Author: Tadevosian Garnik

CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT BECOMES MARKET-MAKER OF INECOBANK’S SECURITIES

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
02.06.2009

/PanARME NIAN.Net/ Since June 2, 2009 CJSC Capital Asset Management,
a member of NASDAQ OMX Armenia stock market, will officially announce
purchase and selling prices of discount bonds of the CJSC Inecobank ,
included in the list of the Bbond stock market on May 11, 2009.

7,000 bonds of the first tranche were placed with a bond nominal value
of AMD 50.000 with redemption period being 365 days and annual yield
at 9.5 per cent.

The bonds of Inecobank were issued under the agreement between the
bank and the USAID. Thelatter guarantees up to 50 of the risks in favor
of bond holders. The bonds are to be registered on NASDAQ OMX Armenia
stock exchange and will be circulated on the secondary market. Capital
Asset Management is the underwriter and the market-maker of the
securities of the bank.

Capital Asset Management will maintain liquidity of Inecobank’s
securities, ensuring the permanent opportunity for investors to buy or
sell them on the secondary market. Capital Asset Management company
is also a market maker of securities of Converse Bank (CVBKB1),
included in the Bbond stock market list.

WHO THE LIONESS IS IN REALITY

Lragir.Am
12:04:42 – 01/06/2009

Although the parliamentary member Naira Zohrabyan advised the reporters
not to make a top-news of the quarrel of the "two women" at one of
the polling stations, which was registered at the polling station
of the Shengavit commune between the head of the commission Hasmik
Ghazaryan and Naira Zohrabyan, nevertheless it is impossible not to
record that on May 31, its became clear who is the real "lioness"
of the Armenian political field.

While Naira Zohrabyan was slapping in the face of the head of the
commission, who was overlooking the electoral breaches and was
assaulting her, Heghine Bisharyan, who is proclaimed lioness, was
trying to justify the transportation of people from the regions to
Yerevan. Heghine Bisharyan was trying to assure the society that
people were just coming to support their favorite political forces.

So, we have to register that it became clear for the Armenian
society who is the lioness of the political field of Armenia in
reality. Heghine Bisharyan has to invent some new image for her, or
it is Hovhannes Margaryan’s duty, as he had proclaimed the poor woman
"lioness".

FRANCE, UAE LAUNCHED DESERT LOUVRE PROJECT

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
01.06.2009 21:07 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ France and the United Arab Emirates formally launched
the Desert Louvre project yesterday, bringing the iconic cultural name
and its tourist pulling power one step closer to the oil-rich Gulf.

Visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince
Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed al-Nahayan attended a ceremony in a luxury
UAE hotel to mark the start of construction of the museum, expected
to be completed by 2013.

They also inaugurated an exhibition on Talking Art: Louvre Abu Dhabi,
at which works of art from the Louvre and other French museums will
be on display until July 2. Also on show are some of the new museum’s
first acquisitions.

Under a 30-year agreement, Abu Dhabi will pay 400 million euros
(A$711 million dollars) for the Louvre brand name and for hundreds
of artworks loaned from the Paris museum for periods of between six
months and two years.

The new museum on Saadiyat (Happiness) island off Abu Dhabi, the UAE
capital, has been designed by French architect Jean Nouvel.

It will be housed in a 24,000-square-metre building topped by a dome
inspired by traditional Arab architecture.

"The Abu Dhabi Louvre project is unique and will remain so. It is
not an attempt to duplicate the Louvre," Henri Loyrette, president
of the Paris Louvre, said at Tuesday’s ceremony.

Abu Dhabi’s will be "a new museum, the bearer of two cultures and
two traditions," he added.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi is one of five museums to be built on Saadiyat
island, a vast complex of luxury hotels, golf courses, marinas and
private villas set for completion in 2018.

The complex is part of Abu Dhabi’s plans to secure a larger slice of
the Gulf’s booming tourist industry.

However the development has come under fire from Human Rights Watch,
which in a report focused on Saadiyat this month accused the Abu
Dhabi authorities and global institutions of failing to tackle abuse
of foreign laborers.

"It’s very important to be vigilant about security conditions, comfort
and respect for the workforce," Nouvel told reporters on Tuesday.

"The problem today is that architects are no longer the complete
masters of a project the way they were 50 years ago … but we
are still very vigilant. On each site we ask to see workers’
accommodation."

Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development and Investment Company, the government
arm charged with developing Saadiyat, rejected claims of abuse on
the island, AFP reported.

