Hrant Bagratyan: new oligarchs owning pension assets will appear in ArmeniaJuly 20, 2010 - 13:27 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Former prime minister of Armenia Hrant Bagratyan said that the legislative package of pension reforms have not been thoroughly discussed by the Armenian parliament. “Members of the parliament either did not want to go into details, or they do not understand anything, as the package is rather complex,” Bagratyan told a press conference in Yerevan. The former prime minister expressed his opinion concerning implementation of pension reforms in the country, saying that the pension amount should have a nominal value and make 30% of the average salary, as if this ratio exceeds the average salary, people are deprived of the stimulus to work. As for the compulsory funded component, Bagratyan is against its introduction. He criticized the government for the fact that the pension assets, which it is going to collect from the population (around $800mln), will be transferred to managers chosen by the government. “As a result, new oligarchs owning pensions assets will appear in Armenia,” noted Bagratyan. Besides, he said that the legislative package of pension reforms provides with the opportunity to invest in securities of developed countries, what will result in outflow of funds from the country. Meanwhile, according to him, the pension assets should stay in the country to be invested in such huge projects, as construction of Iran-Armenia railroad, creation of high-capacity irrigation system, construction of Zvartnots airport, etc. Besides, Bagratyan expressed concern over the possibility that the AMD pension assets may later cause tenseness at the fօreign exchange market of the country, as the government will be have to transfer them into dollars. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | About 173 million drams and more than 30 beneficiary funds. "The Power of One Dram" is 4 years old In June 2020, the exclusive joint corporate social responsibility initiative of Idram and IDBank "The Power of One Dram" was launched. Aliyev travels to Turkey at Erdogan's invitation On June 10, Azerbaijani President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev will leave for Turkey on a working visit. CSTO budget “to be adjusted due to Yerevan’s non-payment of contributions” The CSTO budget for the current year requires adjustments due to the refusal of Yerevan to pay their share of contributions. Russia sends note of protest to Armenia over envoy’s trip to Ukraine’s Bucha Russia has sent a note of protest to Armenia over the visit of Vladimir Karapetyan and Tigran Ter-Margaryan to Bucha. |