ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT SPECIFIES 2009 BUDGET AFTER RECEIVING IMF LOAN

/ARKA/
September 4, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, September 4, /ARKA/. Armenia’s government made some changes
to the major indices of the 2009 budget at its recurrent session
on Thursday saying the move was prompted by the arrival of a 57.4
billion Dram loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

A deputy finance minister Pavel Safarian reminded that Armenia’s
parliament had ratified on July 10 an agreement whereby the IMF vowed
to allocate Armenia a 202.2 million SDR loan. He said the IMF has
transferred the 57.4 billion Dram loan, which is an equivalent of
102.6 million SDR.

‘Because receiving this loan was not envisaged by the 2009 budget,
we had to incorporate it in the budget and make some changes to it,’
he said.

The deputy minister said the original budget did not earmark
expenditures to service loans from Russia and IMF, that would require
additionally 3.5 billion Drams. Therefore, he said, we need to increase
the money earmarked for servicing these debts by as much.

He said the government has also revised upwards the amount of
earlier projected proceeds from taxes by 3.7 billion Drams increasing
concurrently as much the government spending.

The 2009 budget was approved by Armenian parliament on November 27,
2008 setting revenues at 905.4 billion Drams and spending at 945.4
billion Drams with 40 billion deficit. Proceeds from taxes and
customs=2 0 dues were set at 727.5 billion Drams.

The 2009 budget has also projected the country’s GDP at 4 trillion
and 169 billion Drams, a 4% deflator and a 4+-1.5%. inflation. The
exchange rate of one US Dollar in the budget was set 303.69 Drams.