Fri, 25 July
25.1 C
Yerevan
USD: 383.74 RUB: 4.93 EUR: 450.05 GEL: 141.25 GBP: 521.81

Gold refining factory to be built in Armenia

YEREVAN, June 19, /ARKA/. A gold refining factory is to be built in Armenia, which is supposed to help the Central Bank to partially restore its gold reserves, the chairman of the Central Bank Artur Javadyan said today in the parliament.

In 2014 Arthur Javadyan and Vartan Sirmakes, the head of Technocert company and co-founder of Franck Muller and chairman of ArmSwissbank, signed a memorandum on intentions to establish a factory in Armenia for refining precious metals. The factory was to refine gold and silver concentrates, produce pure gold in standard bank bullions and sell them in Armenia and abroad.

Javadyan said today that the factory will provide Armenian gold producers with the opportunity to export not dore alloys, but gold bullions. They will also have the opportunity to hand their gold to the factory and receive bank bullions or simply sell gold ore to the factory.

Javadyan recalled that in late 2003 the Central Bank made a strategic decision not to use gold in its external gross reserves and sold 1.4 tons of gold for $17 million. The move was explained by ‘the high liquidity on the gold market over the past few years.’

The Central Bank said at that time that ‘the high correlation between gold and the euro means that even without gold in international reserves the necessary level of diversification can be maintained and at the same time the yield of international reserves can be raised.”

In 2004 the Central Bank converted the proceeds raised from the sale of gold reserves to pounds. After the pound gained 8.4% against the US dollar, the Central Bank’s real return was about 13%, while the return on investment in gold could reach a maximum of 9%, solely due to an increase in gold price.

The net income from the sale of Armenia’s gold reserves amounted to 3 billion Armenian drams. The entire gold reserve sold at more than $400 per troy ounce.

Javadyan said today the opening of the gold refining factory will allow acquiring bank bullions in Armenian drams in the local market.

“I hope that next year we will already have that opportunity; everything is ready, the equipment has been delivered, and the factory construction site has been selected. He said the Central Bank will possess 5-6% of shares of the factory,” said Javadyan. –0–

spot_img

POPULAR

US dollar rises slightly against Armenian dram, euro and ruble fall

The average market exchange rate of the US dollar against the Armenian dram as of July 17, 2025, rose by 0.16 points compared to July 16 and amounted to 384.12 drams.

Annual meeting of BSTDB Board of Governors to be held in Yerevan

The President of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) Serhat Köksal expressed his gratitude for hosting the annual meeting of the BSTDB Board of Governors in Yerevan during a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Tuesday.

Euro falls by 2.8 points against Armenian dram, meanwhile, US dollar and ruble decline slightly

As of July 16, 2025, the average market exchange rate of the U.S. dollar against the Armenian dram fell by 0.16 points compared to July 15, amounting to 383.96 drams.

In Armenia, bad loans worth over $1 million have been written off under the state support program – Ministry of Social Affairs

14,757 applications for writing off bad loans have been received in Armenia within the framework of the relevant state support program, which started on February 1, 2025.

A scheme for stealing funds through fake investment platforms  exposed in Yerevan

A criminal group operating in one of the capital's business centers and stealing citizens' money through Internet calls has been exposed in Armenia, the Investigative Committee of Armenia reports.

LATEST NEWS

spot_imgspot_imgspot_img