PURCHASE AND SALE TRANSACTIONS OF 1.7 MILLION DOLLARS CARRIED OUT AT NASDAQ OEMEX ARMENIA OJSC ON OCTOBER 21
Noyan Tapan
Oct 21, 2009
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 21, NOYAN TAPAN. Purchase and sale transactions of 1.7
million dollars at the weighted average exchange rate of 385.75 drams
per dollar were carried out at Nasdaq Oemex Armenia OJSC on October
21. According to the press service of the Central Bank of Armenia,
the closing price made 385.75 drams.
SOS SARGSYAN: BORDER BETWEEN TWO PARTS OF ONE COUNTRY
Information-Analytic Agency NEWS.am
Oct 21 2009
Armenia
"Which borders are being opened? Are we allowed to go from one part
of our country to the other part of our country? In other words,
the border was set in the middle of our country not between Turkey
and Armenia. Turks are yet far from being civilized, and they are
impossible to deal with through diplomacy. They can befool many. They
must be talked to in a clear and concrete way: what are you doing
against us now, and what are you teaching in your schools – hating
Armenians or showing tolerance toward them? Why are you passing Young
Turks’ hatred for Armenian down from generation to generation? Are we
going to build up normal relations or do window dressing before the
world?" the famous Armenian actor Sos Sargsyan stated in his interview
with the Public Television of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). He
does not see any prospects for normal Armenian-Turkish relations.
"Our national interests are more important than any other issues. We
should be on our guard. We ourselves must be authors of our destiny,
rather than let other dictate anything to us. We must not lose our
dignity. Why are Turks hating us even more than at that time? Because,
throughout the world, we are witnesses to their atrocities. And they
will never stop hating us," Sos Sargsyan said.
He stressed the importance of taking the Diaspora’s opinion into
account.
Speaking of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, particularly the
territorial issue, he pointed out that "things gained with blood are
not to be returned, especially since they are our own. Artsakh is our
sacred land, and the Karabakh struggle is the Armenians’ spiritual
revival," Sos Sargsyan said.
BAKO SAHAKYAN SIGNS DECREES
Aysor
Oct 20 2009
Armenia
October 20 President of the Nagorno-Karabagh Republic Bako Sahakyan
signed the bill intended to introduce amendments to the "NKR Law on
Administrative Territorial Division".
On the same day President Sahakyan signed decrees on following
awarding.
For high professionalism and great achievement in arts, the creative
director and chief conductor of the Artsakh State Chamber Orchestra
Gevorg K. Moradyan was awarded the honorary title of the Honored
Artist of the Nagorno-Karabagh Republic.
For substantial philanthropist activity the Gratitude Medal was
awarded to Emanuel Delabarre (posthumously) and to Michel Pazoumyan,
the deputy head of Hayastan All-Armenian Fund in France, specialist
of territorial development.
Gratitude Medal goes to Director of the National Centre of
Oncology, Armenia’s chief oncologist, Prof. Hayrapet M. Galstyan for
outstanding service in the field of medicine and health rendered in
Nagorno-Karabagh Republic.
Presidential Central Informational Department of NKR contributed
reporting.
Sunday’s Zaman , Turkey
Oct 18 2009
France courting Turkey for increased trade relations
`There is a great desire on the French side to reinforce relations
with Turkey including in all economic sectors,’ said a top French
diplomat in Turkey, signaling that Paris is ready to embark on healing
the rift that emerged over opposition to Turkey’s full membership in
the European Union.
Speaking with Sunday’s Zaman on the heels of Turkish President
Abdullah Gül’s official visit to France two weeks ago, during which
Gül and French President Nicolas Sarkozy inaugurated the `Season of
Turkey in France,’ French Ambassador Bernard Emie said the high-level
visit was a golden opportunity to reset strained relations between the
two countries.
He described the visit as `excellent’ and dismissed reports that the
Turkish president was poorly received and treated unfairly.
Concerned that France is on the losing end of a bargain when it comes
to tenders and government contracts in Turkey, not to mention the
rising anti-France sentiment in a 70-million-large consumer market
because of Sarkozy’s stance on Turkey’s EU bid, Paris is eager to
improve relations with its NATO ally. The French ambassador lamented
the fact that so much negativity has been focused on the EU membership
issue while the two countries have been cooperating on a number of
platforms including NATO, the United Nations Security Council and the
G-20.
