ArmInfo. The volume of total foreign investment in the real sector of the economy of Armenia grew in 2018 by 7.9%, reaching $ 2.5 billion, while the year before growth was higher - 14.8%. In their structure, the volume of FDI declined in 2018. by 11.2%, amounting to $ 607.7 million, against a more modest decline of 4.7% in 2017.
This is evidenced by the published April 5 this year. data of the RA Statistics Committee on Investments for 2018. According to statistics, the share of FDI in total foreign investment continues to decline: for 2018 - 24.1%, against 29.3% in 2017 and 35.2% in 2016.In terms of countries, the leadership in terms of total investments and FDI is kept by Russia - for 2018, $ 977 million (with an acceleration of annual growth from 13.3% to 23.5%), incl. FDI - $ 417.8 million (with the release of the annual dynamics of the 10.4% decline of 31.7% growth). The second position was entrusted to Germany - $ 584.9 million (with an acceleration of annual growth from 30.6% to 54.9%), of which $ 42.2 million is FDI (with a slowdown in annual growth from 28 times to 41.6%). TOP-3, as before, closes Cyprus, from where investments in the total amount of $ 86 million came from 2018 (with the deterioration of the annual dynamics from 42.3% growth to 71.5% decline), of which FDI - $ 22.6 million ( with the release of the annual dynamics of the 80% decline of 48.7% growth).In the volume of total foreign investment, Russia accounted for 38.1% in 2018, 23.4% in Germany, 3.4% in Cyprus, and the share of these countries in total FDI was 69.4%, 7% and 3, respectively. eight%.Broken down by economic spheres, the largest slump of injections was recorded in the mining industry, where the lion's share of investments comes from Jersey offshore accounts.
In particular, the total investment (and this is entirely FDI) from Jersey at the end of 2018 was20.6 billion drams ($ 42.7 million), decreasing in volume for the reporting year by 81%, and the lack of injections has been observed since the second quarter. Moreover, this amount was received in the first quarter, and from the second quarter there was already a lack of injections. This reduction, including the complete lack of investment from Jersey in the second and third quarters, is most likely due to the actual suspension of the Amulsar program, because of the "Lidian Armenia" activities that are holding protests during that period because of the so-called "new environmental factors", and the presentation of stringent requirements from the new government to the environmental component of the projects of the mining industry - Ed.).By updated in March of this year. World Bank forecasts, the ratio of gross investments to GDP of Armenia in 2019-2020 will increase from 20.7% to 22.4%.
The growth of gross investments, according to the forecasts of the World Bank, will amount to 13.4% in 2019, with a slowdown in 2020 to 12.8%. By the end of 2018, according to the WB estimates, this ratio of gross investments to GDP of Armenia will be 19.1%, against the actual 18.3% in 2017. But according to statistical data, at the end of 2018, the ratio of gross investments to GDP of Armenia was 20.1%.Recall that in 2017 the real sector of the Armenian economy received foreign investments in the total amount of $ 2.3 billion, of which $ 677 million in the form of FDI. Moreover, Russia accounted for 34.4% ($ 790.5 million) in total investments, and 46.8% ($ 317 million) in FDI.Note that the RA Statistical Committee publishes data on foreign investments once a quarter, indicating them in dram equivalent and as a gross flow - accumulated volume (without redemptions) from 1988 to the reporting date, in this case until December 31, 2018. For the preparation of this material, ArmInfo experts independently calculated annual data, taking as a basis the statistical data of the gross flow in the relevant periods of 2018 and 2017. (Estimated dram rate onDecember 31, 2018 was 483.75 dr./$ 1).