Author: Kalantarian Kevo

OVERALL BALANCE CAPITAL OF ARMENIAN CREDIT ORGANIZATIONS GROWS BY
47.6% IN 2007

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, NOYAN TAPAN. 21 credit organizations operated in
Armenia as of December 31, 2007. According to data of the Central Bank
of Armenia (CBA), actual authorized capital of these credit
organizations made 10 bln 935 mln 620 thousand drams (over 31 mln 968
thousand USD) as of the indicated date, growing by 30.4% in a year and
by 10.7% in the 4th quarter of 2007. The overall balance capital of
credit organizations made 12 bln 485 mln 834 thousand drams as of
December 31, 2007, growing by 47.6% in a year and by 13.8% in the 4th
quarter of 2007.

Overall liabilities of Armenian credit organizations amounted to 30 bln
889 mln 496 thousand drams as of December 31, 2007, growing by 154.6%
in a year and by 11.6% in the 4th quarter of 2007. The same indices
with respect to overall assets made 43 bln 375 mln 330 thousand drams,
110.7% and 12.2%.

Standard credits and debts made up 98.2% of the credit organizations’
overall credits and bills receivable of a total of 42 bln 405 mln 210
thousand drams as of December 31, 2007.

The total amount of credits, deposits, sums provided on leasing and
factoring by credit organizations to residents made 39 bln 589 mln 547
thousand drams as of December 31, 2007, increasing by 129.6% in a year
and by 12.9% in the 4th quarter of 2007. 4 bln 562 mln 656 thousand
drams, which was allocated to industry, grew by 106.8% in a year and by
5.4% in the 4th quarter of 2007; sums of 3 bln 838 mln 987 thousand
drams allocated to agriculture grew by 63.1% in a year and by 22.7% in
the 4th quarter of 2007; the same indices with respect to construction
made 1 bln 883 mln 456 thousand drams, 629.5% and 4.6% respectively;
the indices with respect to transport and communication made 1 bln 580
mln 953 thousand drams, 93.6% and 15.1%.

Sums allocated by the Armenian credit organizations to the trade sector
made 7 bln 481 mln 221 thousand drams, growing by 83.8% in a year,
declining by 8.5% in the 4th quarter of 2007. 1 bln 237 mln 561
thousand drams was allocated to the financial sector of the economy,
this sum grew by 14.2% in a year and by 81.4% in the 4th quarter of
2007. Consumer credits amounted to 7 bln 62 mln 322 thousand drams,
increasing by 132.7% in a year and by 20.2% in the 4th quarter of 2007.
The same indices with respect to mortgage crediting made 4 bln 563 mln
706 thousand drams, 187.4% and 13.6% respectively; the same indices
with respect to other sectors made 7 bln 378 mln 685 thousand drams,
303.1% and 29.8%.

Gross incomes of the credit organizations made 8 bln 929 mln 394
thousand drams as of December 31, 2007 – against 3 bln 400 mln 885
thousand drams as of the same date in 2006. As of the indicated dates,
their gross expenditures made 6 bln 694 mln 158 thousand drams and 3
bln 128 mln 229 thousand drams, net and undistributed profits – 1 bln
816 mln 497 thousand drams and 102 mln 972 thousand drams respectively.

Russia & CIS Business and Financial Newswire
February 1, 2008 Friday 12:51 PM MSK

Revenue from communications services in Armenia up 24% in 2007

YEREVAN Feb 1

Revenue at communications enterprises in Armenia increased 23.8% in
2007 to 152.3105 billion dram, the National Statistics Service said
in a report published on Thursday.

Revenue from telecommunications services increased 24.2% to 150.1922
billion dram, of which revenue from fixed line services declined 0.8%
to 53.5844 billion but increased 46.7% for mobile communications to
87.8898 billion dram.

Revenue increased 16.3% to 4.8815 billion dram for data transmission
and Internet services, was up 13.2% to 3.1484 billion dram for radio
and TV broadcasting, up 0.4% to 2.1183 billion dram for postal and
telegraph services, but down 7.9% to 644.5 million dram for other
services.

