Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

ZHAMANAK: JACES CHIEF ALLOCATES BUDGET FUNDS TO HIS OWN COMPANY

‘Zhamanak’ says that the chief of Armenian Justice Ministry’s Judicial
Acts Compulsory Enforcement Service (JACES) Mihran Poghosyan orders
services at Catherine Group belonging to him.

The paper writes that on December 12 JACES signed an agreement of 1
million 107 thousand drams with the director of Catherine Group G.

Badalyan. By the agreement, the company shall ensure auto repairs of
16 cars on the balance sheet of JACES.

25.12.14, 11:53

From: Baghdasarian

IMPORT OF ROUGH DIAMONDS TO ARMENIA FROM RUSSIA TO BE SIMPLIFIED

YEREVAN, December 25. / ARKA /. Import of rough diamonds to Armenia
from Russia will be facilitated, economy minister Karen Chshmarityan
said at a Cabinet meeting today.

He specified that the process of concluding agreements for supply of
rough diamonds will be simplified and a mandatory requirement that
the agreements be reconciled with the Armenian ministries of justice
and finance will be eliminated.

The Armenian government has also approved today the signing of a
protocol to the intergovernmental agreement between Armenia and Russia
on cooperation in the supply of natural gas, petroleum products and
natural rough diamonds.

This decision allows Armenian companies to buy natural rough diamonds
from Russia without export duties and oversee their re-export, which
is supposed to help boost local diamond cutting industry.

The main supplier of rough diamonds to Armenia is Russia; rough
diamonds are imported also from Namibia, Israel, Guinea, Canada,
Belgium and Sweden.

In the first ten months of 2014 Armenia imported 38,000 carats of
rough diamonds from Russia and a total of 96,000 carats in 2013.

According to official numbers, in the first 10 months of this year
Armenian diamond-cutting companies imported 107,000 carats of rough
diamonds. The overall figure for 2013 was 178,000 carats. ($ 1-
461.10 drams). -0-

From: Baghdasarian

200 GARNI VILLAGERS BEATING ALARM SIGNAL ON DANGER THREATENING TO KHOSROV RESERVE, SYMPHONY OF STONES, GARNI GORGE AND GARNI VILLAGE

16:50 December 24, 2014

EcoLur

200 Garni villagers are beating an alarm signal about the danger
threatening to Khosrov Reserve, Symphony of Stones, Garni Gorge
and Garni Village. They expressed their negative opinion with 200
signatures on the Qaghtsrashen gravity irrigation system, substantiated
this opinion, drew up the minutes of the public hearings held on 20
December 2014 and sent it to Nature Protection Ministry.

From: Baghdasarian

LA BANQUE CENTRALE AFFIRME QUE LA DEVALUATION DE LA MONNAIE NATIONALE EST ARTIFICIELLE ET TEMPORAIRE

ARMENIE

L’ensemble de la presse rend compte de la conference de presse
du President de la Banque centrale, Arthur Javadian, a la suite
d’une baisse record de la monnaie locale. Selon lui, le dram est > aujourd’hui, tandis que le dollar est > a cause de la panique et des speculations de la part de certains
acteurs economiques. Le dram retrouvera sa vraie valeur une fois les
speculations et la panique disparues. Selon M. Javandian, c’est un
> que le dram sera alors renforce. Il a appele
la societe a ne pas effectuer de transactions deplacees en monnaie
etrangère et a s’abstenir de capitaliser sur le taux de change. Le
President de la Banque centrale a affirme que le système bancaire ne
manquait pas de monnaie etrangère et qu’en cas de besoin, la Banque
pourrait assurer des interventions necessaires. >, a-t-il dit. Il a mis en garde contre tous
ceux qui tenteraient d’augmenter artificiellement les prix ou de mener
leurs affaires en monnaie etrangère : des reponses des responsables
concernes, ceux-ci ayant affirme que la situation etait sous contrôle
et que le dram allait se renforcer dans les jours a venir.

Haykakan Jamanak estime dans son editorial que les autorites
armeniennes ont fait une > sur le marche, dans
la mesure où a la suite de leurs declarations, le marche financier a
semble quelque peu stabilise et le dollar a recule de quelques points.

Le quotidien estime que le PM et le President de la Banque centrale
ont choisi le > pour faire leurs declarations,
qui ont eu un effet positif. Le journal ecrit que si les tendances
financières sont positives en Russie dans les jours a venir, le dram
regagnera du terrain. Jamanak remarque que les autorites concernees
ont confesse par leurs declarations que des entites economiques
ou des individus ont specule depuis une semaine sur le marche et
destabilise la situation, sans que l’Etat prenne des mesures rapides
pour les sanctionner. Il s’agit, selon ce quotidien, d’une question
d’une importance particulière pour la securite nationale.

