Armenian government refuses to place high voltage networks under Tashir Capital trust management
An Armenian Cabinet session recognized today as invalid an earlier decision to place the High Voltage Electric Networks under the trust management of Tashir Capital, a division of Tashir group of companies, owned by Russia-based billionaire of Armenian origin Samvel Karapetyan.br / br /
YEREVAN, June 21. /ARKA/. An Armenian Cabinet session recognized today as invalid an earlier decision to place the High Voltage Electric Networks under the trust management of Tashir Capital, a division of Tashir group of companies, owned by Russia-based billionaire of Armenian origin Samvel Karapetyan.br
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Under that decision all 649,231 shares of the facility, each with a face value of 13,600 drams (totaling 8.8 billion drams) were to be placed under the trust management of Tashir Capital.br
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According to Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources Artur Grigoryan, the agreement with Tashir Capital was canceled, because it had some points that were unprofitable to the state.nbsp;On June 1, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan argued that the national power distribution company Electric Networks of Armenia, owned by Tashir group and the High Voltage Electric Networks should not be run by one and the same company.br
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In a statement Tashir group of companies expressed its surprise at the position expressed by the Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources.br
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Tashir acquired the utility from the Russian energy holding Inter RAO UES in September 2015 pledging to introduce international standards within five years and improve the management of the utility. nbsp;The new owner also committed to reducing technological losses of the company by at least 2%.br
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Earlier this month it announced plans to invest about $90 million in the modernization of the electricity measuring system, repair and reconstruction of Armenia's power distribution networks.br
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Tashir group consists of about 200 companies, including more than 30 shopping malls and two dozen office buildings and hotels across Russia. According to the Russian edition of Forbes magazine, Samvel Karapetyan is one of the world’s richest Armenians. -0-br
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