ArmInfo.

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo. A delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Mr Jihad Azour, Director of the IMF Middle  East and Central Asia Department, and Ms Iva Petrova, IMF Mission Chief for Armenia, was on a visit to Armenia recently. In an interview with Mr Emmanuil Mkrtchyan, CEO, ArmInfo News Agency, Mr Jihad Azour said that the IMF delegation visited Armenia on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Armenian national currency  and foundation of the Central Bank of Armenia, landmarks in Armenia's history.

ArmInfo. Next year, the Annual Meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and  Development (EBRD) will be held in Yerevan. This was announced during the meeting of Armenian Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan with the EBRD delegation headed by Bank's First Vice President Jurgen  Rigterink. 

ArmInfo. EBRD's First Vice President and Head of Client Services Group, Jurgen Rigterink, begins a week- long visit to the Caucasus on Monday, 4 September 2023. Starting in Armenia, the trip will continue in Georgia and finish in Azerbaijan, the Banks official website reports.

ArmInfo.The Eurasian Development Bank upgraded its forecast for the growth of the Armenian  economy in 2023 to 7.5%. Earlier, the Bank forecasted the growth of the country's GDP up to 4.2%. This is stated in the next Macroeconomic Review of the EDB.  According to the source, economic activity in Armenia increased by 10.4% y/y in Jan-July after 11.4% y/y in Jan-June.

ArmInfo.On Aug. 25, 2023, S&P Global Ratings raised its long-term foreign and local currency  sovereign credit ratings on Armenia to 'BB-' from 'B+' and affirmed its short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings at 'B'. The outlook is stable.  

ArmInfo.Per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to exceed $8,000 this year - twice  as much as last year, Armenia's Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan told a briefing following the Cabinet meeting on August 24. 

ArmInfo.. Since 1993, Armenia's GNI (gross national income) per capita based on purchasing power  parity (PPP) has for the second time exceeded Azerbaijan's indicator,  by all $1,590. Haykaz Fanyan, head of the ACSES (Armenian Center for  Socio-Economic Studies), informs on his Facebook page, referring to  the data of the World Bank, noting that this indicator is more  informative than GDP for assessing the well-being of the population.

ArmInfo.Armenia has every opportunity to reach 9% economic growth by the end of the year, but I  will not rule out that if the situation is favorable for the country,  growth may reach 11-12%. A similar forecast was voiced by Tatul  Manaseryan, Doctor of Economics, professor, head of the "Alternative"  Research Center, a member of the Eurasian Expert Club.

ArmInfo. Armenia's GDP growth in H1 2023 slowed down to 16.1% per annum (from 18.3% in the same period  in 2022), exceeding 3.9 trillion drams or $10.1 billion, according to the data of the RA Statistical Committee.

ArmInfo.The Armenian dram has shown a steady appreciation against the currencies of the trading partner countries since the beginning of Q2 2022. In July of this year, compared to the  beginning of 2022, the Armenian dram appreciated against a basket of  currencies: - by 19.8% y/y against the dollar, by 21.7% y/y against  the euro, by 32.4% y/y against the Russian ruble. In terms of the  real effective exchange rate, the Armenian dram appreciated by 33.6%  in 2022 and by 40% in June 2023 compared to the beginning of 2022. 

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo.The share of SMEs in Armenia's GDP reached 60%.  This was stated by Minister of Economy of Armenia Vahan Kerobyan, answering a question from an ArmInfo  correspondent, on the sidelines of a press conference held within the  framework of the organization of the "Days of Science and Business"  in Armenia.

ArmInfo. The upgrade of Armenia's long-term issuer default rating in foreign currency from  <B+> to <BB-> by Fitch Ratings indicates an increase in Armenia's  investment attractiveness. RA Deputy Finance Minister Eduard Hakobyan  expressed a similar opinion in an interview with the Public  Television of Armenia.

ArmInfo.Fitch Ratings has upgraded Armenia's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating  (IDR) to 'BB-' from 'B+'. The Outlook is Stable. This is stated in the message of the agency.

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has prepared an analysis  of alternative export markets for Armenian exporters. Head of the Armenian Economic Department Vahan Kerobyan attended the corresponding event, organized by USAID in cooperation with the  Ministry of Economy.