Approximately $1 Billion Exited the Country in Ten Months

The newspaper "Hayots Ashkharh" reports: "While the government is waiting for investments to soon rejuvenate our economy, the outflow of financial resources is intensifying. In the ten months of this year, approximately $1 billion has exited the country through the banking system alone. This figure pertains to private financial transfers.

There are no official data on how much cash has left the country. Nevertheless, expert evaluations suggest that these amounts are almost equivalent to banking transfers. It remains unclear where these funds have gone and for what purpose, as there is no corresponding statistics available. It is only known that the geography of private transfers made by citizens is vast. According to official data, the outflow of financial resources from Armenia has increased by about $172 million. Individual bank transfers abroad have exceeded $951 million in the first ten months of the year. Compared to last year, the outflow increased by 22 percent. This indicates a flight of capital. While the government keeps its hopes high for the influx of foreign capital, which has yet to materialize.

No concrete evidence exists regarding the impact of recent political events in Armenia on the intensification of financial outflow. This phenomenon has been observed both before and almost every month following the change of government. The only exception was in June, when the outflow diminished compared to the previous year. During that month, $76 million was taken out of Armenia. However, in the months both preceding and following June, there has been an active outflow of funds. Moreover, starting from June, outflows approached the threshold of $100 million per month, and by October even exceeded this figure. A record high level of transfers out of Armenia has been recorded through the banking system in October, reaching $121 million. Almost half of this amount, more than $59 million, went to the Russian market. During this period, although there has been an increase in incoming funds from abroad, the growth rate remains significantly more modest.

Funds received from abroad through the banking system have only increased by 4.1 percent (or $58.5 million) over the ten months. Nearly 57 percent of the funds transferred by individuals from the domestic market went to two countries. In total, this accounted for $538 million: around $386 million was transferred to Russia and $152 million to the United States. Compared to last year, transfers from Armenia to the Russian market have increased by nearly $76 million. Over the course of a year, the increase has been 19.7 percent. Although the financial outflow to the United States has also intensified, the growth rate in this case is comparatively small—around 12 percent. A sharp change in outflow has occurred in relations with Germany. In the first ten months of the year, transfers by individuals to this country have increased by about 56 percent. Instead of last year’s $24.3 million, this year they have reached nearly $38 million. Besides the main partners in the remittance market, particularly Russia and the United States, significant amounts are also being transferred to other countries from Armenia. The Central Bank does not specify which are these countries. In any case, their share reaches 26-27 percent. It is evident that this is a serious outflow. Over the ten months, these have amounted to around $260 million. The outflow to these countries has increased by $69 million over the year (more than 36 percent)." For more details, refer to today's issue of the newspaper.

Continuation in today's issue of the newspaper.