Moody's revises Armenia’s credit outlook to stable from negativeAugust 21, 2013 - 17:51 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday, August 20 revised upward its sovereign credit outlook for Armenia to stable from negative, citing the government's commitment to fiscal consolidation and expectation for a further reduction in its current account deficit, Reuters said. The Caucasus country's speculative grade credit rating of Ba2, which is two notches below investment grade, was affirmed, the ratings agency said in a statement. Armenia's still large current account deficit of 11.1 percent of gross domestic product in 2012 is expected to gradually narrow in size, Moody's said. The country is emerging as a key transit route for oil and gas exports from the Caspian Sea, although it has no pipelines of its own, Moody's said. The government plans to raise $500 million from its first Eurobond issue, expected this year, the government said in May. The money will be used to help repay debt owned to Russia. Another driver for Armenia's outlook revision, Moody's said, was Armenia's continued access to external funding sources on favorable terms, "including via private remittances, foreign direct investment (FDI) and official lending sources." Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. |