Author: Varosian Antranik

FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF CORPORATE BONDS MARKET DEPENDS ON ACTIVITY OF BROKERS

YEREVAN, MARCH 30. ARMINFO. The formation and development of a
corporate bonds market in Armenia depends on how active brokers will
be, says the executive director of the Armenian Stock Exchange Armen
Melikyan.

It is for brokers to consult with potential emitters, to register,
place and quote the bonds every day. If they take no such steps,
there will be no corporate bonds in Armenia.

The emission and placement of corporate bonds will stongly promote the
development of corporate securities market. Presently, because of no
corporate management principles, corporate securities have almost no
liquidity. Armeconombank’s first try has shown that there is certain
demand for corporate bonds in Armenia. These bonds are liquid, they
have a market maker and are quoted on stock exchange on a daily bases
and so anyone who buys them can easily sell them on stock exchange,
says Melikyan.

THE SCHOOL IS 75 AND POOR

Panorama.am
16:27 29/03/06

“No Armenian musical school has received musical instruments in the
last 30 years, informed the manager of Specialized Musical School after
Al. Spendiaryan Samvel Sahakyan at the press conference today. As he
said part of the instruments are out of order. There are no financial
means to buy new ones and the expenses grow. “In the Soviet times
the State financed musical schools. Today the expenses are covered
by means of the payments of the pupils.” Today the schools has 530
pupils and 72 teachers. The management of the school has turned to
the Municipality with the request to finance the activities dedicated
to the 75th anniversary of the school. And to everybody’s surprise
they received a positive answer. The Municipality is going to give 2
million drams to organize the ceremonies of celebration. The problems
of the school are not limited by the absence of heating system and
damaged instruments. As the manager said the school needs a repair
yet it “never appears in the list of schools to be repaired in the
scopes of LYNSI fund.”

COMPULSORY INTRODUCTION OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS ENVISAGED BY DRAFT “ON SAFETY OF FOOD PRODUCTS”

Noyan Tapan
Mar 29 2006

YEREVAN, MARCH 29, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA Ministry of Agriculture worked
out a new draft “On Safety of Food Products,” according to what,
new standards of quality of food products and securing their safety
is envisaged to put into operation in Armenia. Gagik Khachatrian,
the RA Deputy Minister of Agriculture informed about this during the
March 28 round table on the theme “Problems of Food Safety in Armenia”
organized by the “Ailyntrant” (Alternative) research center. According
to G.Khachatrian, in the case of adopting the new law, introduction and
certification of the quality and management systems of food products
will be obligatory for companies producing food. He informed that the
International Standards Organization accepted ISO 22 000 standards
which join quality management ISO 9 000 standards and HACCP standards
of securing food products’ safety. The Deputy Minister mentioned that
numerous international organizations support introduction of quality
management standards and standards of securing safety.

PROCESS OF PAYING COMPENSATIONS FOR DEPOSITS WITH ASSR SAVINGS BANK STARTS IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Mar 28 2006

YEREVAN, MARCH 28, NOYAN TAPAN. The process of paying compensations
for the money deposits with the Savings Bank of the Armenian Soviet
Socialist Republic (ASSR) before June 10, 1993, has started in
Armenia. The compensations will be paid to the citizens who have
continuously been included in the social groups receiving family
benefits from July 1, 2005, to April 1, 2006. These social groups
include: pensioners aged 70 and above, pensioners under 70 or single
pensioners, the participants of the Great Patriotic War and persons
equated to them, the persons who participated in the RA defence
military operations in 1990-1994 and their family members, the persons
wounded as a result of it and their family members, the members of
the families of the persons killed during the RA defence military
operations, the disabled of the first, second and third groups, the
residents of border settlements who suffered from military operations,
the residents of the earthquake zone, the parents with many children
and their children. Citizens must apply to the territorial social
service agency (Paros) of their actual residence place and submit an
application, the documents confirming the identity of the depositor,
the social passport of the family, the social security card, and the
savings book. Applications must be submitted from April 12, 2006,
to May 12, 2006.

EBRD FINANCES FOUR COMMERCIAL BANKS OF ARMENIA

ArmRadio.am
28.03.2006 14:27

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has provided
20 million Euros to four Commercial Banks of Armenia, EBRD Regional
Director Michael Davey said during the international conference of
banks dedicated to commerce financing. According to him, the European
Bank can suggest a number of tools and opportunities to Commercial
Banks of Armenia.

Michael Davey declared that in 2005 the EBRD allocated 20 million Euros
of financing to spheres like pharmacology, insurance and energy. He
underlined that the banking system of Armenia is a dynamic sector
and develops actively.

YEREVAN BRANDY COMPANY SUSPENDS BRANDY SUPPLY TO RUSSIA

YEREVAN, MARCH 27. ARMINFO. The largest exporter of strong drinks in
Armenia, Yerevan Brandy Company (YBC), has suspended the supply of
brandy to Russia, YBC press-service told ARMINFO, Monday.

The source reports that the suspension is connected with introduction
of new excise marks in Russia starting from April 1 2006. After
purchasing new excise marks, YBC will resume the brandy supply. It
is just a temporary technical problem, the press-service reports.

In his turn, Chairman of the Union of Winemaker-Armenians Avag
Haroutunyan told ARMINFO that 26 of 31 producers of alcohol drinks in
Armenia export their production, preferentially brandy and to Russia.

