Armenia's Economic Pulse

[KarotheGreat]

Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

Sargsyan, Al-Assad to open Armenian-Syrian business forum

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad is arriving in Armenia Wednesday on invitation of RA leader Serzh Sargsyan.

Tete-a-tete presidential meeting will be followed by expanded talks.

Mr. Al-Assad is also expected to meet with National Assembly Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Karekin II. He will also attend Matenadaran, the Institute of Ancient Manuscripts.

On June 19, Presidents Sargsyan and Al-Assad will open Armenian-Syrian business forum, the RA leader’s press office reported.

[Federate]

Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

Armenia Gears Up For Direct Flights To U.S.


Armenia’s national airline will likely start first-ever direct flights to the United States by the end of this year in line with a U.S.-Armenian “open skies” agreement signed in November, officials said on Wednesday.
The agreement, which entered into force on June 16, entitles Armenian and American airlines to operate regular flight services between any cities in the two countries. They will be free to determine the frequency of flights, the equipment used, and the prices charged.

Artyom Movsisian, head of the Armenian government’s Civil Aviation Department, told RFE/RL that Armenia’s leading carrier, Armavia, intends to fly to New York and Los Angeles and will soon apply to the U.S. Department of Transportation for a relevant license. He said a team of officials from the department’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will then arrive in Yerevan to look into Armenian aviation facilities, safety rules and practices, and their conformity with international standards.

Movsisian was confident that Armavia will get the green light to launch the service that will allow thousands of Armenians traveling to and from the United States each year to avoid lengthy layovers at European airports. They account for a large part of passengers taking daily flights between Yerevan and major European cities.

“Unfortunately, all these procedures necessary for the airline to carry out flights [to the U.S.] are a bit slow,” said Movsisian. “They could take up to five or six months.”

A spokeswoman for Armavia told RFE/RL that the private carrier, which presently flies to 26 destinations in Europe, Russia and the Middle East, is already preparing to acquire a long-haul jetliner for the transatlantic service. “As soon as we get the permission, we will be able to have a big plane in our fleet that will carry out those flights,” said Nana Avetisova.

According to Movsisian, the U.S. side has yet to name an American airline interested in flying to Armenia.

The U.S. Embassy in Yerevan, meanwhile, welcomed on Wednesday the entry into force of the U.S.-Armenian aviation agreement. “The agreement will strengthen and expand the already strong trade and tourism links between the United states and Armenia, and provide multi-million dollar benefits to American and Armenian carriers and the traveling public, while preserving the United States' commitments to aviation safety and security,” the embassy said in a statement.

http://www.armenialiberty.org/content/article/1761979.html

[Haykakan]

Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

Armenia Gears Up For Direct Flights To U.S.


Armenia’s national airline will likely start first-ever direct flights to the United States by the end of this year in line with a U.S.-Armenian “open skies” agreement signed in November, officials said on Wednesday.
The agreement, which entered into force on June 16, entitles Armenian and American airlines to operate regular flight services between any cities in the two countries. They will be free to determine the frequency of flights, the equipment used, and the prices charged.

Artyom Movsisian, head of the Armenian government’s Civil Aviation Department, told RFE/RL that Armenia’s leading carrier, Armavia, intends to fly to New York and Los Angeles and will soon apply to the U.S. Department of Transportation for a relevant license. He said a team of officials from the department’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will then arrive in Yerevan to look into Armenian aviation facilities, safety rules and practices, and their conformity with international standards.

Movsisian was confident that Armavia will get the green light to launch the service that will allow thousands of Armenians traveling to and from the United States each year to avoid lengthy layovers at European airports. They account for a large part of passengers taking daily flights between Yerevan and major European cities.

“Unfortunately, all these procedures necessary for the airline to carry out flights [to the U.S.] are a bit slow,” said Movsisian. “They could take up to five or six months.”

A spokeswoman for Armavia told RFE/RL that the private carrier, which presently flies to 26 destinations in Europe, Russia and the Middle East, is already preparing to acquire a long-haul jetliner for the transatlantic service. “As soon as we get the permission, we will be able to have a big plane in our fleet that will carry out those flights,” said Nana Avetisova.

According to Movsisian, the U.S. side has yet to name an American airline interested in flying to Armenia.