Armenia’s CEC data: 90 thsd 450 Yerevan residents, entitled to vote,
took part in voting on election for Council of Elders as of 11:00 AM

2009-05-31 11:50:00

ArmInfo. According to the data of Armenia’s Central Election
Committee, 90 thsd 450 voters or 11,72% of the number of Yerevan
residents, being entitled to vote, took part in the voting on election
for the Council of Elders as of 11:00 AM.

To recall, the total number of voters, according to the Police data,
makes up 771,477. Total of 439 election precincts are functioning. Six
political parties and one bloc stand in the election. The election are
held on a proportional system, that is, on party lists. The Council of
Elders will consist of 65 members. The first candidate for Yerevan
Elders in the list of the party, which received the majority of votes,
automatically becomes Yerevan Mayor. About 30 local monitoring
organizations, as well as the delegation of CE Congress of Local and
Regional Authorities will monitor the course of voting.

WB to allocate us $90mln for rural community development in Armenia

YEREV AN, May 31. /ARKA/. The World Bank (WB) will allocate US $90mln
for the development of Armenia’s rural communities, Head of the WB
office in Yerevan Aristomene Varoudakis reported at the 3rd annual
forum on the development of rural communities in Armenia.

Varoudakis pointed out that US $30mln are intended for the renovation
of irrigation systems, and US $60mln for rural road construction.

The WB attaches high importance to the construction of rural roads
because 40% of agricultural produce become unmarketable due to bad
roads, Varoudakis said.

He said that the program provides for the construction of 250km of
roads in 2009-2010.

Varoudakis expressed hope that the program will enhance the quality of
and competitiveness of Armenian agricultural produce in the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

He also reported that the WB will continue funding local programs of
rural community development. He pointed out that the WB has already
funded 140 programs.

Varoudakis said that the WB will continue crediting small agricultural
enterprises. He reported that 100 credits to the total amount of US
$5mln.

Varoudakis stressed that Armenian agricultural produce can be
competitive on international markets, and the WB will continue its aid
to Armenia.

The WB’s 4-year credit package is US $545mln. The funds are to be
allo
cated to small and medium-sized enterprises, small-scale investment
projects in the poorest communities in Armenia, as well as for the
development of small agribusinesses, renovation of lifelines.`0–

From `civilized’ to `shameful’: The assessment of local observers
31.05.2009 19:54

Lena Badeyan
`Radiolur’

All in all, 5 953 observers are following today’s elections for the
Yerevan City Council. They represent 29 local and one international
organization. The local `Choice is yours’ NGO is represented by 900
observers.

The elections are being observed by just one international organization
` the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of
Europe, represented by 15 observers. This is the case, despite the fact
that the same international organizations attach great importance to
the process of formation of the fist City Council of Yerevan.

Representatives of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities visit
different polling stations over the day, trying not to ignore any
precinct. What have the observers registered today? They usually don’t
speak on the election day, they only watch and refrain from
assessments, noting that they will present the preliminary results at a
press conference on June 1st.

Other international organizations are following the elections at
distance. For example, Director of the Europe Department of the Freedom
House Vladimir Shkolnikov declared that `the elections of May 31 are an
opportunity to regain trust and this opportunity should not be missed.’

The Millennium Challenge Corporation is also watching the elections to
see whether state of democratic governance has improved in the country
or not.

Unlike the foreign counterparts, the local observers say a little more
today. President of the `Free Society Institute’ Edgar Hakobyan has
been at the polling station #9/10 since morning. `No violations, no
emergency situations have been registered,’ he told `Radiolur.’ `The
voting is very civilized, the turnout is very high,’ Edgar Hakobyan
said.

President of he Transparency International Amalia Kostanyan gave a
quite different assessment of the voting process. She said the
observers of the organization had been working at polling station #8.
Without extra comments Amalia Kostanyan said that what was happening
there was shameful. The Transparency International is going to present
a complete report tomorrow.

One of the observers did not escape violation. The accident happened at
polling station #8/01 at the moment 100 ballots were stuffed into the
box. Violation was applied against observer of the Transparency
International Sona Ayvazyan, who tried to interfere. The organization
is preparing to present a compete report on this and other cases of
violation tomorrow.

`The Choice is yours’ NGO has also received alarms about election
frauds, but its observers preferred to refrain from providing any
information today.

