Swedish IT Giant Plans to Create Over 1000 Jobs in Armenia, Minister Says

A number of European and American companies are in the process of investing in Armenia, as noted by the Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan during an interview with Armenpress, addressing the subject of attracting investments in the post-war period.

The minister emphasized the importance of distinguishing between Armenian or local investors and foreign or international investors. “Investors from the first group, when they see that there is a war and their homeland is in danger, may be driven by different motivations to invest. This is when, under normal circumstances, they might not have had much desire to invest. However, the current task is to restore the economic power of the homeland as soon as possible, and all investors, who are not only investors but also patriots, are rushing to make investments, trying to contribute as soon as possible to the recovery of their homeland. Fortunately for us, there are many of them,” Kerobyan stated.

He pointed out that the basis for investment is business ideas, but a new and important factor is the patriotic motive. “This does not mean that the businessman does not want to make a profit; on the contrary, considering the risks, they will seek to maximize their profits. Nevertheless, the motivation to invest in this situation grows out of love for their homeland,” he added.

Regarding international investors, the minister noted that he has observed several European and American companies that are currently investing. “For example, I can mention a Swedish company that plans to open over 1000 jobs in Armenia this year. It is an IT company with a capitalization of 20-22 billion dollars, among the largest in its field. The company has offices in Georgia and several other countries and is now preparing to open in Armenia,” Kerobyan said, assuring that there are many such companies, citing this as just one example.

He stressed the importance of Armenia being able to communicate correctly with investors. According to the minister, this has not been done well historically and even up to now. “Instead of approaching investors to request and convince them to come invest with us, we try to deter them in every possible way. This remains evident in many levels of public administration,” stated the minister as he pointed out possible solutions.

The minister characterized the state of the economy in one word as crisis. He explained this by noting that last year, Armenia’s economy faced double calamities—the pandemic and the war. In response to a question about how he would assess the situation if Armenia returns to its 2019 economic results in 2021, Kerobyan stated that this would be the kind of double-digit economic growth he had already mentioned. “I would consider that a normal outcome, of course, we need to strive for more. That would be a good result and today it is considered overly optimistic forecasting. Of course, we have our tools on how to solve this issue,” the minister stressed, underlining that they are implementing their plans and every day their thoughts are becoming reality.