Friday, February 10 2012 20:15
The annual outflow of capital from Armenia is equal to the inflow of money transfers
ArmInfo. The annual outflow of capital from Armenia is equal to the inflow of money transfers, well-known Armenian economist, Director of the Alternative Analytical Center Tatul Manaseryan said in an interview to ArmInfo.
He said that capital outflow is one of the biggest threats for the Armenian economy and explained that this is a natural process for small economies like Armenia as at some point swelling monopolies can no longer breathe in a small market and start exporting their capital.
"In Armenia monopolized economy is a political problem. So, in order to effectively fight monopolies and protect competition, we need clear and tough punitive mechanisms and political will to apply them," the expert said.
One more big problem of Armenia, according to Manaseryan, is its dependence on money transfers: "We must no longer rely on the resources of the Diaspora Armenians. Their mentality is changing. In the new world everybody cares for himself."
According to official statistics, in Jan-Nov 2011 Armenia received $1.4bln in private money transfers.