Armenia's Economic Pulse

[Mher]

Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

5.5% growth in Economic Activity Index in January
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/836867...n-january.html

[Haykakan]

Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

What about the official growth figures.
Petrol import is a monopoly, thats what he was hinting. Loading petrol tankers for export in Georgia ( ex local taxes) and pay at the Armenian customs would not justify the mentioned prices .

Yeh I don't doubt any of that. I mean if he wants to talk about that then fine but he makes it sound much worst then it is for no good reason.

[londontsi]

Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

He talks about real problems but uses very bad examples and analogies which really make me question his sincerity. How can you compare Georgia's economy to Armenia's? We are talking about access to seas and therefore markets vs landlocked, blockaded. He talks about oil prices being higher in Armenia then in Georgia well doh Georgia is a hub for oil and gas of course it is cheaper there then in Armenia! Hell just compare the prices of gasoline in California with those in Michigan, and Michigan with some other state and you will see huge differences in price within the same country let alone international differences which is what this video is discussing. Things like corruption are important to talk about but here again he talks about it as if that does not exist in other countries. The more you realize what this guest is saying the more you wonder about his intentions given the fact that he is a economist and knows about the discrepancies I just mentioned.

What about the official growth figures.
Petrol import is a monopoly, thats what he was hinting. Loading petrol tankers for export in Georgia ( ex local taxes) and pay at the Armenian customs would not justify the mentioned prices .

[Haykakan]

Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

http://www.kentron.tv/index.php/am/p...-18-02-16.html

He talks about real problems but uses very bad examples and analogies which really make me question his sincerity. How can you compare Georgia's economy to Armenia's? We are talking about access to seas and therefore markets vs landlocked, blockaded. He talks about oil prices being higher in Armenia then in Georgia well doh Georgia is a hub for oil and gas of course it is cheaper there then in Armenia! Hell just compare the prices of gasoline in California with those in Michigan, and Michigan with some other state and you will see huge differences in price within the same country let alone international differences which is what this video is discussing. Things like corruption are important to talk about but here again he talks about it as if that does not exist in other countries. The more you realize what this guest is saying the more you wonder about his intentions given the fact that he is a economist and knows about the discrepancies I just mentioned.

[londontsi]

Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

http://www.kentron.tv/index.php/am/programs/informational-political/urvagic/item/9089-urvagic-18-02-16.html

[Haykakan]

Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

Peace With Azerbaijan, Turkey ‘Not Vital For Armenia


Emil Danielyan
Հրապարակված է՝ 16.02.2016

The resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations are not a necessary condition for Armenia’s sustainable development, according to President Serzh Sarkisian.

In a speech delivered in Yerevan late last week, Sarkisian also indicated that Armenians should not expect to have peace with Azerbaijan and Turkey in the foreseeable future. The two Turkic nations will remain an “impassable quagmire” for Armenia, he said.

“The notion that we will not prosper as long as the Karabakh problem is unresolved and the Turkish blockade [of Armenia] is not lifted is unacceptable,” Sarkisian told senior government officials, lawmakers and judges. “That is not the reason for problems with governance in our country.”

Ankara and Baku, Sarkisian stressed, have failed and will fail to clinch unilateral Armenian concessions with their long-standing pressure on Yerevan.

“We have been living in these conditions for 25 years,” he went on. “We have already grown accustomed and adapted to these conditions. We do not and will not link chances of our progress with solutions to these problems.”

The issue brought up by Sarkisian was hotly debated in Armenia in 1997-1998 during the final months of President Levon Ter-Petrosian’s rule. Ter-Petrosian publicly advocated more Armenian concessions to Azerbaijan at the time, saying that Armenia will not be able to recover from its post-Soviet economic collapse without a Karabakh settlement.

Sarkisian, then a minister of interior and national security, was among key members of Ter-Petrosian’s cabinet who openly challenged his view. The resulting government infighting culminated in Ter-Petrosian’s resignation in February 1998.

Many Western policy-makers and analysts likewise asserted throughout the 1990s that Armenia’s economic development hinges on the reopening of its borders with Azerbaijan and Turkey. They said this would make the landlocked country far more attractive to foreign investors and reduce high transportation costs incurred by Armenian exporters.

Yet despite the closed borders, economic growth in Armenia accelerated in the following years, hitting double-digit rates from 2001 until the global financial crisis of 2008-2009.

In 2006, the then head of the World Bank office in Yerevan, Roger Robinson, admitted that the rapid growth has taken Armenia’s Western donors by surprise. Over the past decade, the donors have put the emphasis on improvement of the domestic business environment in their policy recommendations made to the Armenian authorities. Economic implications of the disputes with Azerbaijan and Turkey have rarely been mentioned by them in public statements.

In his speech, Sarkisian asserted that Yerevan remains committed to continuing the difficult search for Karabakh peace. But, he said, the Karabakh Armenians’ right to self-determination -- a euphemism for international recognition of their secession from Azerbaijan -- must be the key element of a peace deal.

By contrast, Baku insists on a restoration of Azerbaijani control over Karabakh. The Turkish government backs this stance, making such a settlement a precondition for establishing diplomatic relations with Armenia and opening the Turkish-Armenian border.

“At the moment, I see no possibility of any progress in relations with Turkey,” said Sarkisian.

“We must come to the terms with the fact that we have no real partners east of [the Karabakh towns of] Martakert and Martuni and west of Gyumri and Armavir (Armenian towns close to the Turkish border) … Let us think that there is a bottomless and impassable quagmire over there,” concluded the Armenian president.

http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/27555552.html

You have to admire what the actions of the likes of Serj and Kocharian have resulted in when it comes to geopolitics. They refused to compromise our core interests despite seemingly insurmountable odds. I wish I could say the same for their domestic policies.

[Mher]

Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

Peace With Azerbaijan, Turkey ‘Not Vital For Armenia


Emil Danielyan
Հրապարակված է՝ 16.02.2016

The resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations are not a necessary condition for Armenia’s sustainable development, according to President Serzh Sarkisian.

In a speech delivered in Yerevan late last week, Sarkisian also indicated that Armenians should not expect to have peace with Azerbaijan and Turkey in the foreseeable future. The two Turkic nations will remain an “impassable quagmire” for Armenia, he said.

“The notion that we will not prosper as long as the Karabakh problem is unresolved and the Turkish blockade [of Armenia] is not lifted is unacceptable,” Sarkisian told senior government officials, lawmakers and judges. “That is not the reason for problems with governance in our country.”

Ankara and Baku, Sarkisian stressed, have failed and will fail to clinch unilateral Armenian concessions with their long-standing pressure on Yerevan.

“We have been living in these conditions for 25 years,” he went on. “We have already grown accustomed and adapted to these conditions. We do not and will not link chances of our progress with solutions to these problems.”

The issue brought up by Sarkisian was hotly debated in Armenia in 1997-1998 during the final months of President Levon Ter-Petrosian’s rule. Ter-Petrosian publicly advocated more Armenian concessions to Azerbaijan at the time, saying that Armenia will not be able to recover from its post-Soviet economic collapse without a Karabakh settlement.

Sarkisian, then a minister of interior and national security, was among key members of Ter-Petrosian’s cabinet who openly challenged his view. The resulting government infighting culminated in Ter-Petrosian’s resignation in February 1998.

Many Western policy-makers and analysts likewise asserted throughout the 1990s that Armenia’s economic development hinges on the reopening of its borders with Azerbaijan and Turkey. They said this would make the landlocked country far more attractive to foreign investors and reduce high transportation costs incurred by Armenian exporters.

Yet despite the closed borders, economic growth in Armenia accelerated in the following years, hitting double-digit rates from 2001 until the global financial crisis of 2008-2009.

In 2006, the then head of the World Bank office in Yerevan, Roger Robinson, admitted that the rapid growth has taken Armenia’s Western donors by surprise. Over the past decade, the donors have put the emphasis on improvement of the domestic business environment in their policy recommendations made to the Armenian authorities. Economic implications of the disputes with Azerbaijan and Turkey have rarely been mentioned by them in public statements.

