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ARMENIA DAILY DIGEST
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From: Ina Iankulova (iiankulova@sorosny.org)
Date: Wed Apr 30 2003 - 11:52:42 EDT
ARMENIAN COMMISSION REPORT REVEALS MONOPOLY FIRMS LINKED TO DEFENSE MINISTER
The Armenian state Commission to Protect Economic Competition released its annual report on 29 April revealing the extent of several firms' monopoly holds over several sectors of the economy and that many have strong ties to government officials, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. The report detailed several cases of corporate monopolies, most notably that the offshore company Mika Limited accounted for 78 percent of all gasoline imported into Armenia in 2002. The firm's owner, Russian-Armenian businessman Mikhail Baghdasarov, is widely believed to be a close associate of Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian. The report also expressed concern over possible unfair business practices, noting that the number of firms engaged in importing gasoline has fallen sharply from 25 firms to just 12 over the past three years. Another firm identified in the report, Samvel Aleksanian's Astghatsuyts group, was reported to control 96 percent of all imports of sugar and 78 percent of all alcohol and spirits imports for 2002. Aleksanian is currently running unopposed for a seat in the Armenian parliament. RG
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