Jamanak, 168 Jam, Joghovourd et Haykakan Jamanak signalent que
plusieurs dizaines de chauffeurs de minibus d’Erevan se sont mis en
grève hier pour protester contre une hausse de plus de 20% du prix du
gaz naturel liquefie. Ils reclament une augmentation du prix de ce
mode de transport en commun (fixe par le gouvernement) pour couvrir
leurs depenses. Par ailleurs, le vice-Ministre de l’Energie et des
ressources naturelles, Areg Galstian, n’a pas exclu que la devaluation
du dram se repercute sur le prix de l’electricite. Un porte-parole des
reseaux electriques d’Armenie a dit a RFE/RL que la societe evaluait
actuellement sa situation financière a la lumière de la depreciation
du dram.

Une porte-parole de Gazprom-Armenia a indique pour sa part que la
societe pourrait demander une hausse tarifaire si le dram continue de
baisser. Il a rappele que les prix du gaz existants ont ete calcules
sur la base d’un taux de 416 drams par dollar, le dollar ayant franchi
le taux de 550 drams hier.

Extrait de la revue de presse de l’Ambassade de France en Armenie en
date du 18 decembre 2014

jeudi 25 decembre 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIA TO CONCLUDE TALKS WITH EU IN EARLY 2015 – DEPUTY MINISTER

13:37 * 25.12.14

A deputy minister of economy says he expects specific outcomes from
the Armenia-EU negotiations, which he believes will be concluded at
the beginning of next year.

According to Garegin Melkonyan, a new round of bilateral format was
prepared earlier in 2014 and finalized in October-November to outline
the future trends of trade-economic cooperation.

At a news conference on Thursday, the official said that the Foreign
Ministry is simultaneously negotiating with the EU to discuss legal,
human rights and foreign policy issues.

He said the discussions, based on the earlier talks over the Deep
and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA), inspire belief that
the country will have a new document with the Union in early 2015.

“Our accentuations mainly focus on the possible extent of maintaining
the negotiated wordings, agreements and cooperation formats. A special
attention is paid to the parts included in DCFTA, but they may at
times conflict with Armenia’s commitment under the EEU [Eurasian
Economic Union],” he noted.

The deputy minister noted particularly that certain paragraphs need
editing and corrections, adding that the new document does not have
provisions envisaging 0% customs fees or specific tax administration
mechanisms.

Melkonyan nonetheless said he hopes that they will manage to preserve
the major part of the previously negotiated agreement.

The meeting was attended by Vardan Ayvazyan, the head of the National
Assembly’s Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, Tatul Manaseryan,
an economist and the director of the analytical center Alternative,
and Gagik Makaryan, the president of the Union of Employers.

From: Baghdasarian

AMD DEVALUATION DID NOT STIMULATE EXPORTS FROM ARMENIA

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Dec 23 2014

23 December 2014 – 6:09pm

The fall of the dram did not become an incentive to increase exports
from Armenia, as claimed by the central bank of the country, on the
contrary: at the end of November and in December, exports fell by
18%, the chairman of the “Union of Armenian Exporters” Raffi Mkhchyan
said today.

According to the expert, exporters of agricultural commodities
initially could not benefit from the devaluation of the dram, as the
national currency also devalued on the main export market in Russia.

Mkhchyan noted the presence of economists predicting such fluctuations,
whose opinions, however, are not heard. He refused to associate
the impairment of the dram with the situation in Russia, noting
that Armenia has a lot of internal problems that have affected the
financial market, Epress.am reports.

The negative picture was also worsened due to speculations of certain
people, “if it continued longer, the speculation could have led to
even greater panic.”

Regarding exports, the chairman of the Union of Armenian Exporters said
that industrial products dominating by up to 65%, the food industry
– 20-25%, and information technology has the rest, which has a lot
of potential.

Food produced in Armenia might not delight abroad, and basically
it is consumed in Germany by Armenians living there, Raffi Mkhchyan
concluded.

From: Baghdasarian

O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM, HOW STILL WE SEE THEE LIE (DUE TO TRAFFIC)

Bethlehem is jammed with a big-city problem – the traffic

TIA GOLDENBERG

BETHLEHEM

Tuesday 23 December 2014

The little town of Bethlehem is jammed with a big-city problem.

Traffic snarls streets everywhere, including around the church
marking the spot where Jesus was born. And now, with Christmas upon
it, Bethlehem is considering a dramatic solution to the problem –
digging a tunnel under Manger Square.

The modern, densely populated town of 28,000 is a dizzying maze of
small streets that practically guarantee traffic jams.

“Bethlehem is going through a crisis,” says Anton Salman, a city
councillor. “We think that the solution to this traffic is to build
an underground passage between the two sides of the square.”

Bethlehem’s municipality now hopes eventually to build several tunnels
around the Palestinian city, where the urban development problems
are myriad.

Bethlehem is sandwiched on three sides by other towns. From the
north and southeast, it is hemmed in by Israel’s separation barrier
and Jewish settlements. It is also a main transit point for drivers
between the northern and southern parts of the West Bank, compounding
its congestion.

The area around the Nativity Church, built on the site where Christians
believe Jesus was born, is particularly busy, with tourists swarming
the area and cars squeezing through Manger Square. Streets all around
face a constant backlog because of traffic in the square.

