Bill on nationalization of "Electrical Networks of Armenia" is illiterate - acting CEO

YEREVAN, June 30. /ARКА/. The acting CEO of Electrical Netwroks of Armenia (ENA) David Ghazinyan described a government-designed bill on nationalization of the power distrbution company, promoted by Prime Minister Pashinyan, as 'illiterate.'

Earlier, Nikol Pashinyan said that it was necessary to establish state control over ENA (owned by the president of Tashir Group Samvel Karapetyan) as soon as possible. According to him, the relevant bill had already been developed and submitted for discussion to the parliament.

"In one of my interviews, I made a mistake when I said that this iwas a semi-literate bill. Now I will correct my mistake. As a lawyer, I consider this bill illiterate and am even ready to substantiate it ," Ghazinyan said.

He expressed bewilderment that the authorities did not establish any contacts with the ENA leadership and did not start a discussion before initiating the nationalization process.

"Despite the fact that an unlawful fight is being waged against us, in the format of a fight without rules, we are going to, given that the owner of our company is a pro-government person, to fight against this process by all legal means," David Gazinyan said at a press conference.

Gazinyan added that although domestic procedures are closed to ENA, international organizations can nevertheless be involved together with partners.

"We are receiving very negative reactions from our international partners. They are very surprised, shocked," the head of the company said.

He noted that ENA has a strong team of lawyers. "We are on the right path, and being right gives strength," Gazinyan emphasized.

The owner of ENA, president of Tashir Group Samvel Karapetyan was arrested in Armenia on June 19 on charges of publicly calling for the seizure of power. This happened after Karapetyan, after a meeting with Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II, stated that he had always been on the side of the Armenian Church and the Armenian people, and if politicians do not succeed, then “we are ready to participate in all this in our own way.”

At a session of the National Assembly of Armenia on July 1, amendments to the laws On Energy and On the Public Services Regulatory Authority will be considered, providing for the initiation of administrative proceedings by the Public Services Regulatory Commission against ENA.

Experts' opinion

As the former head of the Ministry of Finance Vardan Aramyan told the ARKA news agency, the deal to nationalize the Electric Networks of Armenia will break the "backbone" of the country's economy and scare away investors - both domestic and foreign.

According to his estimates, the legal consequences of the planned nationalization are quite severe. Aramyan explained that according to the law, in the event of the nationalization, a foreign investor is compensated for the cost of the nationalized property (today, ENA with all its assets has about 337 billion drams, or $870 million).

Economist Hrant Mikaelyan said that the process of nationalization of ENA is initially compromised from a political point of view. According to him, businesses will begin to "try on" the situation for themselves and if they notice at least some risk that their assets will be taken away, they will think about leaving Armenia.

Doctor of Economics Tatul Manaseryan, commenting on the situation with ENA to the ARKA news agency, noted that there is no law On Nationalization in Armenia, so in such conditions, talking about nationalization is simply elementary illiteracy. Manaseryan added that from the point of view of the functioning of the country's economy, it is difficult to even imagine what consequences the nationalization of such an object as "Electric Networks of Armenia" will have.

About Electric Networks of Armenia

CJSC Electric Networks of Armenia is part of the Tashir group of companies, which is owned by entrepreneur and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan. ENA manages medium and low voltage distribution networks in Armenia, serving about 1 million subscribers.

Since 2016, Tashir is said to has invested about $ 680 million only in the modernization of Electric Networks of Armenia, another $ 150 - 200 million was invested in the creation of new capacities. By 2034, it is planned to increase the total volume of ENA investments in the energy system of Armenia to 540 billion drams (almost $1.4 billion).-0-