President Serzh Sargsyan visits Liqvor pharmaceutical company

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YEREVAN, MARCH 10, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan
visited Liqvor CJSC on March 7. According to the director general of
the company Sergei Matevosian, the visit of the president was related
to March 8 as most of Liqvor’s employees are women, while the other
purpose of the visit was to become acquainted with the company’s
activities.

S. Matevosian said that Liqvor was founded in 1991. It mainly produces
intravenous solutions and ophthalmological drugs (60 types of drugs of
26 pharmaceutical groups), and their production is sold both in Armenia
and almost all CIS countries. About 40% of production is exported. The
company has 83 main employees, while their total number makes 107.

It was mentioned that the global economic crisis has had its impact on
Liqvor, mainly in respect of foreign markets, whereas sales in the
domestic market have not declined.

In the words of S. Matevosian, the company has submitted a business
plan to the RA government’s anticrisis operative staff with an
expectation of support, and the business plan is now being discussed.
The RA minister of economy Nerses Yeritsian said that Liqvor exports
medicines of a million dollars a year, which is quite a high index for
a pharmaceutical company. The business plan of the company is related
to construction of a new factory, which will enable to create jobs in
construction sector and to establish a high-tech production, which will
provide Liqvor with an opportunity to increase its exports.

The indicated business plan envisages a 10-year period, and after its
implementation the value of the company will grow several fold.
Besides, it is envisaged introducing GMP standards at Liqvor and
increasing the range of its production based on own scientific
developments. According to the minister, in recent years the company’s
revenues grew by 30-50% annually, and Liqvor can build a new factory
with its own resources, but state assistance would allow it to reduce
the period of construction work. He noted that one guarantee of success
of Liqvor’s plans is 40% participation of the EBRD in the company’s
capital (August 2005).

Liqvor has submitted a business plan on receiving a 2.4 million dollar
credit to the government. Out of this sum, 1.8 million dollars will be
spent on construction of a new factory in Jrvezh district of Yerevan’s
Nor Nork community. The amount of envisaged investments makes 3m 480
thousand dollars.