ArmInfo. At a meeting of the RA  National Assembly's Standing Committee on Economic Affairs on June  10, RA Deputy Minister of Economy Arman Khojoyan presented a bill  providing for reduction of state duty for producers of brandy, brandy  alcohol and alcoholic drinks based on honey.

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo.The European Bank for  Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a US$ 25 million  loan to InecoBank, a longstanding partner bank in Armenia, for  extending support to private companies that have been affected by the  economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the press service of the  EBRD reports.

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo. In June 2020, the  Public Services Regulatory Commission of Armenia will make a final  decision on gas tariffs.

ArmInfo. By May 2020, the foreign  trade turnover between Armenia and Russia remained in growth with a  slowdown in y-o-y  rates from 4.8% to 2%, which was triggered by the  decline of exports from 0.7% growth to 11.3% decline with weak growth  acceleration of imports from 6.6% to 8.1%. According to the RA  Statistical Committee, the foreign trade turnover between Armenia and  Russia amounted to $ 636.4 million in January-April 2020, in  particular, export -$ 174.1 million, and import - $ 462.3 million.

ArmInfo. The Armenian nuclear  power plant will receive a state loan to complete the program to  extend the life of the second power unit. The Minister of Territorial  Administration and Infrastructures of the Republic of Armenia Suren  Papikyan informed journalists about this on June 10.

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo.

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.