ArmInfo.  In January-April 2020, the  state debt of Armenia increased by 1.1% (against the decline by 0.3%  a year earlier), having exceeded the mark of $ 7.4 billion (3.6  trillion drams). According to the RA Statistical Committee, in  January-April 2020, external debt decreased by 1.5% to $ 5.7 billion  (2.7 trillion drams), and domestic debt grew by 10.8% to $ 1.7  billion (691.3 billion drams), repeating last year's multidirectional  dynamics at a more accelerated pace (in January-April 2019, the  decline in external debt by 1.3% was accompanied by an increase in  domestic debt by 3.4%).

ArmInfo. Within the framework  of its EU4Business initiative, the European Union will assist in the  development of innovative tourism in Armenia in the context of the  spread of Covid-19.  According to the official statement of the EU  Armenian office, support will be provided under the program of the  German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) "Innovative  Tourism for Armenia". The total amount of grants will be 300 thousand  euros, for which a tender will be announced among Armenian  businessmen working in the tourism sector.  According to the report,  the EU Ambassador to Armenia, Ms. Andrea Victorin, expressed  readiness on the part of the EU to support the government and  citizens of Armenia in the difficult period of the fight against the  pandemic. In this regard, she noted that from the first day of the  spread of the virus, the EU has provided Armenia with support in the  amount of 92 million euros.

ArmInfo. The Eurasian  Development Bank (EDB) announces the start of acceptance of work for  the annual creative competition for media representatives "Eurasian  Integration and Development - XXI Century".

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo. Within the framework  of a loan agreement signed between the Armenian government and the  Asian

ArmInfo. Passenger carriage in  Armenia in January-April 2020 decreased by 38.3% - up to 38,267.6  thousand people, against the growth of 3.1% a year earlier. 

ArmInfo. Communication   sector's revenues of Armenia amounted to 45.8 billion drams ($ 95  million) in January-April2020, having decreased by 2.8% year on year,  against the 4.5% decline a year earlier. According to the RA  Statistical Committee, of the total proceeds, the lion's share is  provided by the telecommunication sector - 90.3% or 41.4 billion  drams with an y-o-y decline of 3.1% (against the 8.7% decline a year  earlier).

ArmInfo. In January-May 2020,  inflation in the consumer market of Armenia was recorded at 2.5%,  against 2% inflation in the same period of 2019. According to the  Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia, this was triggered  by an increase in the prices of food products (including alcohol and  cigarettes) by 5.6% (against 3.7% a year earlier) and tariffs on  services - by 0.4% (against the same 0.4% a year earlier), with the  cheapening of non-food products by 0.5% (against the rise in price by  0.9% a year earlier). In y-o-y terms (compared with January-May  2019), the consumer market recorded inflation of 0.3% (versus  inflationary 1.9% a year ago), which was facilitated by a rise in  price of non-food products by 1.2% and an increase in tariffs for  services by 1,3%, while the cost of food products declined by 0.6%.

ArmInfo.  In Armenia, economic  activity in January-April 2020 fell by 1.7% per annum (against 7%  growth a year earlier), against the backdrop of a decline in exports  and imports by 8.1% and 11.5%, respectively. According to the final  data of the Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia, the  industrial sector, the services sector and the energy sector  demonstrated growth while, the trade and construction sectors were in  decline, and the data on the agricultural sector are published in the  statistical report only quarterly.

ArmInfo. The World Bank (WB) has  updated its forecast for Armenia's GDP for 2020 to worsen - it is  expected to decline by 2.8% with a subsequent 4.9% growth in 2021,  against the actual growth of 7.6% in 2019. This was stated in the WB  June report "The Global Economic Outlook During the COVID-19  Pandemic".  It should be noted that earlier, in its May forecast, the  World Bank predicted a slowdown in Armenia's GDP growth in 2020 to  1.7%, not excluding the negative scenario of a possible decline.

ArmInfo. VEON, the world's  leading provider of communications and Internet services, confirms  the fact of entering into negotiations with Team LLC regarding the  possible sale of its business in Armenia.

ArmInfo. According to the  results of 2019, the share of the high technology sector in the  structure of the GDP of the Republic of Armenia amounted to only  2.4%. This was announced on June 8 by the Minister of High Technology  Industry Hakob Arshakyan at a joint meeting of the RA NA Standing  Committees on Economic, Financial and Budgetary Issues. He noted that  according to the results of 2018, the share of the sphere in GDP  amounted to about 2%. "This is a good indicator, but given the  potential of Armenia, we could have better results," he emphasized.  In particular, the minister said that following the results of the  previous year, the sphere's turnover amounted to 320 million drams,  which is 30% more than the indicator of the previous year.

ArmInfo. S&P Global Ratings  maintained Ameriabank's credit rating, leaving the forecast  unchanged. As ArmInfo was informed in the press service of the bank,  the long- and short-term credit rating of the issuer represented by  Ameriabank was kept at "B + / B" with the forecast "Stable". It is  worth noting that to this day, S&P has not assigned a country rating  to Armenia.

ArmInfo. The metallurgical  industry of Armenia increased in January-April 2020. production  volumes by 28%, against the 13.1% decline a year earlier. This is  evidenced by the data of the Statcommittee of the Republic of  Armenia.

ArmInfo.In the near future, a  capital market development strategy will be submitted for approval by  the Armenian government. On June 8, Minister of Economy of the  Republic of Armenia Tigran Khachatryan stated this at a hearing in  parliamentary commissions on a preliminary report on the  implementation of the state budget of 2019.

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo.  Electricity generation  in Armenia in January-April 2020 amounted to 2670.7 million kWh, with  y-o-y growth of 10.3%, against a decline of 9.2% a year earlier.   However, in April alone a decline of 5.6% was recorded to 587.4  million kWh.

ArmInfo. The negative trend of the manufacturing industry in January-April 2020  affected the growth   date of the industrial sector in Armenia. According to the data of  the Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia, during the  reporting period, the volume of industrial production of Armenia  increased by 4.2% versus the same period of 2019 (against the 4.5%  growth a year earlier), amounting to 585.2 billion drams ($ 1.2  billion). In April alone, the industry showed a decline of 9.2% to  135 billion drams ($ 275.8 million).

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo.