We Expect Debt Servicing Costs to be Lower than Planned: Vahe Hovhannisyan

“We are witnessing positive developments in the market not only in international markets but also in Armenia. For instance, if we issued 10-year treasury bonds with a 9.6 percent interest rate in 2024, I am pleased to note that the same interest rate in the first auction held in 2026 was 8.09 percent,” said Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan during a press conference, speaking about expectations for debt servicing costs being lower than planned. This means that the amount we wrote in the 2026 budget for debt servicing will likely be less than that.

“This is a very positive change, which, on the one hand, is due to increased liquidity in the banking system, but on the other hand, is also due to the fact that foreign institutional investors continue to show interest in Armenia and are participating in our local auctions, thereby positively impacting our interest rates. This is the policy I have been speaking about for years, that we should make efforts to attract foreign investors to Armenia, and this is effectively happening at this point. Currently, their share in our bonds is over 7 percent, while previously it was even below 1 percent,” he added.