In his speech, Sarkisian asserted that Yerevan remains committed to continuing the difficult search for Karabakh peace. But, he said, the Karabakh Armenians’ right to self-determination -- a euphemism for international recognition of their secession from Azerbaijan -- must be the key element of a peace deal.

By contrast, Baku insists on a restoration of Azerbaijani control over Karabakh. The Turkish government backs this stance, making such a settlement a precondition for establishing diplomatic relations with Armenia and opening the Turkish-Armenian border.

“At the moment, I see no possibility of any progress in relations with Turkey,” said Sarkisian.

“We must come to the terms with the fact that we have no real partners east of [the Karabakh towns of] Martakert and Martuni and west of Gyumri and Armavir (Armenian towns close to the Turkish border) … Let us think that there is a bottomless and impassable quagmire over there,” concluded the Armenian president.

http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/27555552.html

[Mher]

Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

Georgia, Iran In Fresh Talks On Energy Supplies Via Armenia

Georgian Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze called for mutual supplies of electricity between Georgia and Iran through Armenia at the start of a visit to Tehran on Tuesday.

Kaladze was scheduled to meet with his Iranian counterpart Hamid Chitchian and other senior Iranian officials for fresh talks expected to focus on the possibility of Iranian natural supplies to Georgia through a pipeline running across Armenia.

“When we have a surplus of water and hydropower in the spring and summer periods, Iran needs electricity and imports it from Armenia,” Kaladze said in comments to the Georgian Energy Ministry’s press office cited by Russian news agencies.

“We have a possibility of selling electricity to Iran through Armenia [during spring and summer months] and import it from Iran in the winter period -- when electricity consumption is at its peak -- through Armenia,” he added before the planned talks with Chitchian.

Kaladze, Chitchian, Armenian Energy Minister Yervand Zakharian as well as the chief executive of a Russian electric utility already met in Yerevan in late December to explore ways of significantly boosting power supplies among their countries. Zakharian said afterwards that their countries could do that after two new power transmission lines connecting Armenia with Georgia and Iran go on stream in 2017-2018.

The Georgian and Iranian governments also reportedly negotiated around that time on possible Iranian gas supplies to Georgia via Armenia. The head of the Iranian National Gas Export Company, Alireza Kameli, claimed in early January that two sides have already reached a tentative agreement on the matter.

Georgia has purchased the bulk of its gas from Azerbaijan for the past decade. The Georgian government announced in October that it is now considering buying gas also from Russia or Iran.

Kaladze told journalists in Tbilisi on Monday that the gas supplies will be on the agenda of his trip to Iran. He reiterated that Georgia could soon import Iranian gas via Armenia or Azerbaijan.

“We must make the most of this country’s resources,” the Georgian minister said in Tehran. “We must do everything to implement new and interesting projects.”

http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/27555926.html

[Mher]

Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

Product of ElectricYerevan movement

Armenian Power Grids ‘More Efficient’ Under New Ownership


The new owner of Armenia’s debt-ridden electricity distribution network has reduced its massive losses within months after buying it from a state-controlled Russian company, Energy Minister Yervand Zakharian said on Wednesday.

Meeting with visiting executives of the Moody’s credit ratings agency, Zakharian praised the change of ownership and a resulting series of “measures” which he said have been taken at the Electricity Networks of Armenia (ENA) utility. “As a result, electricity losses there have decreased,” he said, according to his press office.

Those losses are now “close” to a 11.2 percent limit set by Armenian state utility regulators, added the minister. This has contributed to the “financial stability” of the country’s overall energy sector, he said.

The Tashir Group of Samvel Karapetian, a Russian-Armenian billionaire, acquired the ENA from Inter RAO, a Russian energy giant, in a deal completed in October. Karapetian pledged to make the troubled utility “much better under our management.”

“It will become profitable,” the Armenian-born tycoon said in December.

The ENA had incurred mounting losses since 2010 despite repeated increases in electricity prices approved by the regulators. It had $220 million in outstanding debts to Armenian power plants and commercial banks as of September.

