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American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia
November 2018 AmCham is an independent business association operating in Armenia since 2000. AmCham represents the interests of about 130 member companies from almost all sectors of the economy. AmCham’s goal is to enhance US-Armenia business relations and improve business and investment climate in the country. The Chamber is pleased to have both local companies and companies from all over the world among its members. AmCham Armenia is a member of US Chamber of Commerce and European Council of American Chambers of Commerce.
BE MY GUEST WITH SAVE THE CHILDREN ARMENIA COUNTRY OFFICE On 3 November 2018, AmCham held its regular “Be my Guest” event with Save the Children Armenia Country Office. The Members of the Chamber were invited to the social-rehabilitation center “Lousé” for children with disabilities. The Center was established in September 2017 within the framework of Save the Children regional program regional program on “Community Based Services for Children with Disabilities”, implemented in five countries and serves around 200 children with different types of disabilities annually. “Lousé” Center was founded as a result of collaboration between Save the Children in Armenia and “Yerevan, My Love” Foundation in the premises reconstructed by the sponsorship of “Yerevan, My Love” Foundation and Haig and Elza Didizians. During the visit the participants had a chance to take a tour in the Center, meet children receiving individual and group therapies, as well as learn about the Center activities, operating procedures and sustainability issues. For more information about the Center, please visit the link here.
CONTACT US 1 Amiryan St., Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan, 3rd floor, room 315, 317, Yerevan 0010, RA Email: info@amcham.am / events@amcham.am Tel: (+374 10) 599 902 (+374 55) 599 187 Visit our page:
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PUBLISHED AND DESIGNED BY AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN ARMENIA
AMCHAM LEADERSHIP MEETS THE USAID USAID's Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Caucasus Alex Sokolowski was visiting Armenia on November 2018. On 6 November 2018, Mr. Sokolowski had a meeting with AmCham Board to learn about the challenges facing businesses in Armenia, and to discuss reforms that the Chamber recommends be prioritized by Armenia's aaaaaaaa next government. Among the topics discussed were USAID's current economic growth assistance approaches, which have focused on IT, agriculture, tourism sectors, and heard ideas from AmCham Board on where USAID should focus its efforts in the future.
AMCHAM CONVENES ITS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
On 16 November 2018, American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia (AmCham) held its regular Annual General Meeting. The meeting was chaired by the AmCham President Ara Hovsepyan. Among the presented and discussed issues were the achievements, development prospects of the organization, and the financial reporting for 2017-18. The amendments to AmCham’s Charter were discussed and voted. The status of the Chamber, due to the legislative changes in Armenia, changed from the Union of Legal Entities to Public Organization. Prior to the start of elections, the nominated candidates for the AmCham Board delivered short speeches on how they could contribute to the promotion of AmCham goals. The General Meeting re-elected Mr. Ara Hovsepyan as the President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia for a term of two years. Ara Hovsepyan is the General Manager of ContourGlobal Hydro Cascade CJSC, an energy company that owns the Vorotan hydro cascade and is considered as the single largest private US investor in country. Ms. Elina Markaryan, Public Affairs and Communication Director of Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company Armenia, and Mr. Aharon Levonyan, the Chief Financial Officer of Seraphim Industries, were re-elected to serve as the First Vice President and Second Vice President/Treasurer, respectively. The General Meeting also elected the new Directors, as follows: • • • • • • • • •
Mr. Hayk Aloyan, Managing Director, Lydian Armenia CJSC Ms. Irina Dumanyan, CEO, Mentor Graphics a Siemens Business Ms. Diana Gaziyan, Communications Manager, Armenia/Russia, HSBC Bank Armenia Mr. Karen Garaseferyan, Corporate Affairs and Communication Manager, Japan Tobacco International (JTI Armenia) Mr. Tigran Gasparyan, Managing Partner, Director, KPMG Armenia LLC Mr. Ashot Ghazaryan, Vice President of Operations/COO, American University of Armenia Ms. Diana Ghazaryan, Country Manager, Microsoft Armenia Mr. Arthur Hovanesian, Executive Director, Synergy International Systems Inc. Mr. David Sargsyan, General Director/Legal Partner, Ameria CJSC
The new Board, according to the Charter, will serve for a two-year term. AmCham expresses its gratitude to its Partners: Golden Grape ArmAs, Armenia Wine, DoubleTree by Hilton Yerevan City Centre, Coca-Cola HBC Armenia and FashionBox Photo Studio. In 2019, AmCham will continue its efforts towards the protection of Intellectual Property Rights and the promotion of best business practices in Armenia, in particular Corporate Social Responsibility projects in the scope of AmCham’s Responsible Business Network. AmCham will advocate the rule of law via its committees and working groups, also will cooperate with other Chambers and expand its cooperation with other AmChams in region and Europe.
