Media: IMF exposes illusions of Armenia's economic growth

The Armenian edition of 168 Zham has published an article saying that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has exposed illusions of Armenia's economic growth.

"While the Armenian authorities are dizzy from the high economic growth recorded in the last one and a half to two years and they talk about unprecedented economic successes and achievements, one of the authoritative international financial organizations, the International Monetary Fund, has poured cold water on their enthusiasm," the newspaper said in an article, Caliber.Az reports.

"In its comments presented the other day, the IMF gave a real assessment of Armenia's economic growth and economic situation, in fact, calling on the authorities to come down from heaven, to return to reality, where everything is much sadder than they imagine.

Thus, according to the estimates of the International Monetary Fund experts, the activity in Armenia's economy is somewhat overestimated in comparison with the real productivity. The real potential of the republic allows for an annual economic growth of 4.5 per cent.

The Fund's experts do not pin much hope on the growth of the economy's potential in the coming years. They believe that in the medium term, it will remain at the same level. The IMF expects only 5 per cent growth of Armenia's economy next year. It is also expected that some external factors will still remain, but their influence will not be the same as before, they will weaken considerably, which is what we have seen recently.

In addition, the fund's experts have identified high risks in some sectors. These risks are related to the construction bubble and mortgage lending encouraged by the government and the Central Bank," the article says.