Viva celebrates 20th anniversary: Armenia`s high-tech industry  minister on reforms in Armenia`s telecommunication industry 

ArmInfo.  July 1, 2005 was a revolutionary date in the Armenian telecommunications market, as this  day was marked not only by the arrival of new technologies and innovations in Armenia, but also, most importantly, by breaking the stereotype that mobile communications are only for the chosen ones. This was stated by the Minister of High-Tech Industry of Armenia Mkhitar Hayrapetyan during the event dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the founding of the telecommunications company Viva. 

Noting the role of the company in the development and progress of technologies in Armenia, he emphasized that Viva has proven that mobile communications can be more accessible and of higher quality.  Analyzing the path that Viva has gone through over the years, the Minister expressed confidence that Viva will continue to rely on new technological solutions and innovations, making its services even  better for its subscribers and thereby strengthening the Armenian telecommunications sector.

Yesterday it became known that Viva Armenia CJSC (Viva brand) intends to acquire 100% of the shares of GNC-ALFA CJSC (OVIO brand, formerly Rostelecom). Considering that the Ministry of High-Tech Industry has not raised any objections to the deal, and the Security Service does not see any threats to national security or state interests in the event of its conclusion, the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) intends to give a positive opinion at the relevant meeting, which will be held today.

In July 2024, Viva Armenia CJSC announced that henceforth the company will continue to operate in the Armenian market under the Viva trademark (brand) instead of Viva-MTS.

Earlier, in January 2024, MTS announced the closing of a deal to sell 100% of the shares of its subsidiary in Armenia, MTS CJSC, to the Cypriot Fedilco Group Limited. The transaction also included MobiDram CJSC, a payment system providing financial services in the Armenian market, a 100% subsidiary of MTS Armenia.

Before the deal, MTS Armenia belonged to Aramayo Investments Limited, which, in turn, was 100% owned by MTS through the Luxembourg-based Allegretto Holding. According to media reports, the beneficiaries of Fedilco Group Limited are Zhe Jang and Konstantin Sokolov. The sale of 100% of the shares of to the Cypriot Fedilco Group  Limited from Aramayo Investments Limited was approved by the Armenian Regulator in November 2023. A similar application by Fedilco was rejected by the Commission in April 2023, since it "threatened the national security or state interests of the Republic of Armenia".In February 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers of Armenia approved a decision to donate 20% of the shares of MTS Armenia to the Government of the Republic of Armenia. The authority to manage them was transferred to the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia. According to the company, it serves about 2.3 million subscribers