TEN YEARS FOR FORMATION OF ARMENIA’S SECURITIES MARKET

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
July 27 2007

YEREVAN, July 27. /ARKA/. Ten years are required for complete formation
of Armenia’s securities market, said Chairman of the Central Bank
of Armenia (CBA) Tigran Sargsyan. According to him, the rates of
development of Armenia’s securities market are conditions by the rate
of implementation of programs of the OMX operator, which intends to
purchase the Armenian Stock Exchange (ArmEx) and the depositary.

"The terms of development of Armenia’s securities market are acceptable
for Armenia, and the principal program is the OMX’s entry to Armenia’s
market," Sargsyan said.

According to him, the CBA is rendering assistance to the development
of Armenia’s securities market by affording enterprises ampler
opportunities to enter Armenia’s financial market, offering new
instruments to them.

‘We are making our first steps in the development of securities
market, and it is natural that the companies that will be the first
to issue their bonds on the market will be able to make use of the
CBA’s assistance," Sargsyan said.

He pointed out that the bonds of the CBA-rated companies will be
equaled to government bonds as to their reliability and liquidity
during REPO transactions between the CBA and commercial banks.

He pointed out that all the companies have equal rights to be rated
by the CBA. Sargsyan added that the CBA has no intention to limit
the terms of this instrument.

"Specifically, the Valleta Company with its initial public offering is
supposed to set an example to all the organizations seeking alternative
sources of financing and play an essential role in the reduction of
shadow economy," Sargsyan said.

In September 2005, the CBA published the first rating of Armenia’s
enterprises. The CBA was monitoring 30 enterprises in 2005, with 15
of them getting the first-calls ratings. If enterprises get higher
ratings, the CBA publishes their names with their consent.

The CBA is ready to accept bonds of the companies with high ratings
(A, B, C) as a security during REPO transactions banks. A privileged
scale of credit risks during the allocation of bank credits is intended
for the highly rated companies.

The CBA-published rating includes 29 enterprises.