`Our relations are multidimensional and very much focused on
cooperation albeit behind the doors sometimes,’ he said, conceding
that there have been ups and downs in their relations in the past. The
top French diplomat agrees that they have a real public relations
problem on their hands when it comes to Turkey. `We could do much
better and become proactive in dispelling rumors that have nothing to
do with the facts,’ he underlined.
France is the second-largest investor in Turkey, and many French
companies have been very active in the Turkish market for some time
now. `If you discount the Netherlands, where many companies base their
headquarters because of tax incentives, we are actually the No. 1
foreign investor in Turkey,’ Emie pointed out. The current trade
volume between the two countries stood at about 11 billion euros last
year, favoring neither side.
That did not stop Ankara, however, from imposing an undeclared embargo
on French companies that were shunned from major tenders in Turkey or
vetoed in international contracts for which Turkey was a major
participant. French state-owned nuclear group Areva was barred from
entering its bid into a nuclear reactor tender in Turkey, while Gaz de
France (GDF) was vetoed by Ankara from participating in the
international consortium building the Nabucco pipeline that will
connect Caspian natural gas resources to the European market.
French Ambassador Emie believes that there are strong signals given by
the Turkish side that those strained days are about to be over.
`Turkish President Gül conveyed the message to Sarkozy that French
companies are welcome to attend future nuclear tenders in Turkey,’ he
said, adding that he was convinced Turkey would give a green light for
the GDF to join the Nabucco consortium if the international group
decides to expand membership.
`I think the business environment for French companies in Turkey is
`satisfactory’ at best at this time,’ he said, adding that they will
work harder. He lamented the fact that French small and medium-sized
companies are not very aggressive in the Turkish market as opposed to
other foreign investors.
To repair relations with Turkey and promote Turkey’s image in the
French public opinion, France has launched a Turkish cultural season
lasting nine months and covering 400 events in 80 cities across
France. The iconic Eiffel Tower was lit in the Turkish colors of red
and white every night from Oct. 6 to 11. `This was the first time we
had done it for a foreign country within the context of a cultural
season,’ the French ambassador said, stressing the significance of the
symbolic gesture. `Many people urged the mayor of Paris against
deciding in favor of the light up, but he did not pay attention to
those [people],’ he said. Many French companies are listed as sponsors
for the Season of Turkey in France, and business organization MEDEF
extended red carpet treatment to the visiting Turkish president. Emie
pointed out that there is not enough political dialogue between the
countries, saying the last time the Turkish president visited France
was a decade earlier. The French took longer in paying an official
visit to Ankara.
The French ambassador also said France is closely working with Turkey
in European aircraft manufacturer Airbus’ construction of the future
A350 plane and both countries are involved in the project to build the
European A400M military transport plane.
Hailing Armenia rapprochement
Hailing the rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia as a breakthrough
development, the French diplomat gave assurances that the Armenian
diaspora living in France would not be able to block the normalization
of relations between the two countries. `If it is any measure, just
look at how we acted in the genocide resolution,’ he said, underlining
that French politicians did not cave in to the Armenian diaspora’s
pressure and killed the resolution in the senate. France’s lower house
of parliament infuriated Turks in 2006 by backing a bill that would
make it a crime to deny that mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman
Turks during World War I amounted to genocide. The French Senate never
ratified the bill. `I do not think the diaspora can launch a campaign
against the signing of protocols between Turkey and Armenia,’ the
French ambassador said.
He said France is actively working with renewed dynamism within the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Minsk
Group, which has been working for a decade and a half to mediate the
Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Russia and
the United States are other co-chair countries in the Minsk Group.
`The process is going in the right direction, and you have all sides
focused very much on resolving the issue with new dynamism,’ he said,
expressing his hope that both the Turkish and Armenian parliaments
would ratify protocols.
Touching on the activities of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK) in France, Ambassador Emie said French authorities are
cooperating closely with Turkish officials to stem PKK operations.
`France is determined to fight terrorism,’ he said. `Thirty-five
people were condemned to jail for illegally raising funds for the
PKK.’ Emie stressed that there is a lot going on behind the scenes in
the PKK issue, allowing both sides to exchange information and share
intelligence.
Worst timing for France
When the issue of embattled businessman Cem Uzan’s request for
political asylum in France came up during the interview, the French
ambassador said it could not have come at a worst time, as France was
trying to heal the rift with Turkey and attempting to tone down the
anti-France sentiment held by the Turkish public. `I did not even know
him before the press reported about the case,’ he noted, adding that
the case has nothing to do with the French Embassy.
