The former chairman of the RA State Revenue Committee, now co-founder of the “Wings of Unity” political initiative Davit Ananyan, severely criticized the latest statements of the Ministry of Economy regarding the unprecedented growth of foreign investments in 2025. According to the expert, the authorities are manipulating the statistics, presenting the technical recovery after a deep recession as an economic jump.
Earlier Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan announced that in 2025, the volume of investment will increase by 88 percent compared to the previous year, and foreign direct investment (FDI) will increase by about 3.6 times. Interpreting this data: Davit Ananyan confirmed that the figures were indeed taken from official sources, but urged them to be viewed in a broader macroeconomic context. “But if we don’t analyze them, we get what they often try to present, the illusion of an investment boom,” said the former head of the tax department.
Ananyan explained that in 2024 the net flow of direct investments in the real sector was negative and amounted to minus 47.5 billion drams, which actually meant capital outflow. Last year, the FDI index was at an extremely low level, only about 0.3 percent of the country’s GDP. According to the expert, the transition of plus 93 billion drams in 2025 is a purely mathematical consequence. “When the base is negative or extremely low, any recovery in numbers can look like explosive growth,” he emphasized.
The former chairman of the SRC also referred to the geography of the financial receipts presented by the sector ministry. Noting the leadership of jurisdictions such as Luxembourg, Singapore and Switzerland, he explained that these states often act only as financial intermediaries. Such statistics, according to the specialist, show the platform of registration of transactions, and not the real origin of investors’ capital.
Concluding the speech, Ananyan raised a question about the actual impact of the announced measures on the country’s economy. According to his assessment, instead of the expected stable industrial growth, expansion of exports and increase in labor productivity, structural fluctuations and a decline in export indicators are observed in Armenia. The specialist summarized that the apparently correct figures are interpreted in a distorted way and are politicized, which is a question of the quality of the economic policy that is already being implemented.
—
Disclaimer: This article was contributed and translated into English by Maral Chavushian. While we strive for quality, the views and accuracy of the content remain the responsibility of the contributor. Please verify all facts independently before reposting or citing.
Direct link to this article: https://www.armenianclub.com/2026/04/14/verelq-the-former-src-chairman-will-make-statements-about-the-investment-boom/