IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO AVOID APPRECIATION OF NATIONAL CURRENCY UNDER CONDITIONS OF RAPID ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WORLD BANK REPRESENTATIVE SAYS

Noyan Tapan
Dec 14, 2007

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN. Under conditions of rapid economic
development, it is impossible to avoid appreciation of the national
currency, and as a small country Armenia has difficulty with managing
the appreciation of the dram, Shigeo Katsu, WB Regional Vice President
for Europe and Central Asia, expressed this opinion on December
14. According to him, there are several measures (including increasing
the competition and making the economy more transparent) for dealing
with the difficult situation as a result of the dram’s appreciation.

S. Katsu pointed out the necessity of taking extra measures aimed at
extending the business environment and the investment field. In his
words, the rules of the game and the main players of the economic
field should be definite, while investors should be fully informed
about it. He said that there are still a number of problems in
Armenia, and foreign investments have consideraly contributed to
their solution. However, these investments were mainly made in some
sectors of the economy.

Nevertheless, S. Katsu positively assessed the two-digit growth of
the country’s economy. According to him, economic developments are
proceeding rapidly in Armenia and this growth is expected to continue
in the next years. He expressed an opinion that Armenia should be
able to increase its investment attractiveness not only in economy
but also in the sphere of educaion.