Uzan, a businessman who was in the past active in various branches of
business from banking to media and was later chairman of the Young
Party (GP), left the country in early October, fearing jail time over
a fraud conviction. On Thursday, a Turkish court granted the Savings
Deposit Insurance Fund’s (TMSF) petition for an arrest warrant for
Uzan on the grounds that he is a suspect at large.
Ambassador Emie said Uzan has only been given a three-month residence
permit while France reviews Uzan’s asylum request. He said the agency
reviewing the asylum request is an independent body and that they will
make the decision after reviewing the facts of the case. He further
remarked that the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and
Stateless Persons (OFPRA) may extend Uzan’s temporary residence if it
does not reach a decision in a three-month period.
Uzan and a number of his relatives have been charged with fraud by
Turkish courts over the $6 billion collapse of a family bank. Motorola
and Nokia are seeking $3.4 billion in unpaid debts for equipment,
phones and services provided to Telsim, a Turkish mobile phone company
the Uzan family once owned.
18 October 2009, Sunday
ABDULLAH BOZKURT ANKARA
Azerbaijan.az
Oct 18 2009
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev: `The war has not ended yet’
`Today economy of Azerbaijan is in incomparable level with Armenian
economy and we are leaving them behind in all spheres’, said President
of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.
The president said Azerbaijan had very large political opportunities.
`We have very large political opportunities and economic potential, as
well as strong international position. Regarding the military power, I
would like to stress again that the Azerbaijani Army is a strongest
army in the region. We are strengthening our military power. It
demands great resources, but we have to do that, because we are living
at war. The war has not ended yet. The first round of the war ended
and we must be always ready to liberate our lands from the invaders’.
INVESTMENTS OF SOUTH-CAUCASIAN RAILWAY IN ARMENIA MADE 443.8 MILLION RUBLES WITHIN NINE MONTHS OF 2009
ARKA
Oct 16, 2009
YEREVAN, October 16. /ARKA/. Investments of CJSC "South-Caucasian
Railway" (SCR) in Armenia made 443.8 million rubles within nine months
of 2009.
Press-service of SCR informed ARKA that within the last 9 months actual
funding of investment program of Concessionaire made 443.8 million
rubles, including 371.3 million rubles on the account of borrowings
from Open JSC "RR" (Russian Railway) allotted by the agreement 2008 and
72.5 million rubles – on the account of own resources of CJSC "SCR".
Thus, for the upper construction of the railway 193.0 million rubles
is allotted from which 120.6 million rubles is for buying material
for upper construction of the railway and 15.3 million rubles for
buying railway equipment. During the reporting period, for repairing
administrative and industrial buildings 13.7 million rubles was
allotted and for repairing the buildings – 88.1 million rubles.
During nine months of 2009 SCR investments for the vehicles was
99.2 million rubles, including 80.4 million rubles for capital
reconstruction of 20 passenger wagons. Total expenses of the company
during 9 months of 2009 were 1083.7 million rubles, 727.8 million
rubles of which was for infrastructure and 355.9 million rubles for
the vehicles.
During nine months of 2009 the main funds were 1236.8 million rubles,
441.7 million rubles from which was for the buildings, 28.6 million
rubles for railway vehicles and equipment, 5.9 million rubles for the
equipment of wireless connection, 170.3 million rubles for special
car transport, 574.1 million rubles for locomotives and cargo wagons
and 16.2 million rubles for computer equipment and main assets.
Non-finished capital investments for the end of the reporting period
were 178.1 million rubles which include non-finished assets and
inventory holdings in the stores. Management of "Armenian Railway"
(AR) is implemented by CJSC "South-Caucasian Railway" (SCR) which is
100% daughter enterprise of Open JSC "Russian Railway".
SCR accepted on its balance the rolling stock of AR on July 1, 200
according to the concession agreement as of February 13, 2008 about
the transfer of state CJSC "Armenian railway" under the management of
RR for 30 years with the right of prolongation of 10 years by mutual
agreement of the parties (1 ruble – 13.16 drams).
ON THE OCCASION OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF STANDARDS, RA PRIME MINISTER TIGRAN SARGSYAN VISITED THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS
We dnesday, 14 October 2009
On the occasion of the International Day of Standards, RA
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan visited the National Institute of
Standards. The Prime Minister walked round the labs and got acquainted
with the Institute’s current status and development opportunities.
