RUSSIAN "VTB BANK" PLANS TO FUND INVESTMENT PROGRAMS AT TOTAL SUM OF ABOUT $500MLN IN ARMENIA

Mediamax News Agency, Armenia
June 14 2007

Yerevan, June 14 /Mediamax/. Russian "VTB Bank" plans to fund
investment programs at total sum of about $500mln in Armenia.

Mediamax reports that the President of "VTB Bank" OJSC Andrey Kostin
said this in Yerevan today, speaking during the ceremony of opening
the new "Moscow" branch of "VTB-Armenia Bank" in the House of Moscow.

According to Kostin, during the "very important" meetings in the
Central Bank and the meeting with the Armenian Prime Minister Serzh
Sarkisian today, discussion of large-scale investment programs in
the spheres of energy and gas, extraction of natural metals and
avia-transportation took place.

"We want to become native in Armenia, and without real investments
in economy of the country, it is impossible to become native", Andrey
Kostin stressed.

As Mediamax was told in the press service of the government, after
the meeting of Andrey Kostin with the Armenian Prime Minister Serzh
Sarkisian, the President of "Vallex" Group Valeri Medzhlumian presented
the program for exploitation of Teghut copper-molybdenum deposit,
the funding of which will be taken up by "VTB Bank".

According to Medzhlumian, the preliminary conditions of the program,
costing $198mln, are already agreed upon between "Vallex" Group and
"VTB Bank".

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress