特別会員寄稿

Invest in Armenia
Levon Ohanesyan
CEO, Enterprise Armenia
Levon Ohanesyan is the CEO of the national investment promotion agency of the Republic ofArmenia, Enterprise Armenia, since December 2019. Before that, he has successfully led
Armenian representations of several multinational corporations.

Armenia is a country in the South Caucasus with broad
opportunities in several economic sectors. The
country’s attractiveness to foreign investors isconditioned by several aspects, including the strong
talent pool, friendly business environment andpreferential access to large export markets.

among the top 10 countries with the most open FDI
rules according to the OECD and is 58th among 177
countries in the Index of Economic Freedom of theHeritage Foundation. A comprehensive system offiscal and financial incentives and a variety of freeeconomic zones create a solid ground and additional
opportunities for doing successful business in Armenia.

Strong Talent Pool
Armenia’s skilled, well-educated and highly cost-effective
human capital brings value to big international companies
operating in the country. The youth adapts well tomultinational organizations thanks to the knowledge ofmultiple foreign languages. Besides being advanced in
hard skills, people in Armenia are acknowledged byinternational organizations to be friendly and welcoming,
which is one of the decisive factors when choosing a new
business destination for foreign investors.

Friendly Business Environment
The second important aspect is Armenia’s friendly
business environment, simplified procedures, andthe government’s open-door policy toward foreign
investors. The country’s open-door policy is also
reflected in international rankings: Armenia is ranked

Notably, Armenia’s investment legislation grants equal
treatment to foreign investors, which means a legal
regime no less favourable than the one for nationals
unless a respective treaty provides a better regime.
Foreign citizens have the right of 100% ownership ofresident legal entities. Regarding land ownership,companies registered by foreign citizens in Armenia
have the right to own land. Meantime, foreign citizens
can have long-term lease contracts. Another advantage
for foreign investors is that there are no restrictions on
remittances and repatriation of profits, free exchange of
foreign currencies and no limitations on staff recruitment.

Access to Large Export Markets
Finally, Armenia’s access to large export markets on
preferential conditions creates additional opportunities
for successful business in Armenia. Thanks to thecountry’s diversified economic relations, Armenia’s
production can be exported to a consumer market ofaround 1 billion people with 0% or reduced customs
duties. That includes the markets of the Eurasian
Economic Union and preferential access to markets
like the USA, Canada, Japan, Switzerland and Norway.

Promising Sectors

Yerevan, Armenia
30

2022.11Speaking about what opportunities can be foundacross Armenia’s economy, today, our country is
successfully modernizing the traditional sectors of theeconomy like agriculture, food processing, textile andclothing. In the meantime, we are rapidly advancing in
the technology sector.
Smart Agriculture is one of the main driving forces of
the Armenian economy, attracting more investments
annually. Armenia’s unique climatic conditions andvast natural resources make the country a lucrative
agricultural destination. Continuous modernization of
the sector and large-scale initiatives in areas likegreenhouse construction, intensive orchards andorganic agriculture stimulate the sector’s growth evenfaster. State beneficial policies and dozens of supporting,financing and subsidizing programs significantly
support the sector enabling more investments.

country’s GDP grew by 19%. Supportive regulatory
landscape and tax incentives for IT startups increase
the sector’s attractiveness and rapidly boost the sector.
But most importantly, world leaders in several IT
disciplines chose Armenia as a new destination for
their business expansion and open country offices here.

Another promising sphere linked with agriculture is
Food Processing, with a tremendous added value. The
country is now witnessing the revival of the wine
industry and huge expansion overseas of Armenian
bottled water and beverages.
Famous clothing brands are outsourcing theirproduction to Armenia. Despite offering a highly costeffective talent pool with lower salaries, the Armenian
clothing and garment industry stands out with highstandards in responsible business conduct, which is an
essential prerequisite for the increased demand bylarge multinational corporations.
Armenia is a country with immense cultural heritage,
which, combined with modern touristic infrastructuresand diverse experiences, makes our country attractive
to an increasing number of tourists annually. This
creates a number of advantages for attracting newinvestments in the Tourism and Hospitality sector.
Finally, the sector of Information Technologies isbooming in Armenia. Not surprisingly, Armenia isnamed a technological hub of the region. This is due tothe presence of globally recognized tech giants, locallygrown unicorns, innovative educational initiatives, andactive technology transfer.

Enterprise Armenia
Once an investor considers Armenia for businessexpansion, Enterprise Armenia is the focal point ofcontact, providing comprehensive and free of charge
services at all stages of investment.
Acting as a one-stop shop for investors, we are thenational authority for promoting and facilitating
investments in Armenia. After the business isestablished, we provide aftercare services to support
reinvestments.
お問い合わせJOI 事業企画部

E-mail: bd@joi.or.jp, TEL: 03-5210-3311

Enterprise Armenia

https://enterprisearmenia.
am/en

https://youtu.be/FpU
34IhlzfI

Between 2018 and 2020, the sector’s share in the2022.1131