Author: Antranik Varosian

 09:41,

BERLIN, FEBRUARY 14, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s current judicial system, including the Constitutional Court, was formed in the previous political conditions. And the changes in this sphere are a necessity, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the meeting in the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Germany, Armenpress correspondent reports from Berlin.  

The PM said after the 2018 Revolution no major changes have taken place in the judiciary. On this path Armenia has been guided and continues to be guided with the principle of moving forward with institutional steps.

“We are guided with this approach so that our changes will not be spontaneous, we are guided with this approach in order to be convinced that we will bring a benefit, rather than a damage. For many years our country has lived under the conditions of a judicial system controlled by the government. But our task is to create guarantees that there will be really an independent and impartial judiciary in the country”, Pashinyan said, adding that it’s necessary to start the judicial reforms. In this context he attached importance to the EU support and thanked for the readiness to assist.

According to the Armenian PM, the most important news in the current period are the ongoing events around the Constitutional Court. He informed the meeting participants that the Armenian Parliament recently adopted a decision according to which a referendum on the Constitutional Court will be held in the country on April 5. The PM thoroughly introduced the reason of making such a decision. The reason is that legislative manipulations have taken place 30 days before the entry into force of the new Constitution under the former Parliament and Government.

“As a result today we don’t have a Constitutional Court by the current Constitution. Question arises, when we will have a court envisaged by the Constitution if we don’t make any change? If we don’t make any change, we will have that in 2035 because the representatives of the previous leadership have elected a president of the Constitutional Court based on manipulations who should remain in office until 2035. In other words, there will be no election of the Constitutional Court President for 18 years”, Nikol Pashinyan said, adding that such situation is unacceptable, and this issue has been put up to referendum.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

 18:40, 6 February, 2020

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 6, ARMENPRESS.  President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian or his family members never made any direct or non-direct investments in Turkey or Azerbaijan, nor will make in the future, ARMENPRESS reports the press service of the President’s Office said, commenting on some announcements related to the President of the Republic.

“Taking into account the inquiries of different news outlets related to some announcements addressed to the President of the Republic, we inform that President Armen Sarkissian provides annual declaration of possession. It’s an open document, where the incomes and financial resources of the President are clearly mentioned.

President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian or his family members never made any direct or non-direct investments in Turkey or Azerbaijan, nor will make in the future.

Besides, Armen Sarkissian has never held any shares of the British Petrolium company. As it was mentioned in the official biography of the President, he worked as a senior consultant for the company, and, according to the agreement, Caucasus was excluded from the zone of his activities. In addition, the British Petrolium is an Open Joint Stock Company, the shareholders of which are known. Anyone with some computer skills can easily find their names.

There are hundreds of companies that have “Knightsbridge” word in their names which operate in strictly different spheres in different parts of the world and have different owners and shareholders. The small group of companies the names of which included “Knightsbridge” word with which Armen Sarkissian had some links, does not exist for a long time and none of those companies ever invested in the projects of the British Petrolium or in Azerbaijan.

The announcements are groundless and fictional”, reads the statement of the President’s Office.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

 10:59, 5 February, 2020

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. Deputy minister of economy Naira Margaryan met with Director of the Institute of Management Consulting, IMC Armenia, Silva Mesropyan.

IMC Armenia is a member of the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI), the ministry told Armenpress.

The meeting aimed at discussing the organization and preparations works of the upcoming Big Business Bridge global forum which will take place in Armenia in May.

The Armenian ministry of economy, as an official partner of the event, attaches great importance to the development of consulting institute in Armenia. “Among our priorities is the creation of a favorable ecosystem for business development, and the presence of high-quality and relevant consulting services is one of its most important components. We still have a lot of work to do on this path”, the deputy minister said.

Holding the forum in Armenia aims at boosting the consulting service market in the country by enabling the representatives of the consulting field and the business to get acquainted with the mutual cooperation opportunities, the international experience and developments.

On the sidelines of the forum the Asia Pacific Hub Meeting will take place.

ICMCI member states are Austria, Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, Russia, US, China, Sweden, Switzerland, etc.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

 20:51, 29 January, 2020

YEREVAN, JANUARY 29, ARMENPRESS. HSBC is considering selling its Turkey business amid concerns about the country’s volatile currency and economic outlook, ARMENPRESS reports sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

As part of broader cost-cutting measures under interim Chief Executive Noel Quinn, the bank is also seeking to sell or shrink its business in some other markets, the sources said.

These include countries where it has small-scale operations that struggle to compete with local players, including Armenia, Greece and Oman, they said.

A spokeswoman for HSBC declined to comment.

HSBC will seek to sell its banking business in Turkey if it can find a local buyer, the sources said, adding that no final decision has yet been taken.

The bank’s retreat from Turkey, where it has operated since 1990, would be one of the biggest exits from a country it has made in recent years as it shrinks its once globe-spanning empire.

HSBC has already shrunk its presence from some 315 branches and around 6,000 staff in 2013 to around 80 branches and 2,000 staff as of September last year, according to data from the Banks Association of Turkey.

Turkey has been a problem country for HSBC in recent years as volatility in the lira and economic problems have hit its returns, with the bank flagging rising expected loan losses there in its 2018 annual report.

A currency crisis in 2018 cut the lira’s value by nearly 30%, brought on a brief but sharp recession, and prompted Ankara to clamp down on the financial sector with a series of new rules aimed at stabilizing the currency and kick-starting economic growth.

The lender previously attempted to sell its business in Turkey in 2015, Reuters reported at the time, with Dutch lender ING among the interested parties.

But the sale never went through, and the lender instead pursued branch closures and job cuts that saw it swing from a loss in 2014 and 2015 to a profit of 456 million lira ($77.02 million) in the first nine months of 2019.

Despite that improved performance, the risks from currency volatility and the economic situation mean HSBC still wants to exit, the sources said.

Interim CEO Quinn is expected to announce his cost-cutting measures when the bank reports annual results and its new strategy on Feb. 18.

Quinn is auditioning for the full-time CEO role under chairman Mark Tucker. He is tipped by insiders at the bank to get the job, although it could yet go to a surprise external candidate.

The bank is also shedding around 100 roles in its equities business as it scales back in continental Europe, Reuters reported earlier this month.