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Working group looks into possible widening industry’s access to financial services
YEREVAN, January 24. /ARKA/. A working group set up under premier’s decree is currently studying the possibility of wider access to financial services for industry, Armenian prime-minister Tigran Sargsyan said at his meeting with industry representatives Wednesday.
According to entrepreneurs, bank financing terms are one of the main problems, the government press service reports.
The working group involves reps of the country’s ministry of finance and economy, as well as experts from the Central Bank of Armenia. The group is expected to submit a program of complex measures for widening businesses’ access to financial services within a month, the prime-minister said.
“First of all we speak about interest rates, subject of pledge and bureaucratic delays”, Sargsyan said. The World Bank analysis of Armenia’s business environment pointed to three critical obstacles – corruption, bureaucracy problems and accessibility of financing.
“In other words, accessibility of funds became a more serious problem for business that tax and customs administering,” the prime-minister concluded.
“We’re trying to study and understand what can be done to solve the existing problems and lower interest rates”, Sargsyan said. The government is ready to use all its instruments for the final aim of promoting production, increasing output and exports, he added.
The prime-minister reminded of 2009 when the government was discussing certain business projects to help overcome the crisis aftermath. At that time loans had been provided to businesses. Apart from that, the government had suggested to a number importers switching over to exports.
“Quite many importers, in particular those importing alcoholic drinks and juices, responded to the suggestion and started creating new production facilities in Armenia and exporting products”, the prime-minister said.
Sargsyan mentioned that the ministry of economy is instructed to carry out a detailed analysis of the goods that Armenia is able to produce on its own.
“Last year direct foreign investments in our economy dropped significantly, and we provided economic growth at the expense of our own resources. We will be focusing on this in 2013 as well, and we will be trying to help you”, Sargsyan said.
Sargsyan stressed that priority will be given to competent managers able to expand their businesses.
Entrepreneurs, in their turn, should discuss all the existing opportunities in their teams so that “the state support is useful and targeted”, he said.
2013 will be a year of intensive work for ensuring a 6.2% economic growth, he said. -0-
12:07 24.01.2013
