)–HSBC Bank Armenia Chief Executive Director Tim Slater told ARKA they expect the number of their clients using Internet banking services to grow from current 1,600 to 2,000.
In an interview with the agency he said Internet banking is available in 46 countries and in 42 it was recognized as the best Internet banking service.
He [...]
YEREVAN (Tert.am)–In January, Apaven LLC will present expert calculations about the possible effect the opening of the Armenia-Turkey border will have on the economy, said the company’s owner, Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen (Employers) of Armenia (UMBA) President Arsen Ghazaryan.
“In January, we will present more professionally what tariffs will be developed in case of a [...]
By Georg Khachaturyan
YEREVAN (ArmeniaNow)–Participants of an Information Technologies conference in Yerevan say the IT sector in Armenia has grown, despite the world economic crisis.
A the conference put on by Competitive Armenian Private Sector Project (CAPS), funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID, USAID’s David Hall said reforms in customs and taxation [...]
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–Armenia’s crisis-hit construction firms have received only a fraction of 20 billion drams ($52 million) in loan guarantees promised by the government in April, Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian said on November 19.
The government set aside the assistance in an effort to shore up the construction sector that has born the brunt of the recession [...]