Implementation Of Programs Of Unireso Insurance Company And Gegamet

IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAMS OF UNIRESO INSURANCE COMPANY AND GEGAMET MINING COMPANY PROCEEDS ACCORDING TO SCHEDULE

Noyan Tapan
March 24, 2009

YEREVAN, MARCH 24, NOYAN TAPAN. The implementation of the programs
of Unireso insurance company and Gegamet mining company proceeds
according to the schedule. Responding to NT correspondent’s questions,
the Director of the programs’ initiator Uniinvest company, Chairman
of the Board of Unibank (Armenia) and Chairman of the bank’s founder
Uniastrum Bank (Russia) Gagik Zakarian said that Unireso will start
functioning soon.

In his words, everything is ready for Unireso’s work, and 2 million
dollars has been invested. The major programs and the conditions of
service provision by their company are now being developed.

It was mentioned that in the initial period Unireso will be engaged
in insurance of cars, real estate and equipment, and it also plans
to provide life and health insurance services starting from 2010.

G. Zakarian said that about 30% of equipment for Gegamet has been
purchased.

Mining work and the plant to be built are now being designed, and
the licences and permissions necessary for the company’s activity
are being received from the respective Armenian bodies.

"I think that the operation of the mine and construction of the plant
will begin in the summer of 2009," he noted.

To recap, in November 2008 it was announced that the indicated programs
would be launched.

G. Zakarian and the founder of Reso-Garantia insurance company (Russia)
Sergei Sarkisov are the founders of Unireso. According to G. Zakarian,
it is envisaged increasing Unireso’s authorized capital to 10 million
dollars in the next 2-3 years.

The cost of Gegamet invetsment program makes 25 million dollars. It
is being jointly implemented by Uniastrum Bank, Unibank, Metta Group
(Armenia) and Torront Holdings Limited (Great Britain). The investment
project includes operation of iron-chromium mines in Shorzha and Jil,
construction of an ore mining and processing enterprise, as well as
of a fire-brick plant with an annual capacity of 20 million bricks a
year, a plant for cement additives (with an annual capacity of 150
thousand tons), a chromium concentrate plant (with a capacity of
50 thousand tons), and an iron chromium plant (with a capacity of
20 thousand tons). G. Zakarian considered it possible that gold and
platinum will be extracted from ores of the mines. It is planned to
create 500 jobs as a result of implementation of Gegamet’s programs.