ArmInfo. The Government of Armenia has accepted as a gift 6.875% of the shares of Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine CJSC from AMP Holding and transferred it to the Armenian National Interest Fund (ANIF) for trust management. The decision was made on August 24 at a government meeting.
Deputy Chief of Staff of the Government Bagrat Badalyan, presenting the draft decision, noted that the Republic of Armenia received 188,947 ordinary shares as a gift from AMP Holding LLC, which is 6.875% of the total shares of Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine CJSC (the largest mining company in Armenia), the authority to manage the latter is entrusted to the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia. In order to ensure efficient management of the shares, it is proposed to transfer the shares to the Armenian National Interest Fund (ANIF) Closed Joint-Stock Company on the basis of a trust management agreement, with the maintenance of state ownership of the shares.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan recalled that Industrial Company JSC acquired a 60% stake in ZCMC and donated 25% of its share to the Armenian government on September 30. Thus, the Armenian government became the owner of a 15% stake in ZCMC, the management of which was transferred to the Armenian National Interest Fund (ANIF) in January 2022, with the maintenance of state ownership.
"On March 24, 2022, we received another 6.875% of the shares as a gift. It was then a secret decision, since the donor, asked not to be published, based on their commercial interests. Now there is no need to keep it secret, and these shares are transferred to the management of ANIF. Thus, the Armenian government now has 21.875% of the plant's shares," he said, stressing that ANIF is a foreign direct investment fund (sovereign fund) created to co-invest in projects aimed at developing the country's economy.
It should be noted that according to previously available information (before the acquisition of shares of Industrial Company JSC), 60% of the shares of Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine CJSC (ZCMC), were officially owned by the German Cronimet Mining company (60%) , Yerevan Plant of Pure OJSC (15%), Armenian Molybdenum Production LLC and Zangezur Mining LLC (12.5% each).
In early October, during a meeting with representatives of the Armenian community in Lithuania, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan expressed the hope that the state's share would increase over time.
