Author: Hambik Zargarian

 20:10,

YEREVAN, 14 JULY, ARMENPRESS․ On July 14, around 7:20 p.m., the Azerbaijani armed forces violated the ceasefire in the Martuni region of Artsakh by using 82 mm mortar, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Artsakh.

The Armenian side has suffered no casualties.

The incident was reported to the command of the Russian peacekeeping troops.

 12:34, 6 July 2023

YEREVAN, JULY 6, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan didn’t make a single adequate step in response to Armenia providing the maps of minefields, and continues to illegally hold Armenian prisoners of war and uses them as a political bargaining factor, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on July 6.

He said that Azerbaijan is making groundless accusations against Armenia regarding laying mines.

“First of all, the International Court of Justice debunked the accusations targeting Armenia over laying mines in its February 22 ruling, and besides, as a sign of sincerity and determination in normalizing relations, Armenia gave Azerbaijan in the past years the maps of all minefields in the territories under Azerbaijani control, which is today being used in large-scale de-mining works. But in response Azerbaijan did not make a single adequate step, it still continues to hold Armenian prisoners of war and uses them as a factor for political bargaining,” Pashinyan said.

 16:47, 5 July 2023

STEPANAKERT, JULY 5, ARMENPRESS. The number of births surpassed the number of deaths in the first half of 2023 in Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), furthermore the natural increase surpassed the figure of the same period of 2022,” the Nagorno Karabakh National Statistical Service said in response to a query from ARMENPRESS.

The agency added that 51,5% of newborns in the first five months of 2023 are boys and 48,5% are girls.

Marriage and divorce numbers have dropped.

 16:56,

YEREVAN, JUNE 29, ARMENPRESS. Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) upgraded Ameriabank’s Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) to ba3 from b1 and affirmed the bank’s long-term deposit ratings at Ba3. The rating agency also changed the outlook on the Ba3 long-term deposit ratings to stable from negative.

The upgrade of Ameriabank’s BCA and Adjusted BCA to ba3 from b1 is driven by the bank’s asset quality resilience through pandemic combined with dramatically improved capital adequacy and profitability over the last two years. The upgrade of the bank’s long-term Counterparty Risk Ratings (CRRs) to Ba2 from Ba3, and the upgrade of the long-term Counterparty Risk Assessment (CR Assessment) to Ba2(cr) from Ba3(cr) follows the BCA upgrade.

The rating agency notes that Ameriabank continues to demonstrate robust performance as reflected in a very high return on tangible assets of 3.6% in 2022 and 3.5%(annualized) during the first quarter of 2023.This was supported by strong pre-provision income, lower credit costs and robust cost efficiency with a cost to income ratio of 45% in Q1 2023.

According to Moody’s, Ameriabank also materially improved its asset quality in 2021-2022 following the pandemic.The share of non-performing loans (NPL) decreased to 2.5%as ofQ1 2023 from4.2%at the end of 2020.NPL coverage by reserves remains robust at 80%as ofQ1 2023.

Ameriabank’s capital buffer has materially strengthened over the recent years amid strong profitability and modest loan book growth.

The outlook on Ameriabank’s long-term deposit ratings is stable, reflecting Moody’s view that the bank will maintain its sound fundamentals over the next 12-18 months. Ameriabank rating outlook update follows the sovereign rating outlook change from negative to stable.

Ameriabank CJSC

Ameriabank is a leading financial and technology company in Armenia, a major contributor to the Armenian economy, with assets exceeding AMD 1 trillion. In the course of digital transformation, it has launched a number of innovative solutions and platforms going beyond banking-only needs of its diverse customer base, thus creating a dynamically evolving financial technology space. 

Ameria was the first in Armenia to create ecosystems for both businesses and individuals, which give one-window access to a range of banking and non-banking services, among them – Estate.ameriabank.am, Automarket.ameriabank.am, Business.ameriabank.am. 

As a truly customer-centric company, Ameria aims to be a trusted and secure financial technology space with seamless solutions to improve the quality of life.

The Bank is supervised by the Central Bank of Armenia.

 10:02,

YEREVAN, JUNE 29, ARMENPRESS. The diamond industry is booming in Armenia, with several companies engaged in negotiations on opening production plants in the country. An Indian diamond producer recently opened a plant in Armenia.

Precious and semi-precious stones, precious metals and related products were the most exported goods in the past few months in Armenia (508 million 61,2 thousand USD – a 3,9% growth compared to the previous year’s same period).

Ministry of Economy Head of the Strategic Sector Division Arevik Margaryan said the growth in exports is mostly associated with diamonds and jewelry products. The growth is related with both the geopolitical situation and the activities of the diamond producers in Armenia.

“The Indian VDA Diamonds company registered in Armenia in July 2022, and they began production in July this year in Abovyan,” she said, adding that the company has invested 10 million dollars in the Armenian city.

7-8 companies are actively engaged in diamond production in the country.

ADM Diamonds, an Armenian producer, is working with innovative technologies and is considered a regional leader in making fancy-cut diamonds.

Diamonds are mostly exported to CIS and EEU countries, with some volumes also to other countries. In 2022 Armenia exported over 34,8 billion drams of diamonds to EEU countries compared to the 2021 figure of 17,3 billion. Exports to other countries amounted to 727 million drams, which is close to the 2021 number.

The economy ministry official says that Armenia’s high-quality professionals ensure high-quality product. “Tiffany & Co., Cartier, Patek Philippe, Hermes and other brands are buying diamonds cut in Armenia. For example, the Armenian Arevak and Shoghakn companies are the official suppliers of diamonds to Tiffany & Co and other leading brands. They ensure quality,” Margaryan said.

New investments will be made in the sector soon, according to the official. Other Indian companies are now conducting negotiations on opening plants.

“They take into account our professional potential. For example, one of the companies has plants also in Russia and they noticed that there are highly qualified Armenians among the workers. So they decided that Armenia would be more convenient for opening a new plant. Our economic situation is also beneficial for them, as well as the government’s support programs such as the infrastructure-for investments, the economic modernization project and the customs duty exemption for imports of equipment, which await new investments,” Margaryan said. In addition, jewelry and diamond production is officially a strategic direction in the government’s list of primary areas of industrial development.

Most of the gold jewelry is exported to Russia, Kazakhstan, other CIS countries, as well as the U.S., the UAE, Turkey, Belgium and other countries.

In 2022, Armenia exported 2,1 billion dram worth of gold jewelry to EEU countries. Exports to other countries stood at 1,5 billion drams.

Anna Grigoryan

 16:46, 21 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 21, ARMENPRESS. Armenia cannot be involved in bypassing the Western sanctions against Russia, Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan told POLITICO.

Mnatsakan Safaryan told POLITICO that while the Eurasian Economic Union mandates the free movement of goods, “We cannot fall under sanctions ourselves by getting involved in shadowy activities and circumvention, bypassing sanctions.”

“We are very much concerned that such developments, getting under sanctions as a country or our companies getting under sanctions, will affect our economy and make it unbearable for Armenia economy-wise and security-wise,” he said.

The POLITICO article noted that Armenia has now publicly committed to working with the EU and the U.S. to block trade in ‘risky items’ and prevent its businesses ending up on the wrong side of the rules. A list drawn up last month by Yerevan applies strict control measures to goods that could be ultimately used by the Russian arms industry.

“As one of the only emerging democracies in the region, with a government that has overseen significant progress on civil liberties and press freedom, Yerevan is distancing itself from its traditional ally Russia and pushing for closer ties with the West,” POLITICO’s Gabriel Gavin wrote.

According to Safaryan, unpicking decades of close trade ties with Russia is no easy feat, and pragmatism is more useful than ideology. He insisted there’s been no pressure from Moscow to keep sanctioned goods flowing.

“Our policy has been based on our dialog with the EU and the U.S.,” he said, “but we also work with Russia to help navigate these issues as our economies are very much connected.”