He said the Armenian strong drink exporters have not supplied their
production to Russia for already two weeks. Moreover, they do not
register new orders as they cannot acquire new excise marks. The
Russian party informs that the new excises marks will be published
not earlier than in a month period, which will have a negative impact
on Armenian exporters, Haroutunyan believes.

It’s noteworthy that in 2005 9.078.4 thousand liters of brandy were
exported >From Armenia, which was 3.5 times more than in 2004 (2.591
thousand liters). Over the half of the export was the production
of YBC.

Panorama.am

15:32 25/03/06

`SUMMER TIME’ IN ARMENIA

According to RA law about transition to summer and winter times, on
Saturday, March 26 at 02:00 the clock hands should be transferred to
an hour forward. It will mean the beginning of `summer time’.
/Panorama.am/

Belmont Citizen-Herald, MA
March 23 2006

At the library

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Aspiring babysitters: Learn the basics of feeding and diapering
plus much more at a Child Care and Babysitting course at the Belmont
Public Library. Students age 10 and older are invited to sign up for
the course which will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday,
March 25 in the library’s Flett Room.

Janice Nolan Henry, a registered nurse and educator, will lead
the program, which will cover basic first aid and emergencies, child
safety, diapering and feeding infants, and ideas for entertaining
children with age-appropriate play. Participants should bring a lunch
and a doll. Snacks will be provided.

To register, sign up at the Reference Desk or call 617-993-2870.

Hovsepian, Beletsky to perform

Pianist Levon Hovsepian and cellist Arkady Beletsky will present
an afternoon concert of chamber music at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 2,
at the Belmont Public Library. The free concert, which will be held
in the Assembly Room, is sponsored by the Friends of the Library as
part of the Music on Sunday series.

Hovsepian and Beletsky, who are both on the faculty of the Indian
Hill Music Center in Littleton, will perform works by Bach,
Beethoven, Brahms, Arutunian, Prokofiev, and Popper. Hovsepian also
teaches at the Powers Music School in Belmont.

Both Hovsepian and Beletsky began performing professionally as
children and achieved performing careers overseas before moving to
the Boston area. A graduate of the Komitas Conservatory in Soviet
Armenia, Hovsepian performed throughout Armenia, Estonia and Moldova
and appeared as a soloist with the Yerevan Symphony Orchestra and on
Armenian national television. After attracting major critical
attention in Armenia, he was invited to study at the Longy School of
Music in Cambridge. He made his New York debut in 1994 and became
known for his compelling interpretive style and expansive technique.
He was a prize winner at the Arlington Concerto Competition and has
appeared as a soloist with the Salem Philharmonic Orchestra, the New
England Philharmonic Orchestra, WGBH radio, and Moscow Radio.

Beletsky was born in Kiev, Ukraine and completed his master’s degree
in music at the Gnesin Institute of Music in Moscow. In 1983 he
founded the Renaissance Chamber Ensemble, which rose to prominence as
one of the most prolific and well-regarded chamber groups in
pre-Perestroika Russia, headlining over 1,000 concerts throughout the
15 republics of the Soviet Union. In 1989 Beletsky emigrated to the
U.S. with his family. Since then, he has performed solo, chamber and
orchestral work at Jordan Hall, Sanders Theater and Mechanics Hall,
has participated in numerous music festivals, and has made a live
appearance on WGBH’s “Morning Pro Musica.”

For more information about the concert please call 617-489-2000,
ext. 2870.

Career resources offered

Christine Hunnefeld, technology librarian at the Belmont Memorial
Library, and Anna Whitcomb, principal of Your Career Choices in
Belmont, will give a presentation on career and job hunting resources
on Thursday, April 6 at 7 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the library.

Participants will learn about resources for assistance in all
phases of the job search process and for career development. Discover
resources for determining your personality type and finding a career
to match. Learn about sites and books on how to market yourself
through resumes, cover letters, networking and interviews. Explore
library databases and other online resources for researching
potential employers. Locate job postings through national, local and
specialized job listing sites. Find out where to receive assistance
in developing your career and conducting your job search.

To register for this workshop, stop by the Reference Desk or call
617-993-2870. Light refreshments will be served, compliments of the
Friends of the Belmont Public Library.

MANUK GASPARYAN: THE PUBLIC SERVICES REGULATORY COMMISSION HAS EXCEEDED ITS LIABILITIES

ArmRadio
21.03.2006 14:49

NA Deputy Manuk Gasparyan turned today to the new price of Russian gas.

According to the Deputy, the gas price could have been incomparably
cheaper from that set by the Public Services Regulatory Commission. He
considers that the Commission has exceeded its liabilities.

Vice-President of the Commission Nikolay Grigoryan did not accept
the Deputy’ s condemnations and confirmed that they acted within the
limits of law.

The Deputy’s arguments will be listed in a lawsuit, which will be
presented for the consideration of judicial instances in early April.

Manuk Gasparyan is waiting for an answer from Russian President
Vladimir Putin as well.

The major argument presented does not satisfy Manuk Gasparyan. “You did
not have the right to raise the set the price without an agreement,”
the Deputy said.

Peter Semneby: EU Interest in South Caucasus Grows

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.03.2006 00:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The EU-Azerbaijan relations are successfully
developing, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated at the meeting
with EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby.
In his words, the EU plays an important role in the implementation
of the European Neighborhood Policy, energy projects and conflict
settlement in the South Caucasus. For his part Mr. Semneby noted
this is his first visit to the region at the post of the EU Special
Representative. In his words, the EU’s interest in the South Caucasus
is growing. He voiced assurance that the bilateral relations will
develop, reported Trend news agency.