YEREVAN, 3 June. /ARKA/. Head of Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) Garegin Baghramyan last Friday urged Armenian operators of public utilities (electricity, water and natural gas) to float at least part of their share capital on the local stock exchange.
Baghramyan told parliament that a working group with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Justice and other relevant bodies had discussed the issue at the PSRC.
According to him, the only issue in this case is related to Gazprom Armenia. ‘It is necessary to understand whether this proposal will not contradict the 2013 Armenian-Russian agreement on natural gas supplies, as it was ratified by both parliaments and is equal to a law by its status,’ Baghramyan said.
Since July 2023, the Armenian government has been subsidising companies, for listing their shares on the local stock exchange to create an opportunity for them to raise financing not only from banks, but also by offering shares and bonds.
In February 2024, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan proposed to apply favourable regimes for public companies that will trade their shares on stock markets.
According to him, the tax regimes will be less favorable for companies that do not go public.
Armenia’s utility operators are Gazprom Armenia CJSC (a 100 per cent subsidiary of Russian energy holding company Gazprom), a monopoly supplier of natural gas to Armenia from Russia for domestic consumption. It also stores, distributes, sells gas and maintains the gas transmission system; France’s Veolia-Yur CJSC, a single operator of water supply and wastewater disposal in Yerevan and regions of Armenia; and Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) CJSC, part of Russia’s Tashir Group. It operates medium- and low-voltage distribution networks and has more than 1 million subscribers.
