Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse
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CHINA'S SUPPORT IRAN-ARMENIA RAILWAY PLAN GOOD CHANCE OF BREAKTHROUGH - ANALYST
11:30 â~@¢ 23.09.15
The Armenian authorities must spare no effort to accomplish the
construction of an Iran-Armenia railway and, if necessary, make its
strategic partner, Russia, understand that operation of the railway is
of vital importance to Armenia to break through the Azerbaijani-Turkish
blockade, a political analyst has said, attaching a high value to
China's possible assistance in the initiative.
"[It is vital] given that Armenia's eastern and western borders are
closed and the country has poor access to the north, Georgia, and
the south, Iran. The access is poor because the way ends in Georgia.
Indeed, it will be a highly valuable alternative way, which could
break the blockade against Armenia by Azerbaijan and Turkey," the
Gagik Hambaryan told Tert.am as commenting on the premier-led Armenian
delegation's recent visit to China.
Earlier, Minister Transport and Communication Gagik Beglaryan stated
that the issue of an Iran-Armenia railway would be on the agenda of
an Armenian delegation's visit to China this September and Armenia had
received business proposals, including ones from China. Armenian Prime
Minister Hovik Abrahamyan held a meeting with his Chinese counterpart
Li Keqiang in Beijing, on Tuesday. Armenia's premier is also scheduled
to meet with Ms Hu Xiaolian, Chairperson of the Export-import Bank
of China, and with the vice-president of the China Civil Engineering
Construction Corporation (CCECC).
It is planned to launch the railway construction in 2016; the project's
estimated duration is six years.
As to how realistic such a project is given the pessimistic attitude
our Armenia's strategic partner, Mr Hambaryan said that Russia is
seeking to promote an Iran-Azerbaijan-Russia railway project rather
than an Iran-Armenia-Georgia project. Another reason is that it is
easier and less expensive.
Russia is just concerned over its finances because, with a 90-km
section to be funded by Iran, the Armenian section is estimated at
US $3-3.5bn. "I think that Armenia has its own interests and, if
necessary, we could make our strategic partner understand that it is
their own business if they object. And Armenia must pursue its own
foreign policy, which may in many respect run counter to Russia's,"
the expert said.
Armenia cannot repeat a gross mistake similar to that of the gas
pipeline. Mr Hambaryan calls on Armenian oligarchs to invest in an
Iran-Armenia railway project.
As to China's consistent interest in the project, Mr Habamaryan said
that Turkey has overtly been sponsoring the clashes in eastern China.
"And the Turkish president, who has declared himself ombudsman of
Islam, has most actively been commenting on the clashes, defending
the Uyghurs."
That is, China and Armenia have identical interests in the region,
the expert added.
Hambaryan said he would prefer the road not to cross Turkic-speaking
states' territory. "So in that sense, China, which pursues major
interests, is eager to see that part of the Silk Road set in operation
as part of the plan to lift the Iran sanctions, and it would prefer
that route to extend from Iran to Armenia and then cross Georgia's
territory to reach Russia. For Iran, that route is of more importance
than the one that proposes connecting it with Azerbaijan and later
Russia," the analyst added.
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Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse
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ARMENIA CAN QUADRUPLE ELECTRICITY EXPORTS TO IRAN, DEPUTY MINISTER SAYS
YEREVAN, September 24. / ARKA /. Armenia can increase electricity
shipments to neighboring Iran four times, deputy energy and natural
resources minister Areg Galstyan told a September 23 public debate
on the future of the country's power grid.
According to him, in view of recent processes around the Iranian
nuclear program and the removal of Western sanctions from Iran, good
opportunities, including increase of exports to Iran are opening up
for Armenia.
He said the current annual exports of electricity- 1.8 billion KWh-
can be increased to 6.9 billion KWh.
Armenia and Iran are building now the third high-voltage electricity
transmission line which is planned to be completed until 2018.
The deputy minister spoke also about the Meghri hydroelectric power
station on the Armenian-Iranian border, saying this project is
mutually beneficial with all the arrangements being achieved and the
only obstacle to kicking it off is absence of stable funding for the
project, which the Iranian side has assumed.
The Meghri power plant is supposed to be the most powerful
hydroelectric power stations in the South Caucasus. From the Armenian
side the hydroelectric power station will be located in Meghri,
and from the Iranian side - in Karachilar.
The construction of the hydroelectric power stations in Meghri and
Karachilar will proceed simultaneously, allowing to scale back expenses
by 10-15%.
Each of the stations will generate yearly 793 mln kilowatt-hour of
electricity. The designed capacity of Meghri hydroelectric power
station is 130 megawatt.
The cost of the construction of Meghri hydroelectric power station is
estimated at $323 mln, to be funded by an Iranian investment company.
The generated energy will be shipped to Iran via a 230 KW transmission
line now under construction.
After the facility is built it will be operated for 15 years by the
Iranian Farat-Sepasat company.
The electricity will be supplied to Iran to pay off the Iranian
investment. After 15 years of operation, the hydropower will become
the property of Armenia. ---0----
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Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse
ARMENIA AND CHINA PREMIERS DISCUSS IRAN-ARMENIA RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT
15:13, 22 September, 2015
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Republic of Armenia Prime Minister
Hovik Abrahamyan met with Premier of the State Council of the People's
Republic of China Li Keqiang on September 22. "Armenpress" was informed
by the Information and Public Relations Department of the Government
of the Republic of Armenia, that the Premier of the State Council of
the PRC greeted the Prime Minister, thanking him for accepting the
invitation of visiting China and participating in Eurasian Economic
Forum. He highly valued the present level of Armenian-Chinese relations
and expressed his confidence that PM Abrahamyan's visit to China will
promote further development and strengthening of cooperation.
PM Hovik Abrahamyan thanked Li Keqiang for a warm reception and
noted that the development of Armenian-Chinese relations is one of
the priorities of Armenia foreign policy.
The Prime Ministers of the two courtiers attached importance to further
cooperation development and realization of joint projects in fields of
infrastructure development, energetics, transport, chemical industry,
agriculture, tourism, science, education, culture, civil aviation.
Armenia and Chinese Prime Ministers carefully discussed investment
projects of construction of Iran-Armenia railway and the North-South
Transport Corridor. China PM reconfirmed China's being interested
in the issue. He expressed readiness to implement joint projects in
infrastructure development sphere in Armenia, industry, humanitarian
and others fields.
PM Hovik Abrahamyan invited Premier of the State Council of the
People's Republic of China Li Keqiang to pay a working visit to
Armenia which the Premier gladly accepted.
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Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse
Armenian IT Startups Get Tax Breaks:
Dozens of small information technology (IT) firms set up in Armenia recently have reportedly been granted tax breaks which the Armenian government hopes will give a further boost to the fastest-growing sector of the domestic economy.
Under a government bill passed by the National Assembly in December, they will be exempt from profit tax until the end of 2019. They will also enjoy a preferential income tax rate for their employees, equivalent to 10 percent of their gross wages. The minimum payroll tax rate in Armenia is set at 24.4 percent.
The tax breaks are granted on a case-by-case basis by a special commission comprising not only government officials but also representatives of the country’s burgeoning IT industry. IT startups employing up to 30 people can apply for such privileges by December 2017.
“We had expected that an average of 40 companies will be set up [for the tax breaks] annually, but we issued [tax credit] certificates to this many firms as of September 9,” Bagrat Yengibarian, a member of the government commission, told the Armenpress news agency. “We are very happy that most of these companies are aiming to create their own products and sell them in the Armenian and international markets.”
Yengibarian, who also heads Armenia’s Enterprise Incubator Foundation promoting the spread of IT, said many of those firms are run by young IT specialists who have “worked at home” for foreign clients and have paid no taxes until now. “They are now coming out and registering firms,” he said. “It looked as though we [the state] will lose money by exempting them from taxes, but no, we will actually earn the state budget more revenue. We are enabling people to enter the tax field without fear.”
In Yengibarian’s words, the 40 startups cleared by his commission are currently employing 171 people. “They are tiny now but they will have a lot of revenue in the future,” added the official.
According to government data, nearly 400 IT firms operated in Armenia as of last December. Their combined output soared by 25 percent to $475 million last year. The figure was equivalent to about 5 percent of Armenia’s 2014 Gross Domestic Product.
The Armenian IT sector, which is dominated by local subsidiaries of U.S. software giants, generated only 1.7 percent of GDP in 2010. The total number of skilled personnel working there has since more than doubled to around 11,600, the government figures show. The export-oriented sector expanded by an average of 22 percent annually from 2008-2013.
Much of this rapid growth has been driven by U.S. hi-tech firms such as Synopsys, National Instruments, Mentor Graphics and VMware.
Several other international hi-tech heavyweights have established or stepped up their presence in Armenia in the past several months. Oracle, the world’s second largest software developer, opened a branch in Yerevan in November 2014, while Taiwan’s D-Link Corporation, a leading manufacturer of computer networking equipment, inaugurated its newly constructed research and development center in Gyumri in May 2015. Later in May, Microsoft announced plans to open in Yerevan soon a regional center for mobile applications and so-called “cloud computing,” which allows such software to be operated over the Internet.
The government expects the sector’s double-digit growth to continue unabated in the coming years. Some government officials have forecast that its annual operating revenue will pass the $1 billion mark by 2019.
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Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse
EurasiaNet.org
Sept 16 2015
Armenia Looks to China, Russia for Stronger Ties with Iran
September 16, 2015 - 10:37am, by Giorgi Lomsadze
In a setup indicative of the changing economic and, possibly,
geopolitical dynamics in the South Caucasus, Armenia hopes China soon
will agree to pay for a planned railway to Iran. At the same time, it
also is lobbying for a free-trade agreement between Iran and the
Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union.
Economically and otherwise dependent on the big brother to the north,
Russia, and sandwiched between hostile Azerbaijan and Turkey to the
east and west, Armenia hopes that things can go south, to Iran. The
planned railway could give Iran access to the Black Sea for
large-scale shipments of exports and landlocked Armenia a significant
role as a transit country.
The state of the railway link is not clear yet. Iranian officials said
they are building their portion of it, while Armenia is looking for
the means to construct its own. Armenian Prime Minister Hovik
Abrahamian hopes to scare up investment for the railroad from China
during his upcoming September 23-25 visit. Yerevan and Beijing have
already been in touch about the railway, according to Abrahamian.
For China, projects like the Armenia-Iran railway dovetail with its
plan for an East-West trade and infrastructure corridor. Beijing is
already looking into energy and logistics infrastructure development
in Armenia's neighbor, Georgia, where Chinese business initiatives are
warmly embraced.
As China is increasing its presence in the Caucasus, Iran may follow
suit. The compromise on Iran's nuclear program (still awaiting an
all-clear in the US Senate) has encouraged Tehran to explore trade
opportunities in its neighborhood. Tehran already expressed an
interest to get onboard with the energy export corridor that for now
begins in Azerbaijan and goes to Europe.
Russia in the past was believed to want to hem in Iranian economic
clout in the Caucasus; mainly in Armenia. But with a growing
partnership with Tehran on the Syrian crisis and a desire to increase
the influence of the Eurasian Economic Union, of which Armenia is a
member, the Kremlin no doubt senses an opportunity. Along with fellow
EEU members Belarus and Kazakhstan, Moscow is reviewing the motion for
a free-trade agreement with Iran.
The deal "would involve a range of goods that will be subject to
exemptions, and negotiations are in progress for each of them,"
Armenia's Deputy Foreign Minister Shavash Kocharian said in a recent
interview with the Armenian daily Haykakan Zhamanak.
These movements may put more pressure on Georgia to allow a northeast
railway transit through its territory. Such a route would go through
breakaway Abkhazia, where Russian troops have been busy restoring
Soviet-era tracks. Faced with domestic pressure not to compromise on
the railway with Russian troops stationed in Abkhazia, Tbilisi insists
that restoration of the Russia-Georgia-Armenia link is not possible
for now.
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Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse
Levon Hayrapetyan freed from house arrest
12:34 ¢ 16.09.15
Levon Hayrapetyan, the Russian-Armenian businessman convicted over an
oil company's illicit sale, has been released from his house arrest.
Law enforcement sources have told the news agency TASS that the
precautionary measure was replaced by a petition for not leaving the
country after the earlier court ruling expired on September 15.
Hayrapetyan had been under house arrest since July 17, 2014. He was
charged with two counts of embezzlement: those of the funds sold by
the company Bashneft, and an amount of US $700,000 which he allegedly
received from the mother of Igor Izmestev, a former senator of
Bashkortostan .
The Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation did not
confirm the charges in the second case, returning the materials for a
repeated expert examination. Meantime, the 12 months' maximum period
for house arrest expired.
The probe into the circumstances of the latter proceeding was earlier
reported to have been extended until November.
The businessman is accused for involvement in the sale of Bashneft
company's shares to the Joint-Stock Financial Corporation Sistema.
Basnneft was later returned to the state in the wake of an arbitration
proceeding.
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Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse
I hope this goes through without a problem. We (Armenia and Iran) been wanting this for a long time now so it seems the free trade will happen.
fingers crossed.Leave a comment:
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Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse
ARMENIA STARTS TO PROMOTE FREE TRADE ZONE BETWEEN EEU AND IRAN
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Sept 11 2015
Sep 11 - 2:11 pm
Armenia has initiated the creation of a free trade zone between the EEU
and Iran, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister, Shavarsh Kocharyan, said.
"Three months ago we sent an official letter to the Eurasian
Economic Commission suggesting to start a procedure of forming a
more preferential trade regime between the Eurasian Economic Union
and Iran. It is proposed to create a special working group with the
participation of representatives of the EEC and the EEU," Kocharian
noted.
Shavarsh Kocharyan reminded that Iran has expressed an interest in
creating a free trade zone for a long time. In the case of signing
the agreement, Armenia will be able to benefit from its partnership
with the EEU, Arka reports.
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Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse
Armenian Clothing Manufacturer Makes it Big in Europe
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Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse
ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN HIGH-LEVEL TALKS HELD IN MOSCOW - PHOTOS/VIDEO
09:15 â~@¢ 08.09.15
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met with President Vladimir Putin
of Russia as part of his working visit to the country.
According to a press release by the presidential office, the two
leaders discussed a broad framework of multilateral and bilateral
issues, focusing particularly on cooperation in the economic and
humanitarian sectors between the two strategic allies. They also talked
of future partnership plans stemming from Armenia's integration into
the Eurasian Economic Union.
The presidents further exchanged thoughts on current regional and
international developments, addressing, among other things, the
unsettled Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
President Putin hailed his Armenia counterpart, thanking him for
accepting his invitation to visit the country. "It is very pleasing
to know that Russia remains a leading economic partner of Armenia.
Compared to 2013, our turnover essentially increased, but the first
two quarters of the past year have seen changes towards a decline.
There are certain subtleties to which I do not have a response now. We
are ready to discuss those questions with you today," he said.
Thanking the Russian leader for the invitation, President Sargsyan
said with satisfaction that the Armenian-Russian bilateral agenda
continues to be enriched with new initiatives.
"Our meetings, held periodically, have allowed us to sum up the
previous agreements and respond to the questions arising in the
course of time. Last time we together thoroughly discussed our
agenda in Yerevan, as you attended the events dedicated to the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire, and we did,
of course, exchange views at the Moscow-hosted events dedicated to
the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. And
[we continued the talks] also in Ufa. Questions of major importance
were resolved for Armenia over that period, so I would like to thank
you at once for [the decision] to hand over the Permyakov criminal case
to Armenia's justice authorities. I am very grateful to you. Today,
we signed an agreement with the Ministry of Energy, agreeing to reduce
the natural gas price by US $25 Dollars to $165. A $200 million worth
loan agreement was signed for upgrading the Armed Forces' arsenal,"
the Armenian leader said.
The president also highlighted the recently signed agreement on
modernizing the Nuclear Power Plant and other integration processes
following Armenia's membership in the EEU.
The president added that the price of energy carriers remains a major
issue for Armenia, with the fluctuating currency exchange rates
negatively affecting the market. Sargsyan said he is hopeful that
that problem too, will find a solution.
He further addressed the past days' armed tensions along the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contact,
saying that Armenia had no choice but to react adequately in such
a situation.
He added that the bilateral humanitarian relations are developing very
dynamically, with the opening of the Lomonosov Moscow University's
branch in Yerevan being a good example of that. "The Russian gymnasium
will begin its activities soon, and in just a couple of week,s we
will conduct the third international student conference of the Moscow
State Institute of International Relations. I want to also state that
the inter-governmental committee works very well," Sargsyan said,
once again thanking the Russian president for the meeting.
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