ARMENIA RESOLUTE IN IDEA TO BECOME FINANCIAL CENTER AMID GLOBAL CRISIS

ARKA
Oct 20, 2008

YEREVAN, October 20. /ARKA/. Armenia will not change its decision
to become a financial center despite the global financial crisis,
RA Prime Minister Tigran Sragsyan said last week.

Armenian leadership, the Central Bank and leading market participants
met in Dilijan city on May 24 to discuss Armenia’s possible
transformation into a regional business centre.

"The financial crisis opens up new opportunities," the premier said,
summing up the Armenian delegation’s visit to Washington on October
9-15.

According to Sargsyan, many economists will state that a financial
crisis opens a new page in economy, as it helps to get rid of negative
uptakes, balancing markets and giving a realistic picture of financial
instruments.

The premier stressed the importance of drawing up concrete plans and
attracting people’s attention to the offered instruments.

"Our opponents, who say it is necessary to accumulate funds before
becoming a financial centre, are wrong, as no financial center has
been shaped this way," Sargsyan was quoted sating.

To assume leading positions, Armenia needs to conduct more financial
operations, offer deposit services for regional issuers, open
investment funds and asset management accounts, offer financial
services for both the Islamic world and Armenian communities, as
well as carry out effective finan cial reforms inside the country,
according to the prime minister.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress