JAN.-JULY 2009 ARMENIAN ECONOMY REPORT

Information-Analytic Agency NEWS.am
Aug 28 2009
Armenia

18.5% recession in Armenian economy as of Jan.-July 2009 is of no
surprise for Armenian authorities, RA Finance Minister Tigran Davtyan
said at the August 28press conference.

He links this process and the budget performance with economic
crisis. Davtyan declared budget revenue for the reported period
making 359bn AMD, whereas expenditures – 426.5bn AMD. The current
budget deficit was set at 4.5%.

According to the Minister’s forecast, budget deficit by end of the
year will not exceed 7.5% mark reaching about 6.5%, while in 2010 it
will be fixed at 5.5% with further reduction to 3% in next years.

Davtyan said 18.5% decrease in Armenian Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
was conditioned by the boosted rates in 2008, that is the reason
of this drastic difference compared to this year. He forecasted the
stabilization of situation by 4th quarter.

On the whole, the Minister was positive pointing out that the world
economy is being normalized. "There are signs that global crisis
is receding and U.S. and European countries (particularly Germany)
already got out of recession," RA Finance Minister said emphasizing
that this tendency will reach Armenia too.