INVESTMENTS IN IT-SPHERE IN ARMENIA IN 2005 TOTAL $100 MILLION

ARMINFO News Agency
October 6, 2006 Friday

According to rough estimates, investments in the sphere of information
technologies in Armenia for 2005 made up about $100 million, Armen
Grigoryan, Secretary of Prime Minister’s Council for Promotion of IT
Development, told journalists, Friday.

He said the USA and Europe are the largest investors in the sphere.
These countries make big orders of information products in Armenia.
He said computer programs worth $100 million are created in Armenia
yearly. He believes that IT- market in Armenia develops and has good
prospects given the entry of such companies as Microsoft, Synopsys,
Lycos, Alcatel and others into the country. Almost all these companies
intend to create new jobs and need professional programmers. Thus,
Synopsys-Armenia alone intends to increase the number of its employees
from the present 500 to 5,000.

A. Grigoryan said the monopoly of ArmenTel CJSC, lack of e-control
system and the outdated system of education are obstacles to the
growth of IT-sector. He hopes that ArmenTel’s problem will be solved
soon. As regards the e-management, it requires unification of the
e-management programs of different ministries and departments, he said.