Government Approves Proposal to Establish an Investment Fund Presented by Minister of Economy

The government today approved the proposal to create an investment fund presented by Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan with three votes against. He noted that the proposal relates to making changes to the decision made on May 21, aiming to create conditions for the state and entrepreneurs to establish an investment fund capable of making real investments in real companies.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan mentioned that there has been intense discussion and debate on this issue, and that there is no unified opinion or position in the government, thus it was decided to resolve the issue through a public vote. He stated that an experimental tool has been attempted.

“Essentially, two groups of arguments have their justifications, but we must now record that the project does not have the results we hope it will have, and the cause and blame lies in the established rules regarding how investments should be made. My understanding is that if we have come this far, let’s continue and see whether we achieve results or not, especially since doing something in this situation is better than doing nothing,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan disagreed with the claim of doing nothing, stating that the selected rules are fair. “I disagree with him that the support measures do not serve their purpose or are inadequate,” he said.

Prime Minister Pashinyan added that for newly established businesses, personal investment must be in cash, and the second condition is the agreement to take a loan from the bank for the same amount. “Now it is proposed to remove both rules. But could there be a good compromise where we remove the first rule and keep the second? That is, the newly established company may not invest in cash but in intellectual property, or in buildings,” he said.

Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan responded that they are removing the first rule not because it prevents investments but because they do not want to invest in new companies, viewing it as risky for such funds. “I want to say the following: we are now discussing whether to do or not to do something that could pose some risk. In my work over the past 1.5 months, I have continually heard that this poses a risk. Dear Mr. Prime Minister, we are so constrained by this conservative approach in the public administration system that everyone thinks it’s better to do nothing than to do something because there is a risk. I have urged everyone in my ministry to be bold and not fear making mistakes,” he said, encouraging government colleagues to also be brave.

Thus, the project was accepted, with votes against from Minister of Finance Atom Jandjughazyan, Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, and Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Mesrop Arakelyan.