The U.S. Embassy in Yerevan, meanwhile, welcomed on Wednesday the entry into force of the U.S.-Armenian aviation agreement. “The agreement will strengthen and expand the already strong trade and tourism links between the United states and Armenia, and provide multi-million dollar benefits to American and Armenian carriers and the traveling public, while preserving the United States' commitments to aviation safety and security,” the embassy said in a statement.

http://www.armenialiberty.org/conten...e/1761979.html

O man, direct flights would make life a lot easier.

[Icy]

Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

IMF Approves Increase in Financial Support to Armenia; Total to Hit US $822.7 Million

Source:http://hetq.am/en/economy/imf-2/

Below is the text of a June 22, 2009 IMF press report regarding additional funding that the organization will make available to Armenia.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today completed the first review of Armenia’s economic performance under a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) and approved an increase in the IMF’s financial support to an amount equivalent to SDR 533.6 million (about US$822.7 million; or 580 percent of Armenia’s quota). These decisions enable the immediate release of SDR 102.7 million (about US$158.3 million), bringing the total disbursed to SDR 264.2 million (about US$400 million). The Board also granted a waiver of performance criteria on net banking system credit to the government and the program’s fiscal balance.

The revised arrangement will support the government’s economic program amid a sharper-than-expected impact from the global financial crisis. The 28-month SBA was approved on March 6.

The key objectives of the program are to help Armenia adjust to the external shock, maintain confidence in the currency and the financial system, and protect the poor. The sharp contraction in economic activity, the fall in remittances, an increase in unemployment, and difficult conditions in credit markets require an easing of macroeconomic policies and the implementation of several measures to stimulate domestic demand and create new jobs.

The main policies under the revised program are:

• Monetary conditions will be eased, including by widening the range of central bank instruments to provide longer-term dram liquidity to banks, and by increasing targeted on-lending to small and medium enterprises.

• Fiscal policy will also be eased. Despite the fall in fiscal revenue, the government will aim to maintain its overall expenditure at a level close to the original 2009 budget, protecting social spending while increasing expenditure on high-priority infrastructure projects, financed in large part by bilateral donors.

• Reforms will focus in particular on the continued strengthening of financial sector supervision and improving tax administration.

• Social safety nets will be enhanced by targeting social services to the poor.

Following the Executive Board’s discussion on Armenia, Mr. Murilo Portugal, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, stated: “Since the approval of the stand-by arrangement in March 2009, the external economic outlook has deteriorated significantly for Armenia. Falling private transfers and capital inflows have aggravated external imbalances and affected household incomes and investor confidence. Construction activity, the main driver of growth in previous years, has collapsed, and the economy is experiencing a deep contraction.

“The additional financial assistance from the Fund will help cover Armenia’s growing financing needs, while the recalibration of the authorities’ economic program will help them better respond to the deepening downturn. The program envisages an easing of monetary and fiscal policy to mitigate the severity of the crisis, while laying the ground for future fiscal consolidation primarily through one-off investment expenditures and measures to strengthen tax policy and administration. The authorities remain firmly committed to achieving the program’s objectives of adjusting to the changed external environment, supporting confidence in the currency and the banking system, and protecting the poor.

“Following the successful return to a flexible exchange rate, monetary policy will focus on maintaining low inflation. With the fall in inflation rates, the recent reductions of policy interest rates are appropriate. In addition, the authorities are taking active measures to provide liquidity to the banking system and help resume lending. Fiscal policy will provide crucial support by accelerating growth-enhancing investment in infrastructure and strengthening social safety nets.

“As external conditions improve in 2010, growth is expected to resume gradually. The short-term outlook remains, however, very challenging. Continued reforms will be necessary to boost the medium-term growth potential of the economy, including efforts to improve the business climate, completion of the unfinished tax policy and tax administration reform agenda, and progress on financial sector reforms.”

[Federate]

Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

Very interesting and ambitious project. Hope it gets going.
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Way for rail: Armenia getting back on commuter train track


The Russian managers of Armenia’s rail network have announced an imminent launch of a major commuter train service from Yerevan westward that they say will potentially open up new prospects for domestic rail traveling. Another service, they said, will provide holidaymakers with weekend trips to Lake Sevan.

A commuter train service between Armavir and Yerevan covering a distance of about 50 kilometers within 53 minutes will be inaugurated on July 10, according to a senior representative of the South Caucasus Railway (SCR) CJSC.

