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OLIGARCHY IN TROUBLE OR CHERCHEZ LA CARREFOUR
HAKOB BADALYAN
12:33 07/02/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index.php/eng/0/comments/view/28842
"I'm sure that company should operate in Armenia, and we will spare
no effort to create favorable conditions for it," said Prime Minister
Tigran Sargsyan dwelling on the fact that the French Carrefour wants
to open in Armenia.
Those oligarchs who are also monopolists or have huge quotas of
imports or in supermarket business are trying to block the way of
the French retailer.
Since the beginning of his tenure Tigran Sargsyan has issued a number
of statements about the fight against monopolies and oligopolies
but the oligarchs still feel at ease as they used to, and have even
extended their monopolies and oligopolies.
The U.S. Ambassador to Armenia has delicately hinted on the Carrefour
issue. He expressed hope on Twitter that Carrefour will come to
Armenia and will boost competition.
If the U.S. ambassador is already involved in the issue, it means the
obstacles to Carrefour are serious. In other words, otherwise the U.S.
ambassador would have hardly touched upon this issue which was also
an expression of support to Tigran Sargsyan.
"Carrefour should surely be represented in Armenia, and we have
already made our proposals to the company to facilitate the process.
As to the agreement between both private companies, they need to work
in the legal field trying to find mutually beneficial solutions,"
Tigran Sargsyan said.
Actually, he seems to shift the issue from the governmental field to
the field of oligopolies. The prime minister apparently meant Dalma
Garden Mall which will host Carrefour. The opening soon banner of the
company has been there for a long time now. As is known, the owner
of the mall is the Russia-based Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan.
During the initial agreement with Carrefour Karapetyan could not
imagine the reaction of the Armenian import and retail oligarchs to
the fact. Producer oligarchs also opposed because Carrefour is very
rigid about the quality of products sold in its hypermarkets.
Tigran Sargsyan hints at a disagreement between Samvel Karapetyan
and the French company. Karapetyan has close ties with the Armenian
oligarchy and it would not be a surprise if he yielded to the
dissatisfaction of his "allies", especially if they agree to compensate
for the profit lost due to refusal to Carrefour.
For example, when on February 4 PAP leader Gagik Tsarukyan attended the
meeting of parliament for the first time after the May parliamentary
elections, oligarch Samvel Alexanyan met him very warmly and even
kissed him. Later he told reporters he had not seen Tsarukyan for a
long time.
It is not ruled out that there is another. Cherchez la Carrefour,
as the French would probably say. The oligarchy might be trying
to resolve the issue internally. Samvel Alexanyan may have asked
Tsarukyan to convince Karapetyan not to host Carrefour.
This may be a good option for the government. No doubt a major investor
is a serious political issue evidence to which is the involvement of
the U.S. ambassador. The government may blame private companies to
display that it has political will. It is clear that the political
solution is not at Tigran Sargsyan's level and the issue is whose
lobby will be stronger for Serzh Sargsyan.
But the government has no right to bring the excuse of dissatisfaction
of two private companies. After all, if two private companies create
obstacles for a big company in Armenia, the the government needs to
make a new proposal to Carrefour becoming the direct partner of the
famous brand.
HAKOB BADALYAN
12:33 07/02/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index.php/eng/0/comments/view/28842
"I'm sure that company should operate in Armenia, and we will spare
no effort to create favorable conditions for it," said Prime Minister
Tigran Sargsyan dwelling on the fact that the French Carrefour wants
to open in Armenia.
Those oligarchs who are also monopolists or have huge quotas of
imports or in supermarket business are trying to block the way of
the French retailer.
Since the beginning of his tenure Tigran Sargsyan has issued a number
of statements about the fight against monopolies and oligopolies
but the oligarchs still feel at ease as they used to, and have even
extended their monopolies and oligopolies.
The U.S. Ambassador to Armenia has delicately hinted on the Carrefour
issue. He expressed hope on Twitter that Carrefour will come to
Armenia and will boost competition.
If the U.S. ambassador is already involved in the issue, it means the
obstacles to Carrefour are serious. In other words, otherwise the U.S.
ambassador would have hardly touched upon this issue which was also
an expression of support to Tigran Sargsyan.
"Carrefour should surely be represented in Armenia, and we have
already made our proposals to the company to facilitate the process.
As to the agreement between both private companies, they need to work
in the legal field trying to find mutually beneficial solutions,"
Tigran Sargsyan said.
Actually, he seems to shift the issue from the governmental field to
the field of oligopolies. The prime minister apparently meant Dalma
Garden Mall which will host Carrefour. The opening soon banner of the
company has been there for a long time now. As is known, the owner
of the mall is the Russia-based Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan.
During the initial agreement with Carrefour Karapetyan could not
imagine the reaction of the Armenian import and retail oligarchs to
the fact. Producer oligarchs also opposed because Carrefour is very
rigid about the quality of products sold in its hypermarkets.
Tigran Sargsyan hints at a disagreement between Samvel Karapetyan
and the French company. Karapetyan has close ties with the Armenian
oligarchy and it would not be a surprise if he yielded to the
dissatisfaction of his "allies", especially if they agree to compensate
for the profit lost due to refusal to Carrefour.
For example, when on February 4 PAP leader Gagik Tsarukyan attended the
meeting of parliament for the first time after the May parliamentary
elections, oligarch Samvel Alexanyan met him very warmly and even
kissed him. Later he told reporters he had not seen Tsarukyan for a
long time.
It is not ruled out that there is another. Cherchez la Carrefour,
as the French would probably say. The oligarchy might be trying
to resolve the issue internally. Samvel Alexanyan may have asked
Tsarukyan to convince Karapetyan not to host Carrefour.
This may be a good option for the government. No doubt a major investor
is a serious political issue evidence to which is the involvement of
the U.S. ambassador. The government may blame private companies to
display that it has political will. It is clear that the political
solution is not at Tigran Sargsyan's level and the issue is whose
lobby will be stronger for Serzh Sargsyan.
But the government has no right to bring the excuse of dissatisfaction
of two private companies. After all, if two private companies create
obstacles for a big company in Armenia, the the government needs to
make a new proposal to Carrefour becoming the direct partner of the
famous brand.