ArmInfo.In 2021, Armenia registered unprecedented investment growth rates. Armenian Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan stated this in an interview with RTVI.
According to him, last year the volume of investments amounted to 1.4 trillion drams (about $3 billion). As the minister explained, such dynamics were facilitated by the work to eradicate the previously existing corruption system.
He said that the first thing he did as a minister was to study investment projects "stuck" in the offices of officials, which turned out to be in fairly large numbers, he explained.
Today, such a system no longer works, since there is practically no corruption. Previously, as Kerobyan further said, this did not allow investment projects to move quickly. , he stressed.
Speaking about the current activities, the minister noted that work to improve the business environment and ensure the rapid execution of investment projects continues. In addition, there are several projects under development to stimulate investment.
According to him, as of today, the highest growth of investments in the Armenian economy is registered in the metallurgical industry, pharmaceuticals, light industry, and jewelry. Among the active countries are the Russian Federation, the USA, India, the countries of the Middle East (UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, etc.). Traditionally, the lion's share (40%) is occupied by Russian investors, but high interest is also observed from the Arab countries.
At the same time, Kerobyan noted that if earlier the predominant part of investors from the Russian Federation was represented by the Diaspora, now the situation is changing. The Diaspora factor has also declined in the Middle East. The work, as the minister noted, is being carried out at the government level. At the same time, he stressed that Middle Eastern investors are showing high interest in the logistics and real estate market of Armenia.
It should be noted that according to the Statistical Committee, the volume of total foreign investment (all types and forms of investment - ed. note) in the real sector of the Armenian economy in 2021 increased by 54% (against a 39% decline in 2020), reaching $ 2.8 billion. FDI in total foreign investment in 2021 accounted for 29% (against 26% in 2020) or $798 million, which is 71% higher than in 2020 (against a 21% decline in 2020). According to statistics, the first two places in terms of total foreign investment are held by Russia and Germany, which also lead in terms of FDI. And Cyprus, the Netherlands and France rotate periodically in the next three places in terms of total foreign investment.