The most recent electricity price hike announced by Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) in June 2015 sparked two-week demonstrations in Yerevan. They forced the Armenian government to keep the energy tariffs unchanged for most households and some small businesses through a subsidy.

The protests were driven by a widely held belief that Armenians are being made to pay for widespread corruption within the ENA management. While defending the tariff rise, government officials acknowledged that the power grids have been mismanaged by the Russians.

In an October statement, Karapetian vowed to crack down on “corrupt employees,” modernize Armenia’s power distribution facilities and thereby cut ENA losses. That, he said, would enable the company to avoid further price hikes in the future.

The ENA is now reportedly managed by Kaskad-Energo, a Russian energy firm which is part of Tashir Group. Kaskad-Energo specializes in manufacturing low-voltage electric equipment and installing it at residential and office buildings and industrial enterprises.

http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/27558427.html

[Zeytun]

Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

Experts on Iran discuss idea of Armenia becoming “Hong Kong”

http://www.mediamax.am/en/news/society/16815/

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Yerevan State University (YSU) Chair of Iranian Studies Department Vardan Voskanyan is confident that cooperation between Armenia and Iran will gain new scope and speed.

In an interview with Mediamax, Vardan Voskanyan observed that after lifting of sanctions, Armenia would play a highly significant role in the context of Iran opening to the world, which could already be noticed.

According to the expert, Armenia and Iran are very familiar with one another by tradition. The same cannot be said about Iran and Europe or Russia relations.

“Therefore, Armenia can play a substantial role in the context of relations with Iran, performing as a “gate” to Iran or as an important joint between Iran and Europe, Iran and Russia. Moreover, with our country’s potential in Iranian studies Armenia can provide certain expertise to representatives of countries unfamiliar with Iran in a number of areas, including the culture of the country”, noted the expert, commenting on Mediamax’s request the idea of businessman and philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan about Armenia becoming a “Hong Kong” for Iran.

In regards to opportunities of the tourism sector, Vardan Voskanyan noted that Armenia could be an attractive destination for Iranian tourists.

“Tourism can become a very important direction for our country. Armenia is attractive for Iranian tourists, and their numbers can be notably increased. We should also consider that tourists coming from Europe and Russia can use Armenian roads to enter Iran. From this point of view, Armenia can turn into an important platform,” said the expert and added that in this case high prices for airplane tickets would remain the only obstacle.

Senior Researcher at Institute of Oriental Studies of Armenian National Academy of Science Gohar Iskandaryan believes that certain ideas expressed by Ruben Vardanyan can “truly work”.

“I share those views, especially the idea to use Armenia’s advantages of being a EAEU member and having privileged trade relations with EU. In this context, Armenia can arrange it with Iran to transfer their semi-finished product to our country and complete the manufacture here. With “Made in Armenia” labels attached to the product, it can be easily exported to the markets of EAEU and EU member countries. I believe this will be profitable for both countries,” the expert told Mediamax.

Gohar Iskandaryan feels somewhat reserved about Ruben Vardanyan’s suggestions on new perspectives in the tourism sector for Armenia. According to her, in recent years Georgia has become more attractive for Iranian tourists due to more affordable services and reasonable prices.

“Armenia is more of a transit country for Iranian tourists who get to Georgia through our territory,” said the expert.

Gohar Iskandaryan noted that for Armenia to become a regional hub it would need political will from both countries and large financial means to bring joint Armenian-Iranian projects to life. On the way to that goal, first of all Armenia should have high quality road, railway and airway infrastructure.

“With Iran, we can implement numerous cooperation projects in favor of Armenia. From this standpoint, I agree with Ruben Vardanyan,” said Gohar Iskandaryan.

I agree with the fact that georiga and Azerbaijan are more attractive to Iranian tourist given the fact that both countries have resort areas on the sea.
The government should work hard to find out ways to maximize the benefits. Buildings new industries, casinos, there are so many things we can do,they need to research and see what is feasible and healthy.