ArmInfo. Private sector debt  burden in Armenia will continue to grow. Rapid lending growth in 2024  and the projected strong expansion in 2025 (close to 5%) mean that  Armenia's private sector debt to GDP ratio will likely recover to  trend levels faster. The continued rapid accumulation of leverage,  especially in the household sector with its steadily low savings  rate, remains a long-term concern, according to S&P Global Ratings'  report "Central Asia and Caucasus Banking Sector Outlook".

ArmInfo. Armenia aims to  enhance trade and economic relations with Iran and increase bilateral  trade turnover to $3 billion, as stated by Armenian Foreign Minister  Ararat Mirzoyan at a joint press conference with his Iranian  counterpart Abbas Araghchi.

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo. Russia is playing a growing role  as a key partner  for Armenia in the field of digital transformation. A similar opinion was expressed on March 25 during a  press conference by Alexey Ordin, the digital attache of the Trade  Representation of the Russian Federation in Armenia, referring to the  results achieved over the past year.

ArmInfo.  At the initiative of the Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in Armenia, the third Russian-Armenian Construction Forum will be held in Yerevan on  March 27, as stated by the Trade Representative of the Russian  Federation in Armenia, Anna Donchenko, during a press conference on  March 25.

ArmInfo. In Armenia, the industrial price index increased in January-February 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, rising from 100.8% to 102.2%. This increase  occurred amidst a worsening  annual trend in the industrial sector,  which shifted from a 28.9% growth to a 19.4% decline, with a total  volume of 380.5 billion drams ($959 million), as evidenced by  preliminary data from the RA Statistical Committee. 

ArmInfo. In Armenia, economic activity growth in January-February 2025 significantly slowed to 4.1% per annum (from 13.6% in the same period of 2024). Moreover, the  industrial sector, which was a growth driver a year earlier, is now  experiencing a double-digit decline.  According to preliminary data  from the RA Statistics Committee, this decline was accompanied by a  deterioration in the foreign trade, shifting from several-fold growth  to a significant decline.

ArmInfo. The National Assembly of Armenia is currently discussing the amendments to the law "On state pensions" proposed by the opposition faction "Armenia".

ArmInfo. Armenia and China are establishing cooperation in the tourism sector.

ArmInfo. The Armenian authorities want to introduce a mechanism by which financial  institutions will be able to exercise their right to collateral in  the event of default on credit obligations by an unregistered private  entrepreneur or legal entity from Nagorno- Karabakh. At the plenary  session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on March  25, amendments to the Civil Code and the law "On state registration  of legal entities, state registration of separate divisions,  institutions of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs" are  being discussed in the first reading.

ArmInfo. A healthy future of children is in our hands - this was the slogan of a meeting attended by intellectual teams from AraratBank, other financial institutions, and the IT sector in support of the children under the care of the City of Smile Charitable Foundation. This is perhaps one of the rare instances where the goal transcends competition, and the only victory is the smile of a recovered child.

ArmInfo. The State Revenue Committee (SRC) of Armenia reports that it did not participate in the development of the draft law to change the procedure for appealing fines, which was initiated by the Ministry of Justice.

ArmInfo. The State Revenue Committee (SRC) of Armenia plans to collect more taxes from the construction sector in 2025, as stated by the head of the department,  Eduard Hakobyan, on March 24 at a meeting of the NA Standing  Committee on financial-credit and budgetary affairs.  In 2024, tax  revenues (tax income and state duty) to the consolidated budget of  the Republic of Armenia totaled 2 trillion 390.9 billion drams,  showing a  5.1% increase of 117 billion drams compared to 2023. The  tax to GDP ratio in 2024 decreased to 23.6% from 24.1% in 2023.  Hakobyan attributed the decrease in the indicator last year to  economic factors rather than tax collection. When analyzing tax  collections from the domestic economy and imports separately, it is  evident that there was  a 14% increase in the former and a decline in  the latter.

ArmInfo. Shirak Avia airline will launch Krasnoyarsk - Yerevan - Krasnoyarsk flight from May 10. This was reported by the press service of the Tourism Committee of  Armenia.

ArmInfo. The Tourism Committee of Armenia is considering the possibility of cooperation with the St. Petersburg Convention and Exhibition Bureau.

ArmInfo. The Central Bank of Armenia proposes not to consider information about the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia's monetary reserves for each denomination,  the production technology of the Armenian dram and the features of  their protection as a state secret. The draft has been submitted for  public discussion on the unified portal of legal acts e-draft.am.

ArmInfo. From March 17 to March 21, 2025, RUB transactions were  conducted daily and USD  transactions were  conducted four times in the Armenian interbank  foreign exchange market, while euro transactions ceased to be  conducted again. As a result, the weekly trend of dollar transactions  reversed from 24% growth towards 21% decline. This trend was also  observed in  RUB transactions, which reversed from a 21.4% growth to  a 3% decline. As a result, the ratio of the weekly volume of dollar  transactions to ruble transactions decreased from 1.7 to 1.3 times.  Additionally, in the intra-bank foreign exchange market during the  reporting week (17-21.03.25 compared to 10-14.03.25) there was an  increase in both buying and selling of dollars and rubles. However,   in euro transactions the growth in sales  accelerated  while the   buying trend shifted from growth to decline. 

ArmInfo. IDBank’s new branch this time opens its doors in the city of Artashat, Ararat region. Staying true to its promise, the Bank continues to strengthen not only its online, but also physical presence across different regions of Armenia.

ArmInfo. Armenia is expecting its Russian partners to clarify the provisions of the agreement on rebroadcasting Russian TV channels in the country. This was announced  to journalists on March 21 by the Minister of  RA High-Tech Industry,  Mkhitar Hayrapetyan.