As for the Armenian Helsinki Committee represented by 120 observers,
President of the organization Avetik Iskhanyan told `Radiolur:

`Our organization is carrying out an observation mission in Arabkir
community, but we are communicating with many other organizations, and
I receive alarms from many precincts. I have heard about cases of
violation in Shengavit and Davitashen communities, there has been a
scuffle in Malatsia Sebastia. As for Arabkir community, we have not
noticed serious infringements at polling stations. In one precinct we
have seen a member of the electoral commission handing two ballots to
the voter, but as a whole, the situation is still surprisingly quiet.
Let’s see what happens later.’

Observers usually start publicizing their conclusions the day following
the poll. At least one week is needed for final conclusion.

RA PRIME MINISTER TIGRAN SARGSYAN’S CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE ON REPUBLIC DAY

Wednesda y, 27 May 2009

Dear Compatriots,

I hereby extend my congratulations on Republic Day – the 91st
Anniversary of the First Armenian Republic. Those heroic battles of
May, 1918 fought by the people of Armenia at Sardarapat, Bash-Aparan
and Gharakilisa made it possible to reinstate Armenia’s nationhood at
an interval of many centuries. The first republic was born thanks to
our people’s unfailing will, unity and purposefulness which re-emerged
during the freedom fight for Artsakh. Those hard-earned victories
restored our people’s self-confidence who are firmly determined to
strengthen the statehood, meet modern challenges so as the coming
generations have a prosperous future.

Once again on the eve of the holiday of May 28, I congratulate and
wish you all robust health, peace and firm belief in the future day
of the people and the State of Armenia.

ARMENIAN AND FOREIGN DIPLOMATS TO PLAY FOOTBALL IN YEREVAN

armradio.am
29.05.2009 12:35

On the occasion of the Republic Day, a friendly football match
featuring representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Armenia and the foreign Embassies and diplomatic representations of
international organizations accredited in Armenia will take place
in Yerevan.

The match will take place at "MIKA" Stadium on May 31.

STAR CONDUCTS ACTION ‘LET’S HELP CHILDREN TOGETHER’

ArmInfo
2009-05-27 17:53:00

STAR supermarket network has organized a charitable action "Let’s
Help Children Together" on the occasion of Children’s Day.

The press service of STAR reports that the action is aimed at raising
funds for children suffering from leukemia.

The action started on May 20 and will last till the end of this month.

People can put their donations in special boxes placed in all of
STAR’s supermarkets.

The collected money will be given to the Benevolent Fund for Children
Suffering from Leukemia established at Children’s Division of the
R.O.Iolyan Blood Center.

"We are grateful to STAR for this initiative. It will help us to invite
highly qualified specialists from abroad, to buy equipment and to carry
out repairs. This action will certainly help us to more effectively
treat our children," says the head of the division LAla VAgarshakyan.

The staff of STAR has already collected 210,000 AMD. The company will
redouble the collected sum. "The motto of the fund is "I Want to Live"
and I urge all people to make this dream of ailing children true,"
says STAR Marketing Director Narine Avetissyan.

STAR has 13 supermarkets (12 in Yerevan and 1 in Hrazdan). One of
the shareholders of the company is EBRD (28.3%). Benevolent Fund
for Children Suffering from Leukemia HSBC bank USD 005 015375 101
tel. (+374 10) 28 44 59, (+374 10) 28 44 56

ACT OF CHARITY CARRIED OUT BY STAR

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
27.05.2009 16:45 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Supermarkets chain Star carried out an act of
charity entitled "Let’s help children together". The event is timed
to the Child Protection Day. Money will be collected to help children
suffering from leukemia.

Started on May 20 money raising action will be continued by the
end of the month. Special boxes will be placed in supermarkets to
collect money. On June 1 the collected amount will be passed to the
"Charitable fund for children suffering leukemia", established at
the Child Division of the Blood Center.

"We are grateful to the Star company for organizing such a
campaign. It will enable us to invite high standard professionals
from abroad, acquire equipment and solve some renovation issues," Lala
Vagharshakyan, head of the Child Division of the Blood Center, said.

Importunacy of the initiative is understood not only by the management
of the Star company, but its staff, which has already gathered AMD 210
000 for children. The company projects to double the amount collected
by staff and customers.

The slogan of the fund is "I want to live", and we call upon the
citizens to fulfill that wish of the suffering kids together", said
Star’s director in marketing Narine Avetisyan.

Star’s personnel think, that good cause should be done every day and
the company intends to support needy in future.

The company also reports the requisites of the account in "HSBC Bank
Armenia" (USD 005 015375 101), where everybody can transfer amount
to help children suffering from leukemia.