Author: Greg Madatian

 13:22,

YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan calls the adoption of the energy strategy for 2040 an important achievement.

During the Parliament’s debate of the 2021 state budget performance report today, Minister Sanosyan said that all actions of the government derive from this strategy.

“The launch of the operations of the 254 MW Armpower thermal power plants last year was important, it plays an important role in our energy system, it was a major investment worth around 250 million dollars, as numerous jobs have been created, and the energy conversion efficiency of this plant is high”, the minister noted.

Minister Sanosyan also touched upon the operation of the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant.

“Every year the NPP is suspending at a certain frequency, as it passes a certain stage of repair. Last year it was quite a comprehensive phase, changes were made in the important parts, and in the end we had an important achievement: since 1996 the NPP has operated with 92% of its capacity, but after the capital changes last year it has started operating with 98% of the capacity for the first time”, Gnel Sanosyan said.

 13:43,

YEREVAN, JUNE 10, ARMENPRESS. The official launch of the Digital Julfa Network – an initiative bringing together the pan-Armenian intellectual, technological, commercial and cultural potential, will be announced during the Orion Summit 2022.

Mark Chenian, member of the Board of the Armenian Society of Fellows, leading specialist in investment banks and financial consulting, is the keynote speaker of the Summit, who will deliver speech also at the Summit’s final panel discussion titled “Standing up Digital Julfa Network of the 21^st Century”.

With over 50 years of experience in the field of investment banks, Mark Chenian specializes in management of assets.

The panel discussion will be attended by Orion Worldwide Innovations founding director, BAJ Accelerator co-founding partner Emma Arakelyan, Director of Matenadaran Vahan Ter-Ghevondyan, BAJ Accelerator co-founding partner, Dr. Armen Kherlopian, and founder of Souren A. Israelyan Law Office Souren A. Israelyan.

Orion Summit 2022 will take place on June 22 in Yerevan’s Matenadaran.

 16:18, 3 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. Armenia highly appreciates the cooperation with the European Union, Vice Speaker of Parliament Ruben Rubinyan said during the meeting with the delegation led by the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar, the Parliament’s press service said.

The Head of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Armenia, Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin was also present at the meeting.

The sides exchanged ideas on the settlement process of the relations between Armenia and Turkey. Ruben Rubinyan presented the positions and the priorities of the Republic of Armenia.

Toivo Klaar underlined that the EU is interested in promoting the advancement of the process.

The interlocutors discussed the regional situation, highlighted the establishment of peace and stability in the South Caucasus.

BREAKING:

 11:06, 26 May 2022

YEREVAN, MAY 26, ARMENPRESS. The first ever Armenian satellite was launched into the Earth’s orbit, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced at the Cabinet meeting.

“On May 25, 2022, at 22:35 Yerevan time, Armenia’s first space satellite was launched into the Earth’s orbit on a SpaceX rocket from Cape Canaveral in the United States,” Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan added that the satellite was launched into space as a result of cooperation between the Armenian state Geocosmos company and the Spanish Satlantis.

“We can’t overestimate the significance of this, with this Armenia is embarking into the era of space activities and we hope that our rich traditions in this area will be restored. I am speaking about the space scientific-production area which existed in Armenia for many years. In this context I’d like to stress that one of our priorities is the localization of space technologies in Armenia, as well as organizing the production of space equipment,” Pashinyan said.

The Armenian satellite, which was launched into the orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, United States, on board the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, is an Earth Observation Satellite.

 

 15:05, 26 May 2022

YEREVAN, MAY 26, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan reacted positively to the acquisition of the 65,03% of the Armenian Securities Exchange (AMX) by the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

Kerobyan said that the Warsaw Stock Exchange is the most active and largest stock exchange in Eastern Europe.

“The contribution of their experience in the Armenian capital market can’t be overestimated. We believe that their arrival will bring great benefit the development of our capital market. We already see significant interest from private companies for instruments of the capital market,” Kerobyan said.

He said that prior to 2018 there were very few companies in the non-financial sector who were working transparently with profit. The accepted business model, before 2018, was to generate revenue by saving taxes, he said. But starting from 2018, companies have broad opportunities to work with profit and transparently.

“I can’t say that it has become transparent entirely, but we see that the number of companies who are properly undergoing audit is significantly growing. This is the base of the companies who should be active participants of the capital market,” Kerobyan said.

On May 24, the Board of the Central Bank of Armenia approved the acquisition of the Armenian Securities Exchange (AMX) by the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

According to the agreement, the Warsaw Stock Exchange (GPW) will acquire 65.03% of AMX.

The Armenian Central Bank issued the following press release on the acquisition:

“On its May 24 sitting, the Board of the Central Bank of Armenia gave its consent to the acquisition of the Armenian Stock Exchange by the Warsaw Stock Exchange. According to the agreement, the Warsaw Stock Exchange (GPW) will acquire 65.03% of shares of the Armenian Stock Exchange (AMX) (967 shares in total). The Central Bank of Armenia will maintain 25.02% of shares, and the remaining 9.95% are the AMX's own shares. The value of the transaction will be about AMD 873 million, a part of which (about AMD 499 million) will be paid after signing the Share Purchase Agreement, and the rest, after completion of processes established by the Share Purchase Agreement.

The GPW announced about its plans to acquire the AMX in September 2020, after which necessary studies were carried out, a development plan for the next five years was developed, and necessary corporate approvals were obtained.

The Board of the Central Bank stresses the importance of the entry of the WFB as an institutional investor into the Armenian financial market, which will give an impetus to the development of Armenian capital market, and will foster integration of Armenian and Polish capital markets, opening new opportunities for both the Armenian companies and the investors.

Development program prepared by the GPW provides for a number of measures aimed at the improvement of capital market infrastructure, including development of the trading system, expansion of the stock exchange and the Central Depository services, as well as introduction of state-of-the-art technological solutions.”

The GPW is the largest and the developed market in Central and Eastern Europe. The GPW organizes trading in stocks, bonds, derivatives, fund shares and other instruments. The GPW is a public company, the shares of which have been listed since 2010 with a capitalization of about 320 million euros.

The AMX is the only operator in the regulated securities market in Armenia, which organizes trading of both securities and other financial instruments. The AMX is the 100% shareholder of the Central Depository of Armenia. 90.05% of the AMX shares belong to the Central Bank of Armenia, and the remaining 9.95% are the AMX's own shares.