Friday, 7 April 2017
PM instructed to submit specific proposals on future activities of state-owned enterprises
Chaired by Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan, a consultation was held in the Office of Government, during which Head of State Property Management Department Arman Sahakyan presented an analysis of economic activities of commercial organizations.
The Department, based on the analysis of economic results of 2013, 2014 and 2015 as companies with state participation, has classified these organizations’ efficiency, which are an indication of the level of profitability and current trends. It was noted that the average profitability in 2015 with analyzed 194 financial institutions by assets accounted for only 1.2% of assets, 752 billion 225 million 558 thousand drams, with a total volume of profits 8 billion 947 million 800 thousand drams. If the organizations work with 6% profit as in bank refinancing, the amount of profit will reach 45 billion.
Listening to the analysis, Prime Minister Karapetyan noted that the organizations with high profitability indices are essentially recipients of state order and went on to emphasize: “There is a simple truth in this statistics: where we interfere, there is profit, where we do not intervene, there is no profit. It is necessary to increase the profitability indicator. The fact that the average profitability is very low does not mean at all that we have to go to 6% profit. Each minister should review the entities under their supervision in terms of the activities of the last three years. The managers who are desperate must be removed, while those come up with a good plan in advance to make an appointment again. The ministers should submit clear recommendation on each company. By analyzing we should understand which of 194 enterprises shall be privatized. Each enterprise must provide to me a forecast and administrative, legal, business proposals in order to realize what to do with it,” Karen Karapetyan said.
The Prime Minister instructed to set a clear timetable by which individual ministers must submit analysis and recommendations concerning state enterprises of in the field of their coordination.
During the meeting reference was made to the state property privatization program (2017-2020), which plans to privatize 41 commercial organizations with state participation. The Prime Minister instructed to put the program into circulation, and the government departments concerned to come up with relevant proposals within a week’s time.
