TROIKA DIALOG BUYS ARMENIA’S BANK FOR 13 MILLION USD

ITAR-TASS News Agency
September 21, 2007 Friday 3:32 PM EST
Russia

Russia’s Troika Dialog investment company has sealed a deal with
British businessman of Armenian origin Vache Manoukian to buy more
than a 96-percent stake in Armenia’s Armimpexbank, the chief of the
Central Bank of Armenia, Tigran Sarkisian, said on Friday.

The Central Bank of Armenia approved the deal following Troika Dialog’
s development strategy on Armenia’s financial market.

Sarkisian expressed confidence that new services and innovative
financial instruments will help the market to develop.

He said he pins hope for the investment group’s attraction of
investments in the country’s economic and financial sectors.

"We’ve been keeping a watchful eye on Armenia’s developing financial
market for a long while," Troika Dialog President Ruben Vardanian said.

He believes that Armenia’s financial system develops dynamically and
the capital market is also on the rise.

"Therefore we’ve matured an idea of creating an investment bank with
components of banking servicing there," Vardanian said.

He expressed confidence that Russia’s capital will maintain interest
in assets on the CIS space.

Troika Dialog paid 13.5 million US dollars for 96.15 percent of shares,
he said. Other shares are distributed among the Armenian Finance and
Economics Ministry and minority stakeholders.

In the upcoming months the bank’s charter capital will be increased
to 50 million US dollars. Later on, Armimpexbank should enter top
three Armenia’s banking agents, Vardanian said.