Int’l Specialized Exhibition "Construction & Repair Expo 2007" Opens

INTERNATIONAL SPECIALIZED EXHIBITION "CONSTRUCTION AND REPAIR. EXPO
2007" OPENS IN YEREVAN

YEREVAN, APRIL 14, NOYAN TAPAN. Demand for goods produced and services
provided by Armenian construction companies is growing on the foreign
market day by day. Chairman of the Union of Builders of Armenia Gagik
Galstian stated this during the opening ceremony of the 4th
international specialized exhibition "Construction and Repair. Expo
2007" at Yerevan’s Dynamo Stadium on April 13. In his words, success
of Armenian businessmen is largely conditioned by the wide use of high
technologies and equipment in this sector.

Director of Logos Expo Center company – the exhibition’s organizer –
considered the increased number of exhibition participants as an
achievement. According to him, over 80 construction, consulting and
design companies (both local and foreign) are presented at various
sections of the exhibition covering a total area of 900 square meters.

The event is held with the official assistance of the RA Ministry of
Trade and Economic Development, the Union of Architects of Armenia,
the Union of Builders of Armenia, and the RA Union of Manufacturers
and Businessmen.

The exhibition will last until April 16.

Armenian CCI Implements Regional Business Promotion Programs

ARMENIAN CCI IMPLEMENTS REGIONAL BUSINESS PROMOTION PROGRAMS

YEREVAN, APRIL 14, NOYAN TAPAN. A seminar was held in the city of
Eghegnadzor of Vayots Dzor marz on April 13 on the initiative of the
RA Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI). It was conducted by
representatives of consulting companies PUM (Netherlands) and
CESO/SACO (Canada).

The RA CCI Director Gagik Vardanian told NT correspondent that the
seminar’s purpose is discuss with businessmen of the marz issues
related to development of entrepreneurship in Armenia, economic
independence of marz (regional) CCIs, establishment and extension of
trade, economic and scientific-technical links with foreign
businessmen.

According to G. Vardanian, it is envisaged to hold such discussions
soon in other Armenian marzes as well.

He said that in order to ensure efficient operation of regional CCIs,
a business portal of the Transcaucasian states, which will include the
inner network of the websites of regional CCIs, will be created in May
in cooperation with Project Harmony company (US).

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AIESEC to Implememt Program on Training Young Specialists in IT

"AIESEC" TO IMPLEMEMT PROGRAM ON TRAINING OF YOUNG SPECIALISTS OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES SECTOR

YEREVAN, APRIL 14, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian office of the Association
Internationale des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (AIESEC)
organization jointly with the Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF)
will implement the program "IT Shapes the Future" from September 2007
to March 2008. The purpose of the program is to assist Armenian
enterprises operating in the IT sector.

The program head Manushak Vahramian presented the program on April 13
at the Armenian Development Agency. In her words, within the program’s
framework, 50 young specialists of Armenian IT companies will be given
the opportunity to receive training abroad. Besides, foreign experts
will share their experience with IT companies in Armenia. The program
envisages holding 10 courses and 3 round tables. It will finish with a
three-day conference.

Ankara Still Hopes to establish a joint Armenian-Turkish commish.

Official Ankara still hopes for establishment of a joint Armenian-Turkish
commission to investigate the Armenian Genocide of 1915

Arminfo
2007-04-14 16:25:00

With the assistance of Britain, US and Russia, official Ankara is
going to take concrete action to urge Armenia to accept the Turkish
proposal to set up a joint commission of historians that will
investigate the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

The Turkish Zaman newspaper reports that Turkish diplomats did state
that the adoption of the Armenian Genocide resolution by the US
Congress has become less likely now as the Democrats have become more
aware of the harm such a resolution could inflict on Turkish-US
relations. The author of the article recalls that in 2005 Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Erdogan expressed willingness to open the Turkish
archives for Armenian historians to find out whether "the World War I
killing of Armenians could be described as genocide". "His offer to
set up a joint commission of historians has not yet been answered
positively by Armenia, allegedly under the strong influence of the
hard-line Armenian diaspora". A Turkish government source speaking to
Today’s Zaman pointed out the reluctance of the influential states of
the world to influence the Armenian Government’s position in this
matter. "Behind this indifference might lie the concern that real and
serious evidence to support genocide allegations will not be found",
the same source stressed.

The article emphasizes that along with a possible opening of borders
with Armenia and a possible appeal to to the International Court of
Justice (ICJ), convening of the joint commission of historians is the
priority task for Ankara. Government sources told Today’s Zaman that
Turkish legal experts have currently been studying the legal aspect of
the issues as well as the February decision of the ICJ on Serbia. The
court examining the case brought by Bosnia and Herzegovina against
Serbia, in its controversial decision of Feb 26 this year, cleared
Serbia of genocide in Bosnia while acknowledging the Serbian killing
of Bosnians, at Srebrenica in particular in 1995 when over 7,000
Bosnian Muslim men and boys were massacred. "Thus, Turkish legal
experts have also been examining, among other things, whether the ICJ
decision on Serbia could bring Turkey closer to clearing it of
Armenian genocide allegations", the Zaman says.

Liberal and Progressive Party thinks election in Armenia a farce

The leader of the Liberal and Progressive Party thinks that election in
Armenia have been turned into farce

Arminfo
2007-04-14 16:14:00

The leader of the Liberal and Progressive Party [LPP] of Armenia,
Onanes Ovannesyan, said at the press-conference in Azdak discussion
club that election in Armenia as well as all the rest democratic
institutions have been turned into farce.

While commenting on the course of the election campaign, he called
that passive as the society does not trust in the results of the
elections and does not think that something may be changed by means of
the elections. He also added that the power parties break the Election
Code almost every day over their election campaign delivering money
and collecting passports of voters. As for the LPP, Ovannesyan thinks
that about 40% of voters support its programme but 95% of them prefer
not to take part in the election as they do not trust in their
justice. Anyway, the forthcoming parliamentary and presidential
elections will become crucial for the country as according to their
results it will become clear if Armenia is developing the way of
democracy or will continue . At the same time one cannot say that the
society feels apathy to what is taking place. The society which does
not trust in the authorities, the opposition or its own future may
start setting "its own justice" in its own way and this is very
dangerous and unpredictable, the leader of the LPP concluded.

To recall, the LPP decided not to take part in the forthcoming
parliamentary election but Ovanes Ovannesyan nominated his candidacy
in the 5th election district of Yerevan.

Dramization process in Armenia to continue in 2007

Dramization process in Armenia to continue in 2007

Arminfo
2007-04-14 16:48:00

During 3 quarters of 2007 and the first quarter of 2008 Armenia will
still undergo the process of dramization, the high rates of which have
been observed since the second half of 2006. the growth rates of the
AMD aggregates will slow down since the second half of 2007, the press
service of the Central Bank of Armenia told ArmInfo.

According to the CBA’s forecast, the monetary indices will mainly
remain within the limits of the forecast framework. The high rates of
economy crediting will also remain in 2007, this being conditioned by
the considerable profit of the commercial banks in 2006 and the
implementation of large programs on account of the funds of the filled
up authorized capital, the source says. Particularly, the matter
concerns the increase of mortgage credit lending. In some spheres of
economy inflation is forecast for a period of 12 months. However, as
per the CBA data, the inflationary inflation will be much milder. If
earlier the annual inflation level was forecast at 4.1%, in December
2007 the annual inflation is expected to total 3.5, and in the first
quarter of 2008 – up to 3.3. According to the CBA, in March 2007 the
annual inflation rate totalled 4.4%, which is by 0.7% lower than the
December 2006 forecast of the CBA. Besides, the CBA Council considers
that there are possible risks of both a rise and a fall of the factual
inflation index, however, their total balance points out a decrease of
inflation. Particularly, the risk of the rise of the factual
inflation index is connected with a possible rise in international oil
prices which is conditioned by the development of the political
situation which can create an inflationary pressure. As for the risks
of the fall of the factual inflation index, they may be connected with
an increase of outflow of currency in case of a rise in prices for
base metals, but the AMD consolidation may result in a drop of prices
for imported goods and a restrained impact on inflation. Besides, the
main risks of the real sector are connected with the state of the
agriculture and may be conditioned by a high yield level in case of
favorable climatic conditions, and this may result in a formation of
deflationary pressure. The CBA Council has taken a decision to reduce
the rate of refinancing by 0.25% to 4.5%. The rates of interest on
lombard credits and deposits are fixed at 7,5% and 1,5 respectively.

