The Russian company 'Inter RAO UES', which owns 100% of the shares of the JSC 'Electric Networks of Armenia' (ENA), has decided to completely abandon this asset.
It is reported that ENA will be sold to a Cyprus-registered company, Liormand Holdings Limited.
Hovik Abrahamyan has already instructed the profile departments to check Liormand's compliance with the law. In addition, the government will develop a draft agreement with obligations that the Cyprus company will undertake.
According to RBC, the negotiations on the transfer of the ENA transaction are only in the initial stages. The potential buyer is an international investor.
According to the Cypriot registry, Liormand Holdings Limited is owned by Turva Management Limited, and the latter in its turn by Marcuard Trust (Cyprus) Limited.
The vice president of the ANC, Levon Zurabyan, told Vestnik Kavkaza that he knows nothing about the proposed transaction and considers it unexpected.
"I know absolutely nothing about it. It is strange that a new price is being discussed. Earlier they said that they will wait for the conclusion about the increase in prices for two or three months, but now they have decided to sell the company," he noted.
The expert also added that the possible sale of Electric Networks of Armenia will cause another increase in tariffs for electricity. "I do not rule out a version that it was decided to sell the company to the buyer to raise tariffs," Zurabyan suggested.
The former head of the Central Bank of Armenia, Bagrat Asatryan, said that he isn't familiar with the buyer-company.
In this regard, the expert found it difficult to determine the future for Electric Networks of Armenia and Armenian consumers. "In recent years tariffs have been raised several times, it was the only way to solve all the problems. If the buyer of ENA will continue to do this, nothing good can be expected. The problem is the lack of information about it," Vagrat Asatryan stressed.