“This service will attract passengers and create a healthy competition with motor transport,” Marat Khakov, the company’s first Deputy Director General, said at a press conference on Thursday.

Passengers traveling by the commuter train will be offered additional services for their money, such as newspapers, refreshments, and others, he said.

A normal ticket price for the transport four times a day will be 300 drams (about 80 cents).

SCR also offers a “weekend” train for holidaymakers to the lakeside.

Yerevan-Shorzha will take passengers to the station on the eastern shore of Lake Sevan on Friday evenings and returns them on Sunday evenings (a one-way trip takes 3 h, 10 m).

The ticket price per person will be 9,000 drams (or $25), which will include stay inside security-guarded carriages overnight.

“This is a novelty. I think it will be in demand,” said Khakov.

SCR is a subsidiary of Russia’s state-run rail company, RZhD, that took over the Armenian network in early 2008 after signing a 30-year management contract with the Armenian government. The Russian company then pledged to invest a total of 74.5 billion drams (or about $206 million, according to the current exchange rate) into its Armenia operations, of which 59.3 billion drams (about $165 million) during the first five years of work.

In March, the Armenian government criticized the Russian operator over its failure to meet its investment obligations envisaged by the management contract prompting the latter’s assurances that the investment shortfall for 2008 would be eliminated in the course of 2009 in addition to the current year’s planned capital investment.

SCR’s representative on Thursday also said that a train service between Yerevan and the Black Sea port of Batumi in Georgia, originally planned for launch on July 1, will become available beginning from July 15.

“The delay is due to some problems existing today between SCR and the Georgian Railway company,” Khakov explained.

He said that due to investments made into railway infrastructure and safety standards, the time of travel on Yerevan-Batumi will be reduced by 80 minutes. Still the trip (leaving Yerevan at 10.00 p.m. and reaching Batumi at around 4.00 p.m. the next day) would take 18 hours. The same trip by bus takes about 11 hours.

Tickets will be available from 10,000 drams (about $28) and range to 21,000 drams (about $58). On board passengers will be offered meal, clean beddings, etc.

Also, as announced, Gyumri-Vanadzor-Ayrum will become another direction that will be operated this year, and the travel time on several routes will be reduced.

And Head of the SCR Directorate of Passenger Transportation Samvel Ghalechyan said that
additional charges will be made for baggage transported on trains.

“The company is currently conducting work on legalizing transportation of baggage, in particular there will be a compulsory payment for baggage on all commuter trains,” he said.

Ghalechyan added that the SCR transported 368,400 passengers in the five months of this year, which is a 30-40 percent increase over the volume of passenger transportation in Armenia during the same period of 2008.

http://armenianow.com/?action=viewArticle&AID=3889&CID=3703&IID=1242&lng=eng

[Federate]

Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

Russia tries to extend Armenian railways
Friday, July 3

The Armenian railways, which are now managed by Russia and consequently called South Caucasus Railways, are today connected with no other railway system but the Georgian one. The Russians now want to expand the South Caucasus Railways’ capacity and connect it with the rest of the world, suggesting that it could connect with Iran Railways and via Iran the Caspian Sea.

Making this link would enable Armenia to become part of north-south corridor connecting Russia and other CIS countries with Pakistan, India, China and so on. If the railway link is established Armenia could export agricultural products, chemical fertilisers and construction materials, promote tourism and so on.

http://www.messenger.com.ge/issues/1889_july_3_2009/1889_econ_two.html

[jgk3]

Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

sounds great, I'm happy to hear this.

[Anoush]

Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

Since the border opening with turkey, this sounds like a good news to me to enhance our economy. Thank goodness.

[KarotheGreat]

Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

Since the border opening with turkey, this sounds like a good news to me to enhance our economy. Thank goodness.

What border opening the latest news I've read about that was that there were no more talks about opening the borders.

[Federate]

Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

In the article, the development has more to do with the underdeveloped internal railway network of Armenia than anything else. The only external piece they mention is the railway linking Armenia with Georgia.

The Armenia-Georgia railway is already going to possibly be linked to the upcoming planned construction of Armenia-Iran railway. Now if only the Russians and Georgians would put differences aside and link their railways too. We would have a North-South railway that passes through Armenia... for once.