Founder of “Sil” concern Khachatur Sukiasyan and president of “Grand Holding” Hrant Vardanyan discussed the Armenian economy during a joint press conference at the “Hayeli” club on Friday. The format of the club conferences is that a debate must usually take place between the two speakers. However, as Vardanyan noted, it is difficult to start an interesting debate between him and Sukiasyan because they agree on most of the issues discussed.
One of the issues they agree on, as Vardanyan distinguished, is the so-called family business concept. He clarified that it deals with big business. Vardanyan and Sukiasyan both run family businesses.
“For example, I know that Khachatur Sukiasyan’s brother runs “ArmEconomBank”,” said Vardanyan, adding that in his own case, his sons run the business while he has been following up on bureaucratic issues for the past two years.
The speakers did not agree with the observation that the so-called “family business” is not at all accepted here because the GDP is centralized in the hands of a couple of families. In particular, according to Sukiasyan, it doesn’t matter who the owner is. It is much more important to have a large turnover of goods, for tourists to spend money here, and for more money to enter Armenia.
H. Vardanyan doesn’t agree that people consider him a pro-government businessman. According to him, if the businessman doesn’t mess with the state budget, then he doesn’t need the “protection” of anybody. The businessman also emphasized that he is non-partisan (although it is quite possible for him to like this or that political party) and his manner of working is pro-government. So, there is no difference in who is heading the government. When one of the journalists at the press conference drew a parallel, recalling that Gagik Tsarukyan’s mother recently made a statement during an interview (saying that it doesn’t matter who is in power), H. Vardanyan said:
“Don’t compare us with Gagik Tsarukyan. We are in the top five of large taxpayers. We are the pillars that support this country.”
Kh. Sukiasyan made a correction by saying that we are dealing with the registered taxpayers and those who work in Armenia. Mr. Sukiasyan advised the journalists to investigate the personal property and income statements because many politicians who have never done business have more assets than some businessmen who have entered politics. As for the upcoming National Assembly elections, according to the speakers, the businessman is entitled to his right to decide to help someone enter parliament, or personally get involved in the activities of the legislature. For example, Sukiasyan has been in parliament for 8 years now, and has put up his candidacy once again because he is certain that he is doing a good job as a deputy. H. Vardanyan is not personally entering parliament; instead, his sons are in the legislative branch.
“A strong man does not enter parliament; the strong man has others do that,” said Vardanyan.
Vardanyan said that he has conducted a survey by means of his 5,000 workers about the upcoming parliamentary election, and that 100,000 took part in the survey. He presented the results of that survey during the press conference, and based on those results, the pro-government parties that will get the highest number of votes are the Republican Party and the ARF; of the oppositional parties, “Country of Law” and “National Unity”; and of the newly founded parties, “Prosperous Armenia” and Tigran Karapetyan’s “Popular Party”.