The head of government congratulated the staff of the Institute on
their professional holiday.
Then the Prime Minister called at the training-publishing center of
the accounting department of Armenia’s bookkeepers and auditors’
Association where he handed in qualification certificates to the
graduates.
In his congratulatory remarks, Tigran Sargsyan said in particular,
"The national institute of standards is marking its professional
holiday. The main mission of the Armenian association of bookkeepers
and auditors is to help introduce international standards countrywide,
and see that our businessmen should adhere to the logic of such
standards. You can help ease the life of our businessmen, households,
manufacturers by providing for our security. Said security has a
physical and economic dimension. We all will feel much better living
in a law-abiding society where economic entities shall state their
financial position fairly and accurately. Economic entities are sure
to win public trust as soon as their financial statements come to
reflect the actual state of affairs enabling consumers to get a fair
image of their position.
Unfortunately, we still face serious problems in the field of
accounting and auditing as the transactions carried out by some
entities are not transparent to the public and households do not
trust in their financial statements which is a strong impediment to
economic development. The strengthening of the Association will help
build up public confidence, largely reduce expenditures and eliminate
most of redundant intermediation.
According to the Prime Minister, there are serious concerns as to
whether the Association is well-organized and can develop without
further financial assistance."
The staff trained by the Association, including the auditors, will
be in greater demand on the labor market as audit companies will
have extra workload starting from 2010: there is a legal requirement
stipulating that large enterprises shall be studied by independent
audit companies, with the findings having to be published afterwards:
"This means that hundreds of large enterprises will need the services
of highly qualified audit companies."
The head of government further noted that we have such audit companies
which endorse financial statements without any checks and conformity to
accounting regulations. The market should be cleared of such companies.
The executives of the Association were told to seriously discuss ways
of preparing qualified staff supposed to assume responsibility for
auditing economic entities starting from the year 2010.
RA-UKRAINE TRADE AND ECONOMIC RELATIONS’ POTENTIAL NOT USED IN ITS ENTIRETY
PanARMENIAN.Net
16.10.2009 20:00 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan met Ukraine’s
Industrial Policy Minister, co-chair of RA-Ukrainian intergovernmental
committee on trade and economic collaboration Volodymyr Novytsky ,
governmental press service reported.
Welcoming the guest, RA Premier noted that RA-Ukraine trade and
economic relations’ potential is not used in its entirety, despite
the decreased product turnover currently registered.
Intergovernmental committee’s work has to be intensified to
stimulate bilateral economic development in the spheres of machinery
construction, transport, aviation, agriculture, IT, healthcare,
science and education, Tigran Sargsyan emphasized.
ARMENIAN POLITICAL PRISONER ARSHALUYS HAKOBYAN SET FREE ON SIGNED OATH
Tert.am
15:09 16.10.09
Political prisoner Arshaluys Hakobyan’s next court hearing took
place today at the Court of First Instance of Center and Nork-Marash
Communities of Yerevan.
Hakobyan, a press photographer and member of the Helsinki Association,
was arrested in June 2009 after he, as a representative of the Armenian
Helsinki Association, had observed the municipal elections in May
2009. Accusations were brought against him according to Article 316,
part 1 of the Criminal Code of Armenia, Showing Resistance against
Law Enforcement Bodies.
During the hearing, the prosecutor argued to change the precautionary
measure and to delay the court investigation. As announced by the
Republic of Armenia prosecutor’s press service, the prosecutor
concluded that the accusation before Hakobyan was subject to change.
In conclusion, the court ruled to change the current precautionary
measure towards Hakobyan from restraint to a signed oath not to flee
from the country.
KERKORIAN WILL NEVER INVEST IN TURKEY
News.am
16:18 / 10/16/2009
Vice-President of the Lincy Foundation Harut Sassounian refuted
information available on the German Dwworld website, that Kirk
Kerkorian intends to make investments in various Turkish regions
after Armenian-Turkish border opening. In his letter to NEWS.am Harut
Sassounian called this "misinformation and phony." "Mr. Kerkorian
has never had or has such intensions," Sassounian underlined.
The Co-Chair of Armenia-Turkey Friendship Group Yener Altin told
Dwworld that Kerkorian intended to make investments in various
Turkish regions, particularly create the hotel chain in South-East of
Turkey. Altin also informed that Kerkorian is originally the citizen
of Turkish Maras region. However, the Lincy Foundation Vice-President
refuted this information as well.