ArmInfo.

ArmInfo. After a long rally,  gold prices in Armenia began to decline. At the same time, the cost  of other precious metals decreased. In particular, this week prices  for precious metals demonstrated a downtrend, showing a decline of 4%  against growth of 2% a week earlier.  According to the "Protection of  Precious Metals and Gemstones" information of the RA Ministry of  Finance, from April 27 to May 3, 2020, the agency set the following  selling prices for precious metals: gram of gold (measured bullion) -  26295.51 drams (change in weekly dynamics from 2.2% growth by 1.5%  decline), silver - 233.12 drams (change of weekly dynamics from 2%  growth by 2.9% decline), platinum - 11 742.32 drams (change of weekly  dynamics from 3.9 % growth by 3% decline), and palladium - 31144.97  drams (acceleration of the weekly decline from 0.3% to 8.4%).

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo.Armenian Ambassador to Iran Artashes Tumanyan stated that a joint project on  electric power transmission  between the two countries is underway, despite the coronavirus pandemic.

ArmInfo. In Armenia, UNICEF and Ameriabank joined forces so that children can continue their education during the coronavirus pandemic. As the press service of  the bank told ArmInfo, Ameriabank donated 10 million drams to UNICEF  to ensure the continuity of the educational process for vulnerable  groups of children.

ArmInfo.Effective implementation of capital expenditures should be a priority tool in  terms of overcoming the crisis. This was announced on April 29 by the  Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan during a meeting in the  Government of Armenia.

ArmInfo. Minister of Economy of the Republic of Armenia Tigran Khachatryan said that based on the comments and suggestions received from the private sector, the  government intends to amend the previously developed packages of  anti-crisis measures. He stated this during a press conference at the  RA Unified Information Center.

ArmInfo. In Armenia, the online purchase of a Compulsory Motor Third Party Liability (CMTPL)  insurance is rapidly gaining popularity. According to the data of the  Car Insurance Bureau of Armenia, in the first quarter of 2020, the  number of CMTPL agreements signed in online mode reached 24,975, an  increase of 3.2-fold year on year, which increased their share in the  total number of CMTPL agreements from 3% to 11%.  

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo.The Central Bank of Armenia has once again reduced the refinancing rate by 0.25 percentage points to 5%. As the Central Bank of Armenia press service  told ArmInfo, this decision was made at the April meeting of the  Central Bank Board.

ArmInfo. I am deeply convinced that the law "On Bank Secrecy" is necessary for our country. First of all, in view of the fact that this law is an additional guarantee of  attracting investments, and in the existing conditions it is also a  guarantee of preventing the outflow of funds from banks, former  Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia, economist Bagrat Asatryan  expressed a similar opinion to ArmInfo.  

ArmInfo. International financial organizations intend to deepen cooperation with Armenia within the framework of their assistance instruments.

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo.The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs initiated amendments to the Labor Code of the Republic of Armenia and the Code of Administrative Offenses of the  Republic of Armenia, which are aimed at simplifying legal relations  between the employer and the employee, clarifying the rules of the  game, in particular in the context of the spread of coronavirus. 

ArmInfo.As of April 27, commercial banks and credit companies of Armenia provided loan repayment holidays to 470 thousand individuals and 14.6 thousand  legal entities.  ArmInfo was informed about this in the press service  of the Union of Banks of Armenia.

ArmInfo.Ameriabank announced the  public offering of two issues of registered, coupon and  non-documentary bonds with emission volumes of 5 billion drams and $  10 million from April 28, ArmInfo was informed in the press service  of the bank, noting that it was planned to complete the placement of  these issues on July 3.

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo.Gurgen Khachatryan, co-founder of Galaxy Group, chairman of the board of directors at Ucom, issued a statement today accusing senior officials of trying to  force the owners to alienate the company. ArmInfo presents the main  points of the letter without changing its style.

ArmInfo.According to the IMF forecast, the decline in GDP in 2020 will be more significant in the countries neighboring with Armenia. Namely, in Georgia GDP is  expected to fall by 4%, in Azerbaijan - by 2.2%, in Iran - by 6%, in  Turkey - by 5%. In Armenia, GDP is projected to fall by 1.5%.

ArmInfo.In September 2020, Armenia will have to repay the last tranche of Eurobonds of the year2013. On April 28, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Armenia  Atom Janjughazyan stated this from the rostrum of the National  Assembly of the Republic of Armenia while presenting amendments to  the Law "On the State Budget of 2020".