OUT OF PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES LEVON TER-PETROSIAN IS ONLY ONE TO ADMIT HIS MISTAKES IN PERSONNEL POLICY

Noyan Tapan
Feb 1, 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, NOYAN TAPAN. Four candidates for the presidency
of the RA: the first president Levon Ter-Petrosian, the current prime
minister Serge Sargsian, the leader of "Orinats Yerkir" party Artur
Baghdasarian and the head of the National Democratic Union Vazgen
Manukian previously held important state positions. Reminding this
at the February 1 discussion, the secretary of the "Zharangutyun"
("Heritage") party Stepan Safarian said that out of these candidates,
Levon Ter-Petrosian is the only one to admit the mistakes he made
previously in conducting the personnel policy. In particular, he
expressed regret at having "imposed" Robert Kocharian and Serge
Sargsian on the Armenian people. According to the representative
of "Heritage", the former prime minister V. Manukian and the
former speaker of the RA National Assembly also frequently made
petrsonnel-related mistakes during their terms of office but they
prefer not to speak about it now. In the words of S. Safarian, Serge
Sargsian and his supporters have adopted the slogan "everything is
fine, fair marquise".

S. Safarian said that the name of the future prime minister is not
given definitely in the entourage of Serge Sargsian: there are 7-8
pretenders to this post: the mayor of Yerevan Yervand Zakharian, the
chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia Tigran Sargsian, member of
the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) board Karen Karapetian and some
others. This circumstance makes these persons to harness themselves
to work hard in the election campaign of S. Sargsian, as the one to
show the greatest activity will become prime minister.

TURKEY WILL BE READY FOR EU BY 2013

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.02.2008 14:36 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said Turkey
would have complied with the EU acquis by 2013. "Turkey is not only
an aspirant but also a member state at the moment," he said.

"Over the last five months 229 meetings were held in both Ankara and
Brussels to advance various chapters.

In the same period, 46 visits were paid to EU countries at the level
of state minister and head of government. Now the EU process is part
of Turkey’s daily work. We can’t hold back the process only because
one of the 27 EU members is discontent with something. Turkey’s full
membership is one of the most important peace projects of the 21st
century," he said, Milliyet reports.

Meanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor
Angela Merkel spoke out for ‘privileged partnership’ for Turkey.

NATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS COUNCIL OF ARMENIA HOLDS ITS FIRST SITTING

armradio.am
01.02.2008 15:35

The first sitting of the National Competitiveness Council of Armenia
chaired by the Chairman of the Council Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan
was held on February 1st.

The National Competitiveness Council of Armenia, established
in November 2007 by the decision of the Government, is aimed at
promoting Armenia’s sustainable economic development and enhance
global competitiveness of the country.

Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan stressed the importance of the Council,
noting that it was a direct outcome of the adopted policies and
programs of the Government. He emphasized the need for identifying
the potential of the nation for promoting the sustainable development
of the country and enhancement of the public-private partnership.

A package of strategic documents presented by the Executive Director
of the Council Ms. Gayane Afrikyan was approved by the Council. It
included the mission, vision, strategic goals, the 2008 work program
and the principles of the draft National Competitiveness Strategy
of Armenia.

It was decided to continue discussions on next steps during the next
meeting. At the end of the sitting PM Serge Sargsyan gave certain
instruction.

ARKA PUBLISHES ITS RATINGS OF ARMENIA’S BANKS AS OF END OF 4TH Q 2007

ARKA News Agency
Jan 31 2008
Armenia

YEREVAN, January 31. /ARKA/. ARKA information agency published the
ratings of activities of Armenia’s banks as of the end of the 4th
quarter 2007.

The bulletin is made based on unified financial reports of the
banking organizations published in the press, as well as on additional
information provided by the banks.

The bulletin "indicators of activities of Armenian banks" contains
80 pages of tabular information on banking indicators and has the
following 10 main sections describing the banking system: 1. Main
characteristics of banks, 2. Assets, 3. Obligations, 4. Active and
passive transactions of banks with non-residents, 5. Capital, 6.

Profit/Losses, 7. Information about financial flows, 8. Level of
capitalization and liquidity, 9. Standard risk indicators and 10.

Indicators of banks’ profitability and yield.

The information in the bulletin provides the general picture of the
financial state of Armenia’s banks and gives an opportunity to make
comparative analysis of their activities.

ARKA information agency has operated since May 1 1996 and specializes
in financial, economic and political information. The agency has issued
its quarterly bulletin "Indicators of the activities of Armenian banks"
since 1999 and "Crediting organizations of Armenia" quarterly bulleting
since March 2005.

Since May 2006 ARKA agency has issued "Financial indicators of banks"
as per the data of annual independent audits.

HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTS ADOPTION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION; PLEDGES TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE AS PRESIDENT

AZG Armenian Daily
29/01/2008

Armenian Genocide

Democratic Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton called for
Congressional passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution and pledged
that, as President, she will recognize the Armenian Genocide, reported
the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

"Our common morality and our nation’s credibility as a voice for
human rights challenge us to ensure that the Armenian Genocide be
recognized and remembered by the Congress and the President of the
United States," said Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY).