Autocredits market of Armenia increased by 83.5% during the year

Autocredits market of Armenia increased by 83.5% during the year

Arminfo
2007-04-14 15:35:00

The market of banking autocredits of Armenia surpassed all the
optimistic expectations within 2006, having assured the annual growth
by 83.5%. According to the data of AmRating, the independent Rating
Agency, the volumes of autocrediting in the country’s banking system,
as of January 1, 2007, made up 19.216, 2 mln drams. In the opinion of
the Agency’s analysts, these indicators are directly concerned with
the fact that the republic’s automobile market shows high growth
rates. Only in January, 2007, which is not the best month from the
viewpoint of a seasonal factor, the import of passenger cars to the
republic has grown 1.5 times to 2403 units against 1572 cars for
January, 2006. At that, the import of "less solvent cars" of Russian
production reduced, that is, 489 against 686 units in January,
2006. Half of the cars, imported to the republic, are over 13 years
old and their cost varies within $6-10 thsd. In the experts’ opinion,
the share of the old cars will lessen, while that of the fresher and
more expensive ones will increase. This circumstance, in the opinion
of the Agency’s analysts, indicates the further growth of indicators
of the autocreditingmarket as one of the most profitable segments of
the banking retail, by 80% per year, at the minimum, in summary terms.

According to the data of AmRating, the triplet of the most
autocrediting banks of Armenia, as of the beginning of the year,
included the Areximbank, that gave autocredits for 2.757 bln drams,
"HSBC Bank Armenia" (5.173 bln drams) and Armeconombank (2.602 bln
drams). The first bank could keep the leading position in the market
during the year, while the "HSBC Bank Armenia" has jumped from the 9th
to the 1st place. The Areximbank has taken the send place, the
Armeconombank has risen one step higher, from the 4th to the 3rd
place. The fourth place is taken by Artsakhbank (2.190 bln drams), the
fifth place – by INECOBANK (1.866 bln drams).

The leading five, by the autocredits portfolio upon results, 2006,
included "HSBC Bank Armenia" – 2.962 bln drams, Areximbank – 2.446 bln
drams, Artsakhbank – 1.926 bln drams, INECOBANK – 1.858 bln drams and
Armeconombank – 1.854 bln drams. The "HSBC Bank Armenia" has made a
vast leap from the 9th place to the leaders, the Areximbank has kept
the second position, the Artsakhbank has moved three positions forward
, the INECOBANK held out in the fourth place and the Armeconombank has
secured the fifth position for itself.

In the AmRating analysts’ opinion, there are no apparent favourites of
race in the strict competitive activity in this market as yet, that is
proved by the indicators growth dynamics. Thus, the Armenian
Development Bank (ADB) with 15 mln drams has assured growth by 3619%,
the Unibank – by 264%, the BTA-Invest Bank – by 208%, the ArtsakhBank
– by 192%. Meanwhile, the market leader, Areximbank, assured the
growth of this indicator by 29,3% in all, the Armeconombank – by
93%. Therefore, the picture of priority in the market by 2008 may
change, especially as some of the former leaders today reduce their
previous indicators. Thus, the VTB Bank Armenia, that gave the
autocredits of 470.9 mln drams in 2005, decreased its indicator by
28.2%, upon results of, 2006, the Ardshininvestbank, that was in the
triple of leaders in 2005 with indicator of 1.992,3 mln drams, by
15,7%, the Bank reduced its indicators (299.2 mln) by 34,8%.

Upon the analysis results, the lowest share of autocredits in the
total indebtedness of physical persons, as of 2006, is fixed at
Armbusinessbank (ABB) – 1.1%, followed by VTB-Armenia – 3,7% (0.95% in
2005), ADB – 13.3% (0.41 in 2005), BTA-Invest Bank – 15.76% (7,88% in
2005) and Armeconombank – 15,8% (12.64% in 2005). The share of the
market leader, the Areximbank, makes up 11%, the "HSBC Bank Armenia" –
20%, the Armeconombank – 15.8%.

By the number of the given autocredits, the leading position in 2006
was taken by Armeconombank – 1621, that has kept the priority in the
yearly section (915 in 2005). The second place is taken by Areximbank
– 1054 (855 in 2005, that is the second place). The third place is
secured for "HSBC Bank Armenia" – 1015, which has made a yearly leap
upward by 6 positions (64 in 2005). The Artsakhbank is in the fourth
place – 805, which has advanced by two positions since 2005 (265
deals). The five of leaders, by the number of given credits, is closed
by INECOBANK – 650 against 597 in 2005, which has lowered by one
position.