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AMCHAM AS AN ASSOCIATE PARTNER OF THE ENERGY WEEK ARMENIA 2018 Energy Week Armenia 2018 took place on 14-16 November in Yerevan and brought together participants from 15 countries. Among participants were highlevel representatives of the Ministry of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of Armenia, Armenia Renewable Resources and Energy Efficiency Fund (R2E2), Public Services Regulatory Commission of RA (PSRC), Electric networks of Armenia, High Voltage Electric Networks, International Energy Corporation, Electro power systems operator, Energy Invest Holding, Investors Club of Armenia, Renewable Energy Producers Association of RA, Hrazdan Energy Company, Business Armenia, Zod Wind, the World Bank, IFC, Asian Development Bank, EBRD, KfW, IPC, Amber Capital, UNDP, UNIDO, USAID, AmCham Members and many others. The event was supported by Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) as platinum sponsor. The company from UAE has already established its strong presence in Armenian market through Masrik-1, 55 MW solar project. AmCham and Italia Solare were the Association Partners of the event. Energy Week Armenia 2018 was greatly appreciated by international investors as the Armenian government has embarked on a stage-by-stage liberalization of the country’s energy market, as noted the Deputy Prime Minister of RA Tigran Avinyan during his opening speech at the event. Garegin Baghramyan, acting Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of RA, on his side, said that the government will create all opportunities for world companies’ investments in renewable energy. Speaking about Armenia-Iran and Armenia-Georgia high voltage lines, the acting minister said that the lines will be commissioned in 2020 or 2021. A number of investment projects were presented by Karen Asatryan, Director of R2E2. Among them: geothermal power plants in Karkar and Jermaghbyur sites; solar plants in Dashtadem, Hrazdan, Vardenis, Merdzavan and Talin; Meghri hydropower plant; Simyonovka wind project. As mentioned by Nicolas Fasquelle, Managing Director, Middle East & Africa, Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) the tender process for previously announced Masrik-1 solar project was run in a professional manner with no major delays which is a significant factor adding to the credibility of the program. MoE, R2E2 and ENA have put together a set of bankable agreements (GSA, PPA) and have created an enabling environment to attract long term investment. The 2-day congress was followed by technical visits to SolarOn factory (the first local producer of solar panels in Armenia), Talin-1, 1 MW solar plant by Arpi Solar and Talin-2 future solar plant construction site. The event was organized by Invest In Network and Armenia Renewable Resources and Energy Efficiency Fund (R2E2) with the official support of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy Infrastructures of RA. AmCham will cooperate with Energy Week Armenia in 2019, as it is remarkable platform for comprehensive discussion of the country’s ongoing and planned construction and modernisation projects in energy sector.