"Armenian Americans from across the United States welcome Hillary
Clinton’s strong support for the adoption of the Armenian Genocide
Resolution, and her pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide as
President of the United States," said ANCA Executive Director Aram
Hamparian. "Hillary Clinton’s statement, which reflects her consistent
track record of support in public office, speaks powerfully to our
community’s deeply held concerns regarding the recognition of the
Armenian Genocide, the expansion of the U.S.-Armenia relationship, and
a fair and democratic resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict."As
a Senator, Hillary Clinton has, since 2002, cosponsored successive
Armenian Genocide resolutions. She joined Senate colleagues in
cosigning letters to President Bush in 2005 and 2006 urging him to
recognize the Armenian Genocide.

It’s worth to mention that Hillary’s spouse, in spite of his
pre-election promises, didn’t spoke of the fact of the Armenian
Genocide after becoming US President.

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Jan 28 2008

Books about so-called Armenian genocide translated into Arabic,
English and German in Turkey

[ 28 Jan 2008 16:51 ]

Books about the so-called Armenian genocide published in Turkish
Historical Society are translated into Arabic, English and German,
APA’s Turkey bureau reports. Chairman of Turkish Historical Society
Yusuf Halacoglu said that the world community had learnt the history
from the books serving the interests of Armenian Diaspora.
`The world will learn the historical truth, after these books are
translated. Armenian Diaspora has recently started propaganda against
the Arab world. Armenian genocide claims spread in the Arab world
now. Therefore, we decided to translate the books, which prove with
facts that Armenian genocide claims are not true, into Arabic,’ he
said. /APA/

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Jan 28 2008

Denmark does not recognize Armenian historical claims

Monday , 28 January 2008
By Kezban HURI (JTW)

COPENHAGEN – Denmark does not officially recognize that 1915 communal
clashes between Armenians, Turks and Kurds in the Ottoman time
constitute genocide, Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller said
Thursday.

"In the government’s opinion, this is a historical question that
should be left up to the historians," Moeller said in a written
parliamentary answer.

Moeller’s note came in response to a question from parliamentary
member, Morten Messerchmidt, of the far-right Danish People’s Party,
on whether "Denmark had officially recognized this genocide."

The far-rightist parliamenterian Messerchmidt told the AFP "It is
unfortunate that the Danish government refuses to join other
countries in recognizing this genocide. It is as if they fear
Turkey’s reactions."

Many Armenians and Muslims were killed in the 1915 communal clashes
when the Armenians rioted against the Ottoman State as a support of
the occupying Russian forces during the First World War. More than
520.000 Turkish and Kurdish people were massacred by the armed
Armenian nationalists. Many Jews were also killed by the Tashnak
militants in the Hakkari province. Armenia and some of the Armenian
diaspora groups label the 1915 events as genocide while the Turks
also accuse the Armenians of committing genocide against the Muslims.
Armenia does not recognise Turkey’s national borders and occupies 20
percent of another neighbouring country, Azerbaijan.

28 January 2008

The Financial, Georgia
Jan 26 2008

Armenian President and PM received the leadership of `Gazprombank’

26/01/2008 12:30 (11:09 minutes ago)

The FINANCIAL — According to Banks.AM, Armenian President and Prime
Minister received in Yerevan on January 25 the Chairman of the Board
of `Gazprombank’ Andrey Akimov and his Deputy Farid Kantserov.

Mediamax notes that in December of 2007 `Gazprombank’ purchased 80%
of shares of the Armenian `Areximbank’.

As Mediamax was told in the presidential press service, Robert
Kocharian notes that `Gazprom’ realizes large-scale programs in the
sphere of Armenian energy, and the arrival of `Gazprombank’ will
allow hoping to attract its resource and opportunities.

According to the President, in Armenia the bank will face serious
competition, since the banking system of the country develops with
high speeds, and last year five foreign banks opened their branches
in Armenia.

Robert Kocharian noted that, being quite liberal, the banking
legislation of Armenia at the same time provides for serious control
over the activities of the banks.

Andrey Akimov noted that in Armenia the bank does not expect
momentary results, it intends to carry out serious work, has
far-reaching plans and long-term projects. Chairman of the Board of
the bank assured Robert Kocharian that `Gazprombank’ will become a
`serious, reliable and reasonable partner’ for Armenia.

The delegation of `Gazprombank’ was also received today by the
Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian. He noted that the
cooperation with large and authority financial structures is one of
the priority direction of the economic policy of the Armenian
government.