The plan proposes a 260ft-tunnel passing under a narrow two-lane street
that crosses Manger Square in front of the Nativity Church. The project
would take about two years to complete and would cost £2.5m to £3.2m,
with the Palestinian Authority pledging to foot the bill. If the plan
is approved, construction could start in autumn next year.

With the tunnel ensuring the flow of traffic, Manger Square would be
closed to cars entirely under the plan and turned into a pedestrian
expanse. But the tunnel project could run aground.

The municipality would need to get a stamp of approval from the UN’s
cultural agency Unesco, which has listed the Nativity Church as a
World Heritage site and would want to ensure its protection. Junaid
Sorosh-Wali, an official at Unesco’s Ramallah office, said the agency
would study the plan once approached by Palestinian officials.

Also, because the tunnel would pass near church grounds, church
officials from each of the three denominations that administer the
site would need to be involved. Officials at the Roman Catholic, Greek
Orthodox and Armenian churches did not return messages requesting
comment.

Mazen Karam is the director of the Bethlehem Development Foundation,
a group that helped draft the tunnel study. For Mr Karam, the tunnel
is part of a series of projects meant to spruce up Bethlehem.

“If Joseph and Mary came back to Bethlehem, they would be shocked,”
he said. “Bethlehem doesn’t deserve to be crowded with people and
heavy traffic. It should be more open with wide spaces so people can
go and enjoy the home of Jesus.”

From: Baghdasarian

ALMOST 50% OF YEREVAN RESIDENTS CONSIDER PRESERVATION OF OLD HOUSES AS PLEDGE OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

YEREVAN, December 24. /ARKA/. Some 47% of the 1,066 Yerevan residents
surveyed by Gallup International between December 9 and 16 find it
necessary to preserve old houses for attracting tourists.

“Some 30% are convinced that it is necessary to recreate Old Yerevan
for tourism development, 27% pointed out expansion of green spaces,
12% a better street illumination and 5% cleanness,” Aram Navasardyan,
director of Gallup International Association office in Armenia,
said Wednesday at a news conference. -0—–

From: Baghdasarian

REVALUATION OF THE ARMENIAN CURRENCY MUST BE REFLECTED ON PRICES – ECONOMIST

11:30 / 24.12.2014

Despite the devaluation of US Dollar the prices for the products
have not reduced. Nyut.am conducted interview with economist, head
of Alternative research center Tatul Manaseryan over the recent
developments in the market.

– Despite the decline of the USD, the prices have not reduced. Why
and what must be undertaken to end this situation?

– The management of currency supposes not only reduction of currency
rate but its reflection on the prices as well. Ensuring it is not just
the function of the Central Bank but more of the State Commission
for Protection of Economic Competition, Finance Ministry’s Tax and
Customs Services.

If this control weakens and the prices were formed self-willingly
the efforts and means applied for stabilizing the currency were in
vain. I mean the reduction of currency rate must have its reflection
on the prices of products. If it does not occur, it means the state
has failed the regulatory and control functions.

– What the Central Bank and the Armenian government were to do not
to allow the speculations in the currency market?

– I do not think that anyone was expecting such blows. I can suppose
that from the first glance it was an issue the government could
overcome, but the experience showed that the forces interested in
the destabilization of the market were more and this resulted in
such blows. The registered in the currency market was not much the
devaluation of the dram but overvaluation of the USD. In general,
during the past three years USD is valuating against other currencies,
reinforces its position slowly, gradually. Now few factors objective
and subjective were added to it.

– Can we tie the recent developments with the valuation of the USD?

During these three years we could not imagine that such things
would happen.

– It shows that we are not conducting pro-active policy, we are more
conducting responding policy. For instance in 2008 first the government
was claiming that the crisis will not affect us, then they stated that
it will, then that it will bypass us, and in the end – it affected
us. We are responding to it, we are fighting against consequences. We
have enough financial resources, USD stores, specialists to make these
processes manageable which were used in the last days. But I think
we would have suffered greater losses if the situation was predicted.

The failure to predict was accompanied with the political conflict
and sanctions against Russia and it was possible to respond to it in
summer and be ready for it.

Nyut.am

From: Baghdasarian

LET ALL PUBLICIZE TRANSACTIONS MADE DURING THESE 10-12 DAYS – PETROS MAKEYAN

17:00 / 24.12.2014

The monopolies are being more reinforced in the economy of our country
with the consequences being noticeable everyday, leader of Democratic
Homeland party Petros Makeyan told the reporters on Wednesday.

According to him, hocus-pocus has played a significant role in the
fluctuation of the currency and during this period a group of people
have earned big money. In the opposite case how come the USD passed
the 600 threshold and fell down below 500 drams the next day? Makeyan
stressed, adding that it was all done artificially.

“If it is not so, let all be so kind to publicize the transactions
made during these 10-12 days. We all know that if you are exchanging
more than $400 you must present your passport, especially in case of
dealing with banks,” Makeyan stressed.

Nyut.am

From: Baghdasarian