EBRD TO LAY STRESS ON PRIVATE SECTOR IN ITS ACTIVITIES IN ARMENIA
YEREVAN, APRIL 6, NOYAN TAPAN. The fact of appointing a resident
representative in Yerevan by the European Bank of Reconstruction
and Development (EBRD) means that Armenia has become a most
important partner for the bank. The newly appointed head of the
EBRD Armenian Office Michael Weinstein stated this at the April 5
press conference. According to M. Weinstein, EBRD is going to lay
stress on the private sector during its activities in Armenia. At
the same time he did not exclide the possibility of big projects’
implementation. It was noted that in 2004 alone, agreements on the
implementation of 7 new programs of a total of 8 mln euros in Armenia
were signed. Besides, it is envisaged that this year the bank will
conclude 12 transactions of 15 mln euros in Armenia. The total value
of the Armenian agreements signed by EBRD made about 88 mln euros as
of Decemer 31, 2004. In the opinion of the former EBRD representative
to Armenia Nikolay Hadjiyski, over the last 2.5 years, SME, services,
the information technologies sphere, the financial sector and banking
system have undergone a considerable development. It was indicated that
Armeeconombank was the first Armenian bank, in whose capital ERD had
its share. At present, the same activities are being carried out with
respect to other commercial banks. In 2004, the Eurobank made direct
investments in the concern Shen. Negotiations on two other similar
transactions are underway, in case of success at least 20% profit
from each one are expected by the bank. At the same time N.Hadjiyski
pointed out that a great deal has to be done in order to develop the
investment environment in the country. According to him, recently
the investment climate in Georgia has been substantially improved
– the state started assisting the private sector. Incidentally,
the Eurobank expects similar processes to take place in Ukraine as
well. According to the EBRD regional director Mike Davey, although
the RA banking system has stabilized, it is far from being considered
developed. The amounts of deposits and loans are quite small compared
with the GDP. At the same time, M. Davey stated that he is “inspired
with what he has seen”. It was noted that EBRD is also interested in
agriculture and mortgage crediting.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress