Tag Archives: Armenia

Ratings agencies downgrade Armenia

>>Armenia’s economy is closely linked to Russia’s fortunes>>

JAN. 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Ratings agencies Fitch and Moody’s downgraded Armenia’s bond ratings to negative from stable, another sign that the Armenian economy is in for a turbulent few months.

Fitch said that it expected Armenia’s economy to slip into a recession this year and the deficit to widen.

“Remittances amount to about 15% of GDP and fell by about 30% during the last months of 2014 as 90% of the total come from Russia,” it said in a research note.

Armenia has been hit by the drop in the Russian rouble and the turmoil in Russia’s economy, triggered by a fall in oil prices and sanctions imposed by the West after the Kremlin’s intervention in Ukraine.

Over the past seven months, Armenia’s dram currency has fallen by nearly 20% against the US dollar despite a steady increase in interest rates.

Of course, it’s not just Armenia which is exposed to the drop in Russia’s economy and currency. The rest of Central Asia and the South Caucasus have also been badly hit.

Armenia, though, is particularly closely linked. It is desperately hoping that there will be some improvement in Russia’s economy.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 217, published on Feb. 4 2015)

Tension builds over Nagorno-Karabakh

JAN. 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tension between Azerbaijan and Armenia is worsening. Azerbaijan said it shot down an Armenian military drone and the OSCE, Europe’s democracy watchdog, called for restraint as more soldiers were killed. In a New York Times story, expert Thomas de Waal said: “This is as bad as it has got since the (1994) cease-fire.”
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 217, published on Feb. 4 2015)

Armenia plans Eurobond issue

FEB. 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia’s finance ministry said it planned to issue Eurobonds later this year to help it through a tough economic period. A sharp fall in the Russian rouble has hit Armenia with analysts warning of a recession. The finance ministry did not specify the type of Eurobond it was considering issuing.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 217, published on Feb. 4 2015)

Gazprom is Armenia’s highest taxpayer

FEB. 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Gazprom Armenia was the largest taxpayer in Armenia in 2014, media reported, highlighting just how important Russia is to the Armenian economy. Gazprom Armenia owns Armenia’s gas pipeline system. In 2014 it paid taxes of nearly 43b dram ($90m). This was almost double the second highest taxpayer.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 217, published on Feb. 4 2015)

Armenia’s construction sector drops

JAN. 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Building work in Armenia fell by 4.3% last year compared to 2013, data released by the national statistics agency showed. The construction sector is an important part of the Armenian economy and its decline highlights the problems faced by business as it deals with the fallout from Russia’s economic downturn.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)

Armenia looks to cut tax on export profits

JAN. 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Looking to boost exports, lawmakers in Armenia have drafted a bill to cut export profit tax to 2% from 20% for large exporters. The government says the tax cut will create jobs. Its opponents say that the tax cut will dent competition and simply help large companies retain their dominant market positions.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)

Armenia increases re-financing rate

JAN. 22 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia’s Central Bank increased its refinancing rate, the cost it charges other financial institutions to borrow money, by 1% to 9.5% to slow inflation. In December, the Central Bank increased the refinancing rate to 8.5% from 6.5%. New data showed prices rose 4.6% in December.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)

Traders in Armenia protest against new tax code

>>New tax code is an effort to stop tax evasion>>

JAN. 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — A new tax code in Armenia is upsetting the very people it is supposed to be helping.

The government has decided to reduce the tax for small business, those earning less than $122,000, to 1% of their sales from 3.5%. The downside of the new law is that the traders and shopkeepers have to document more closely their sales.

Media reported that hundreds of traders demonstrated in front of the parliament building against the new tax laws. Their problem is the introduction of the extra paperwork.

The bottom line is that the government wants to increase tax receipts. To do this it has decided to crackdown on tax evasion and the fiddling of receipts. And this is where the problem lies. The Armenian traders’ will have to fill in more paperwork and, they say, will actually earn less under the new tax code because they will have to declare more of their sales.

The small traders have also complained that they are being used as guinea pigs before the new tax code is rolled out to bigger businesses.

With the Armenian economy reeling from the turmoil in Russia, the government is desperate to highlight good news. It has already had to postpone the introduction of the new tax code from November until Feb. 1. The issue is becoming increasingly contentious.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)

Armenia and Azerbaijan row over N-K

JAN. 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan accused Armenia of launching a raid across its borders, another escalation of tension between the two neighbours over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The two sides disagreed on the number of casualties.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)

Prices fluctuate in Armenia

JAN. 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Price changes in Armenia have become increasingly erratic as the country tries to deal with the fallout of the Russian economic slowdown. In August, media quoted the national statistics agency as saying that deflation in Armenia measured 5.2% but for the rest of the year inflation averaged 6.5%.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 215, published on Jan. 21 2015)