Meanwhile, in the Agency analysts’ opinion, the active development of
the autocredits market entails synergy of the financial market
segments. Thus, according to ArmInfo data of Ranking of the leading
insurance companies of Armenia, the premiums of insurers, received for
the vehicle insurance, have shown nearly the same growth. Almost al
the banks, except for the two ones, insure the credited cars. The
total volume of insurance premiums in this segment, as of the
beginning of the year, made up 1.064,5 mln drams, however, according
to the experts’ data, the share of the gathered autocredit premiums
makes up 1,5% of the banking autocrediting volume on average, that
makes up about 250 mln drams by approximate estimations. The leaders
in the autoinsurance market are the INGO Armenia with volume of
premiums of 274.8 mln drams, RASCO – 232.1 mln drams and Sil Insurance
– 186.4 mln drams.

Nevertheless, in the AmRating analysts’ opinion, despite the growth of
the autocredits market indicators, this sphere of consumer crediting
is less developed from the viewpoint of quality of the proposed credit
products than the sphere of the consumer equipment crediting. Such
products as credits without initial fee, interest-free credits,
express-credits are absent in the market as yet, that is connected
with insufficient level of credit histories market development and
absence of scoring systems for the clients solvency estimation.
However, under the competition growth conditions, the analysts
forecast the further improvement of the market as regards
liberalization of the crediting terms, reduction of rates from the
present 18% on average, "prolongation" of terms to 5-6 years,
reduction of the credited cars’ age limit.

Egyptian foreign minister holds talks with Armenian counterpart

Egyptian foreign minister holds talks with Armenian counterpart

MENA news agency
14 Apr 07

Cairo, 14 April: Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu-al-Ghayt met on
Saturday with his Armenian counterpart Vardan Oskanyan.

During the meeting, Abu-al-Ghayt reviewed the Egyptian vision of
developments in the Mideast, especially with regard to the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan and the Iranian
nuclear file.

Hailing ties between Egypt and Armenia, Abu-al-Ghayt said that the two
countries would ink seven agreements on cooperation in fighting crime
and in the customs field as well as signing a memorandum of
understanding between the Egyptian and Armenian businessmen councils.

For his part, the Armenian minister highlighted the importance Armenia
attached to ties with Egypt.

Egypt established diplomatic ties with Armenia in 1992.

The Armenian minister also reviewed developments of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, ties with
the US and Russia and the impact of developments of the Iranian
nuclear file on the Caucasus region.

Egyptian, Armenian presidents hold talks in Cairo

Egyptian, Armenian presidents hold talks in Cairo

MENA news agency
14 Apr 07

Excerpt from report in English by Egyptian news agency MENA

Cairo, 14 April: President Husni Mubarak and his visiting Armenian
counterpart Robert Kocharyan on Saturday [14 April] held a tete-a-tete
session of talks, tackling a range of political issues of joint
interest.

Talks also took up the latest regional and international developments
as well as relations between Egypt and Armenia in the various fields,
especially in the economic and trade ones. [passage omitted]

[MENA news agency earlier (1001 gmt) on 14 April reported the Armenian
president’s arrival in Egypt at the head of a delegation, including
the foreign, trade and economic development and culture and youth
affairs ministers.]

MALTA: Gina arrives in Moscow

Malta Star, Malta
April 14 2006

Gina arrives in Moscow

maltastar.com team 14 April 2007

Early on Saturday morning, Gina Khachatryan, the Armenian journalist
who fled her country in 2003, left Malta after a brief stop at the
airport during her `unwanted’ repatriation voyage from England.

The journalist, along with her husband and their five year old
daughter, were deported from the UK on Friday 13 April. They had been
in England as asylum seekers for five years. The Home Office’s
decision to deport Gina and her family is being opposed by numerous
human right groups in the UK, because of the risk that they will be
imprisoned or persecuted for political motives. In 2003, Gina had
fled Armenia after spending 40 days in a local prison for allegedly
uncovering evidence of electoral fraud during the elections of the
same year.

maltastar.com is informed that Gina arrived in Moscow, the Russian
capital, on Saturday, on board an Air Malta flight, and was expected
to be taken to Armenia during the same day.

Friday’s short stay in Malta was Gina’s second time in the country.
She had been to Malta for 10 days right after escaping from Armenia.
Yet she never applied for asylum in Malta, and opted to try her luck
in the UK.

Throughout Thursday and Friday, maltastar.com and other Maltese
journalists, including members of the Journalist’s Committee, along
with a Maltese lawyer whose identity remained unknown, and the Peace
Lab, tried to maintain contact with Gina, and assist her in her
attempt to stop the deportation process. The efforts followed similar
efforts by other organisations in the UK, including Castaways, in
Bury, and the national media ethics awareness group Media Wise.

In the last minute, Gina chose to continue her deportation voyage as
ordered by British authorities.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress