Category: 2023

 12:10, 2 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 2, ARMENPRESS. Cases of sole-source contracts in the government procurement procedure have dropped as a result of the Pashinyan administration’s policies, the Minister of Finance Vahe Hovhannisyan has said.

“The decision on making sole-source contracts was being made by the [Cabinet] in the past, but now we’ve changed the procedure and the decision to make a sole-source contract is done by a given [minister] with their own responsibility. As a result of this change we have a decrease of sole-source contract cases. Given the responsibility that each [minister] bears for every single decision, we see stronger supervision for internal procedures,” the finance minister told lawmakers at a joint committee hearing in parliament.

Meanwhile, the volume of competitive bidding contracts in 2022 stood at 49,1% when the starting indicator was 34,4% and the target intended for 2024 was set at 47%. The average number of bidders in the tenders is 2,7, he said.

“We must take into consideration that when we speak about non-competitive procurement it relates mostly to the kind of services that have a single supplier, such as water, gas, electricity and so on,” Hovhannisyan added.

 14:52, 2 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 2, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will temporarily work from the Presidential Residence at 26 Baghramyan Street in Yerevan because the government headquarter building, known officially as Government House 1 at Republic Square is under renovation.

The Prime Minister's Office did not provide other details.

 15:22, 2 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 2, ARMENPRESS. The meeting of the Armenia-Russia-Azerbaijan working group co-chaired by the deputy prime ministers of the three countries is underway in Moscow, TASS reported.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk ealier said that the meeting will focus on technical details related to the border crossing between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The trilateral working group led by the deputy prime ministers was set up in 2021 to deal with the restoration of regional transport and economic connections.

 15:58, 2 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 2, ARMENPRESS. “Telecom Armenia" OJSC (trademark: Team Telecom Armenia) has issued and is allocating stocks through a public offering, giving everyone the opportunity to participate in the development of the company, make an investment, share the success and become the shareholder of Team.

The company plans to allocate 40 million stocks with a total volume of 8 billion 240 million drams. The offering will be carried out from 7 June to 31 October of this year inclusively.

"Team Telecom Armenia is the first company in the telecommunications sector undertaking its IPO in Armenia. With this step, we are becoming more open and public, forming a more transparent way of working and will share our successes with both subscribers and future shareholders. Due to team work, the company has ensured stable financial growth in recent years and is taking the next bold step already in the financial sector. Due to the new investments, we will implement our ambitious plans faster, together developing the telecommunications sector, digital technologies and the country's economy," says Hayk Yesayan, General Director of Team Telecom Armenia.

The company will use the raised funds for the rollout of the fiber optic NGN network throughout Armenia, the launch of the 5G mobile network and the activation of new international channels. Being engaged in the field of digital technologies, the company will also pay huge attention to the introduction of modern digital tools and solutions and the implementation of other ambitious projects.

The stock prospectus of "Telecom Armenia" OJSC has been registered by the decision of the Central Bank of Armenia No. 1/288A as of 31/05/2023. "AMERIABANK" CJSC is acting as Lead Arranger for the offering. The procedure of stock purchase, the electronic version of the prospectus and the IPO announcement can be found here.

Team Telecom Armenia provides Internet, digital television, mobile and fixed phone services in the territory of Armenia. Since 2021, the company has started the rollout of NGN (Next Generation Network) network, which is unique in the region, with 25 Gb/s speed and the implementation of 25G-PON technology.

 16:04, 2 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 2, ARMENPRESS. Moscow is taking into consideration Armenia’s stance regarding the Ukraine conflict but continues to develop its allied relations with Armenia, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said.

“We are taking note of it,” TASS quoted Peskov as saying when asked to comment on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statement that Armenia is not Russia’s ally in the Ukrainian conflict.

Peskov noted that this is “an important statement.”

“We know that there are certain nuances in Armenia’s approaches regarding the conflict around Ukraine, we are taking this into consideration,” Peskov said.

The Kremlin spokesperson added that Russia continues to develop its allied relations with Armenia.

In an interview with CNN Prima News, PM Nikol Pashinyan said that Armenia is not Russia's ally in the war with Ukraine.

Below is an excerpt from the interview:

CNN Prima News - And what is Armenia's position regarding the Ukrainian war, Russian aggression on Ukraine, because on the one hand you are Russia's ally, on the other hand we are witnessing very undesirable actions by the Russian Federation in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan - You said that we are Russia's ally. Of course, this was never said out loud, but I think it is visible. We are not Russia's ally in the war with Ukraine. And our feeling from that war, from that conflict, is anxiety because it directly affects all our relationships.

In the West they notice that we are Russia's ally, they mostly notice it, in Russia they see that we are not their ally in the Ukraine war, and it turns out that we are not anyone's ally in this situation, which means that we are vulnerable. Because, it seems that there is an option to avoid among all these collisions, but also the truth is that the more complicated the situation, the narrower the chances for avoiding. We are avoiding not because we don't have opinions about the situation, but we're avoiding it because of what I said a moment ago, that our concerns are, unfortunately, more than they will allow us to be more involved in coping with other problems.

 16:54, 2 June 2023

YEREVAN, 2 JUNE, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 2 June, USD exchange rate up by 0.24 drams to 387.22 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 2.43 drams to 416.92 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate stood at 4.78 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 2.66 drams to 485.19 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 139.03 drams to 24579.49 drams. Silver price up by 3.11 drams to 292.44 drams.

 16:38, 2 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 2, ARMENPRESS. At Leasing Expo 2023 exhibition, AraratBank has come forward with a new initiative, offering competitive terms to individual entrepreneurs and legal entities.

Leasing Expo 2023 was launched today at 12:00 in the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex. During the three days of the Expo, our leasing experts will welcome visitors at the bright yellow booth of AraratBank, ready to offer advice and respond to inquiries on financial lease.

“Leasing as a financial instrument is a flexible and affordable option for the acquisition of fixed assets, which allows the lessee to spare a huge amount of its own funds. Today, the instrument has become more attractive as lessees can take advantage of up to 10% state subsidy under the Production Capacity Modernization Measure adopted by the RA Government,” the bank said in a news release.

"AraratBank's participation in the event provides a good opportunity for networking with the business community, highlighting the importance of leasing and sparking new partnerships for mutual benefit. With AraratLeasing financing, you will be able to purchase equipment including but not limited to vehicles, construction and agricultural machinery," said Vahan Gharibyan, Deputy Head of Corporate Business Lending Department of AraratBank.

 17:31, 2 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 2, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan will attend Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s inauguration to his third term in Ankara. 

The Prime Minister’s Office said Pashinyan accepted the offer to participate in the inauguration and will travel to Ankara on June 3.

 20:44, 2 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 2, ARMENPRESS. On June 2, Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan had a telephone conversation with Colin Kahl, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from MoD Armenia, a number of issues related to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and regional security were discussed.

The progress of the agreements on the development of the Armenian-American defense cooperation reached as a result of discussions with Dr. Kahl during the working visit of Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan to the USA in September were discussed.