Monday, October 30 2023 21:58

ArmInfo.Governor of the Central Bank of Armenia Martin Galstyan expressed fears that the  problem of underfulfillment of budget capital expenditures will not be resolved in 2024 as well.

Speaking in parliament t a parliamentary committee hearing on the  2024 budget, Galstyan noted that according to the draft state budget  of the Republic of Armenia for 2024, more than serious capital  expenditures will have to be made, which, in turn, may lead to  underfulfillment of the provisions of the state budget. "This year,  the volume of shortfalls in capital expenditures exceeded the volumes  of 2022, and there are fears that the situation will repeat itself  next year," Galstyan noted. As he said, in this case, serious  inflationary pressures should be expected. As a result, the  refinancing rate will increase.

As of now, inflation in the country is recorded at 0.1%, and there is  every reason to believe that in 2024 it will be possible to reach the  target of 3% (+- 1.5%).

According to the draft state budget, capital expenditures in 2024  will reach 6.6% of GDP or 710 billion drams (which is 27% more than a  year ago). Of this, 42% will be allocated to the defense sector.

Another problem, according to the head of the Central Bank, is  regulation of the digital currency market.  For these purposes, at  the end of 2023 - beginning of 2024, a corresponding bill will be  submitted to the country's parliament.

According to Galstyan, when developing the document, the Central Bank  was guided by the best world experience, which is already being  applied by European countries. "We shouldn't expect that we will be  as liberal as possible. We believe that regulation should be adequate  to the risks," Galstyan said, adding that to regulate the digital  currency market, several Central Bank employees were sent for  retraining to the University of Cambridge and other leading world  centers.