AMCHAM PARTICIPATES AT CAREER AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP FAIR SUPPORTED BY U.S. EMBASSY YEREVAN On 16 November 2018, in recognition of Global Entrepreneurship Week, U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Rafik Mansour spoke at the opening of an Embassyfunded career and entrepreneurship fair at the Marriott Hotel in Yerevan. Haykuhi Gevorgyan, a U.S. Embassy program alumna, coordinated the event, which featured workshops and discussion panels on topics including business startups, media literacy, and project management. “During my time in Armenia I have come to admire the creative and innovative spirit of the Armenian people,” Chargé Mansour said. “The Armenian economy has great potential to grow and diversify, and it is young entrepreneurs like those here today who will help drive that change in the years to come.” The Embassy’s Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs, Ryan Campbell, participated in a panel discussion on responsible business practices alongside Ms. Elina Markaryan, PA&C Director, Coca-Cola HBC Armenia, Mr. Karen Garaseferyan, CA&C Manager, JTI Armenia, and Ms. Irina Dumanyan, CEO, Mentor Graphics a Siemens Business. “Responsible business conduct is of particular importance right now in Armenia as it strives to become more attractive to international investors, seeks to retain world-class talent, and works to eliminate corruption,” Mr. Campbell said. “Should they choose, Armenian businesses can lead by example, help achieve these goals, and join a global race to the top.” Companies that have current vacancies attended the fair, hoping to recruit top Armenian talent for more than 200 open jobs, internships, and volunteer positions. These companies were encouraged by the outcome of last year’s fair, where 14 companies received 405 applications for 88 vacancies. Among the applications that met position requirements, 41 percent were employed as a direct result of the event. The career and entrepreneurship fair is the flagship U.S. Embassy-supported event in Armenia during Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW), taking place November 12-18, 2018, in cities around the world. GEW is designed to celebrate self-starting innovators and connect entrepreneurs to potential collaborators, mentors, and investors. Since its inception in 2008, GEW has fostered the spirit of entrepreneurship globally with millions of participants at thousands of events in nearly 170 countries.
AMCHAM ATTENDS “RESPONSIBLE TOURISM IN ARMENIA” BUSINESS BRUNCH On 28 November 2018, AmCham Members participated at the second business brunch on the topic of “Responsible Tourism in Armenia” within the scope of the project “Promotion of CSR in Private Companies in Armenia” implemented by CSR Armenia with the support of the British Embassy Yerevan. AmCham in the scope of its “Responsible Business Network” (RBN) initiative and Armenian British Business Chamber have teamed up with CSR Armenia to augment private sector outreach towards the organization of the CSR business brunches. The objectives of the meeting were to inform businesses about the concept of responsible tourism, provide an overview of the theme-related key trends, challenges and state interventions in the country, discuss the needs of participating companies for adopting and developing responsible business ethics, to introduce responsible processes and procedures, discuss the challenges and potentials of the practical implementation of strategic CSR within the participating companies from tourism industry, introduction and practical exercising of some tools which help to innovate and generate CSR ideas aligned to core business agenda.
The copyright of the photos belongs to Mediamax.
Among the participants were the leadership of several Member companies representing tourism sector (Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan; Opera Suite Hotel; HyeLandz Eco Village Resort; IBIS Yerevan Center; Tufenkian Heritage Hotels; The Alexander, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Yerevan, etc.) A representative from the State Tourism Committee of Armenia was present at the business brunch as a guest speaker.
“WHAT? WHERE? WHEN” WITH AMCHAM MEMBERS AmCham and Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan, continuing the partnership, jointly organized networking cocktail evening on Friday, 30 November 2018 in Cristal Bar of the Hotel. The guests enjoyed Friday evening full of networking over welcoming drinks, and most importantly the intellectual game. Mr. Emil Mirzoyan, expert in “What? Where? When?” ensured the dynamic drive of the game. The guests received a special discount for the evening at Cristal bar from Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan. The winner team (JTI Armenia, Hyatt Place Yerevan, VISTAA Plus, Lydian Armenia) was awarded with a Gym membership voucher from Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan, and discounts from AmCham on its publications!
Upcoming: AmCham will held the first board meeting with the newly elected Board of Directors on December 14, 2018.