Wednesday, February 20 2013 18:42
Expert forecasts improvement of investment climate in Armenia
ArmInfo. The investment climate in Armenia will be improving, Tigran Jrbashyan, Ameriabank's Development Director, told ArmInfo when commenting on the essential decline in direct and portfolio investments in 2012.
The expert sees no difference between the reduction in the foreign investments in Armenia's economy and the deterioration of the investment environment. "Investments have declined for other reasons, including political disturbance - several large projects launched before the presidential election in Armenia have been put off to rule out the political risks", he said. He added that over the post-electoral period these projects will be implemented, and they will be financed by international donor organizations.
He pointed out that Armenia has a small investment base, therefore, any large project leads to tangible changes in the indices.
When assessing the state of the small and medium entrepreneurship in Armenia, the expert pointed out the rather high development of the given segment and added that Armenia leaves behind the post-Soviet countries by the SME development level. Entrepreneurship is the main competitive advantage of the Armenian nation, he said.
The expert says that the living standards are also growing in the country. He said that over the past three years, GDP has risen given the purchasing power parity. "It is another thing that the given level does not meet the population's expectations", he said and added that the socio-economic situation in the country has not worsened, but even improved a little.
According to the National Statistical Service of Armenia, the direct foreign investments in Armenia dropped by 40% over Jan-Nov 2012.
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