New Export, job-oriented investment programs introduced to PM

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan visited Yerevan Beer CJSC on february 4.

Accompanied by Minister of Economy Tigran Davtyan and the representatives of the company, the Prime Minister walked round the workshops getting acquainted with the production processes.

Exports were said to have increased 2.3 times over the past three years owing to a number of investment programs. In 2012 alone, exports amounted to USD 2.2m taking the total cost of investment projects to USD 9m.

According to analyses, a total of 7.3 million dollars will be needed to achieve the minimum target of redoubled volume of exports and ensure a 40% rise in sales volumes in 2013-2014.

The program implies refurbishment of bottling lines, construction of a new facility and purchase of a plastic beer bottling line. In addition, the company plans to implement a new program for the processing of agricultural products.

To double the volume of short-term purveyance / one year / working capital needs financing to the rate of AMD300m.

A Prime Minister-chaired consultative meeting was held to discuss the company’s upcoming investment projects aimed at boosting exports and jobs, as well as outlining ways and tools for getting State support. Welcoming the programs, Tigran Sargsyan said the government is ready to assist in multiple ways.

The Company has initiated another investment project which implies the founding of a first-ever in the region state-of-the-art malt producing facility in Gyumri.

Account taken of Armenia’s long-standing logistics-related bottlenecks, as well as the continued upward trends of pricing in the international markets of raw materials and transportations, the Company aims to build up a local base of raw materials. Note that the whole quantity of malt is currently being imported from abroad.

Yerevan Beer CJSC is implementing a project in an effort to build AMD 750-800m-worth facilities in Gyumri, supposed to cover the whole malt processing circuit. It is expected to produce some 15-18 thousand tons of high quality malt per year: 30% of the output is to be consumed on the local market, while 70% will go abroad. The project relies on borrowed funds and company profits. Nearly 65-70% of fitting work is complete as of this point of time.

The plant is due to be fully operational by this yearend providing for some 200-250 jobs. 6000 hectares of arable land will be called for in order to meet the need in raw materials that may help provide jobs to about 800 farmers during the farming season.

The plant will be equipped with a modern Lausmann-type and European technologies, as well as with state-of-the-art German, Swedish, Czech, Slovenian equipment enabling highly competitive quality output. Euro 2.3m has already been committed in borrowed funds ensuring the import of about 75% of the aforementioned equipment.