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WHAT WAS U.S. AMBASSADOR TRYING TO FIGURE OUT?
The U.S. Ambassador Heffern has met with the minister of finance of
Armenia Davit Sargsyan to discuss issues of mutual interest.
Interestingly, the meeting of the ambassador with Davit Sargsyan takes
place after the ministry of finance published the list of companies
which will not be eligible for state procurement due to negative
report of the financial audit. The list includes companies owned by
odious oligarchs of Armenia.
Other companies of the same oligarchs will still be eligible, of
course. And it is not ruled out that the disqualified companies will
fix their issues and next year be eligible for state procurement. It
is also possible that the government puts the companies in a queue,
and oligarchs will be rotated in "fairness".
Most probably, the ambassador met with the minister of finance to
understand this issue and find out the intention of the government,
whether it is fight on oligopoly and monopoly or an internal scramble,
which means that everything will end up in "fairness".
The U.S. ambassador has reasons not to trust the Armenian government's
sincerity to fight monopolies and oligopolies. At least, after
the case of Carrefour. The U.S. ambassador is apparently tired of
inquiring about Carrefour. He asked this questions on Twitter several
times. Perhaps the ambassador asked the question during the meeting
with Davit Sargsyan because earlier the junior government officials
answered to this question that Carrefour is coming to Armenia.
Careefour is important because it is an importer and if it appears
in the Armenian market, it will be able to crush the monopolized and
quota-based sector of importers including a lot of ministers and other
high-ranking officials. Consequently, the later the Carrefour arrives,
the longer the system lives. There are no guarantees that the system
will fall to parts if Carrefour comes but it is beyond doubt that
Carrefour's arrival is a big opportunity for at least small effects.
Although, there may be some doubt already. It is known that Majid
al Futtaim, the joint venture based in the UAE, will open Carrefour
in Armenia. Recently the French share has been sold to the Arabs,
which makes a difference because the Arab owners with their Asian
system may adjust themselves to Armenia and play according to the
rules of the Armenian system.
This might be the reason why the U.S. ambassador has stopped his public
inquiries about Carrefour, trying to understand what is happening in
the company which is going to make investments in Armenia. After all,
the appearance of Carrefour will not make a difference unless the
rules of the game change.
Global brands may make a difference because they are able to change
the rules of the game in the Armenian business.
Hence, Carrefour is important not only as a worldwide brand but also
as a precedent. And the stance of the government is important not as
a stance on one economic operator but as a miniature model of state
policy. Most probably, the U.S. ambassador is trying to understand
if he is dealing with a model or a card castle. But the answer to
this question is not needed to continue or to interrupt actions but
to choose further tactics because dealing with a model is one thing,
and dealing with a card castle is another thing.
Hakob Badalyan 12:34 08/08/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/economy/view/30654
The U.S. Ambassador Heffern has met with the minister of finance of
Armenia Davit Sargsyan to discuss issues of mutual interest.
Interestingly, the meeting of the ambassador with Davit Sargsyan takes
place after the ministry of finance published the list of companies
which will not be eligible for state procurement due to negative
report of the financial audit. The list includes companies owned by
odious oligarchs of Armenia.
Other companies of the same oligarchs will still be eligible, of
course. And it is not ruled out that the disqualified companies will
fix their issues and next year be eligible for state procurement. It
is also possible that the government puts the companies in a queue,
and oligarchs will be rotated in "fairness".
Most probably, the ambassador met with the minister of finance to
understand this issue and find out the intention of the government,
whether it is fight on oligopoly and monopoly or an internal scramble,
which means that everything will end up in "fairness".
The U.S. ambassador has reasons not to trust the Armenian government's
sincerity to fight monopolies and oligopolies. At least, after
the case of Carrefour. The U.S. ambassador is apparently tired of
inquiring about Carrefour. He asked this questions on Twitter several
times. Perhaps the ambassador asked the question during the meeting
with Davit Sargsyan because earlier the junior government officials
answered to this question that Carrefour is coming to Armenia.
Careefour is important because it is an importer and if it appears
in the Armenian market, it will be able to crush the monopolized and
quota-based sector of importers including a lot of ministers and other
high-ranking officials. Consequently, the later the Carrefour arrives,
the longer the system lives. There are no guarantees that the system
will fall to parts if Carrefour comes but it is beyond doubt that
Carrefour's arrival is a big opportunity for at least small effects.
Although, there may be some doubt already. It is known that Majid
al Futtaim, the joint venture based in the UAE, will open Carrefour
in Armenia. Recently the French share has been sold to the Arabs,
which makes a difference because the Arab owners with their Asian
system may adjust themselves to Armenia and play according to the
rules of the Armenian system.
This might be the reason why the U.S. ambassador has stopped his public
inquiries about Carrefour, trying to understand what is happening in
the company which is going to make investments in Armenia. After all,
the appearance of Carrefour will not make a difference unless the
rules of the game change.
Global brands may make a difference because they are able to change
the rules of the game in the Armenian business.
Hence, Carrefour is important not only as a worldwide brand but also
as a precedent. And the stance of the government is important not as
a stance on one economic operator but as a miniature model of state
policy. Most probably, the U.S. ambassador is trying to understand
if he is dealing with a model or a card castle. But the answer to
this question is not needed to continue or to interrupt actions but
to choose further tactics because dealing with a model is one thing,
and dealing with a card castle is another thing.
Hakob Badalyan 12:34 08/08/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/economy/view/30654