BLEAK OUTLOOK: ARMENIAN ECONOMY MAY SHOW ZERO GROWTH FOR 2015
Economy | 22.01.15 | 16:30
By Sara Khojoyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
The Armenian economy may have much less growth than expected by the
government, international structures and Armenian experts claim;
some saying there may even be zero growth. This will first of all
have a negative impact on common citizens.
“The problem is that common citizens will feel it. Decline in the
Russian economy will be felt by the citizens who receive remittances
from Russia. In Armenia, in all the fields where decline of incomes is
predicted, for instance, in the field of mining, people involved in it
will feel it,” economist Vilen Khachatryan told reporters Thursday,
explaining the decline in the forecast of the Bank of Reconstruction
and Development (BRD) for the Armenian economy.
This week BRD changed its previous forecast for Armenia made last
September, lowering 3.5 percent to 0, explaining it by the devaluation
of the ruble and general decline of the Russian economy.
“Ruble devaluation as compared to dollar has already resulted in
drastic decline of the volumes of money transfers made from Russia
to Central Asia and Caucasus; this in its turn caused devaluation of
the local currencies. In case Russian crisis expands, the situation in
the countries economically attached to Russia will also deteriorate,”
the BRD report said.
According to Khachatryan, for Armenia not only the economic state in
Russian but also in the whole world is very decisive.
“In the ongoing situation Armenia’s economic growth might show zero
on the background of world economic development. There might even be
a decline. Being in this region and becoming an EEU member, Armenia’s
economy will be subjected to all negative developments of the region.”
Saying that in Armenia there is neither the human power – young
people leave the country — nor investments to boost the economy, the
economist is concerned by the Central Bank’s (CB) Wednesday decision of
raising the refinancing rate, because it claims of another inflation.
“Tendencies of the inflation that CB is talking about, have appeared
because people are scared to spend money thinking that there will be a
crisis. If there was a real price decline, rates would not be raised,”
Khachatryan added.
From: Baghdasarian