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HEAD OF ARMENIA'S ANTITRUST AGENCY INVITES CARREFOUR REPRESENTATIVES FOR TALK
YEREVAN, March 19. /ARKA/. Artak Shaboyan, chairman of the State
Commission for Protection of Economic Competition, told journalists
today that he is inviting representatives of Carrefour, a prominent
French retailer, to discuss obstacles on its way to Armenia's market.
"If the company has problems at this market, then I invite publicly
representatives of the company for a close look into the problem... It
will be an unofficial conversation," he said.
Shaboyan said that if there are sufficient information and facts
related to the matter, the commission will be ready to sort through
the obstacles.
"Now we have as much information as the media," he said. "If
representatives of Carrefour give us specific additional information,
point out what is wrong, we'll try to put things right... Carrefour
is a global network known across the world, and I don't think that
something can deter it from raising any issue."
Shaboyan also added that the antitrust agency sees no difference
between domestic and foreign economic entities.
"If there are competition problems, I assure you that we will solve
all the problems regardless of whether this economic entity resident
or nonresident..." he said.
Earlier, media outlets reported that Samvel Karapetyan, a Russian
entrepreneur of Armenian descent, who was ranked 353rd by Forbes,
and the owner of Dalma Garden Mall that is included in Tashir Group,
suspended its contract with Carrefour.
According to the newspapers, the move was prompted by strong opposition
from Samvel Alexanyan, an Armenian entrepreneur who imports essential
commodities in the country and at whose business Carrefour's appearance
here might strike hard.
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said the government will do whatever
it can to ensure Carrefour's arrival here, since Armenia is interested
in this.
Commenting on the rumors going around about the contract suspension,
the premier told journalists referring to the company's spokesmen
that this is a memorandum on intent, not a contract, and that there
is some discord between the parties.
Economy Minister Tigran Davtyan, on his side, said that delay here is
connected with problems between the parties and that there is nothing
extraordinary in it.
Carrefour S.A. is a French multinational retailer headquartered in
Boulogne Billancourt, France, in Greater Paris. It is one of the
largest hypermarket chains in the world (with 1,395 hypermarkets at
the end of 2009), the second largest retail group in the world in
terms of revenue, and the third largest in profit (after Wal-Mart and
Tesco). Carrefour operates mainly in Europe, Argentina, Brazil, China,
Colombia, Dominican Republic, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia,
but also has shops in North Africa and other parts of Asia. It has
400,000 employees. -0-
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
YEREVAN, March 19. /ARKA/. Artak Shaboyan, chairman of the State
Commission for Protection of Economic Competition, told journalists
today that he is inviting representatives of Carrefour, a prominent
French retailer, to discuss obstacles on its way to Armenia's market.
"If the company has problems at this market, then I invite publicly
representatives of the company for a close look into the problem... It
will be an unofficial conversation," he said.
Shaboyan said that if there are sufficient information and facts
related to the matter, the commission will be ready to sort through
the obstacles.
"Now we have as much information as the media," he said. "If
representatives of Carrefour give us specific additional information,
point out what is wrong, we'll try to put things right... Carrefour
is a global network known across the world, and I don't think that
something can deter it from raising any issue."
Shaboyan also added that the antitrust agency sees no difference
between domestic and foreign economic entities.
"If there are competition problems, I assure you that we will solve
all the problems regardless of whether this economic entity resident
or nonresident..." he said.
Earlier, media outlets reported that Samvel Karapetyan, a Russian
entrepreneur of Armenian descent, who was ranked 353rd by Forbes,
and the owner of Dalma Garden Mall that is included in Tashir Group,
suspended its contract with Carrefour.
According to the newspapers, the move was prompted by strong opposition
from Samvel Alexanyan, an Armenian entrepreneur who imports essential
commodities in the country and at whose business Carrefour's appearance
here might strike hard.
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said the government will do whatever
it can to ensure Carrefour's arrival here, since Armenia is interested
in this.
Commenting on the rumors going around about the contract suspension,
the premier told journalists referring to the company's spokesmen
that this is a memorandum on intent, not a contract, and that there
is some discord between the parties.
Economy Minister Tigran Davtyan, on his side, said that delay here is
connected with problems between the parties and that there is nothing
extraordinary in it.
Carrefour S.A. is a French multinational retailer headquartered in
Boulogne Billancourt, France, in Greater Paris. It is one of the
largest hypermarket chains in the world (with 1,395 hypermarkets at
the end of 2009), the second largest retail group in the world in
terms of revenue, and the third largest in profit (after Wal-Mart and
Tesco). Carrefour operates mainly in Europe, Argentina, Brazil, China,
Colombia, Dominican Republic, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia,
but also has shops in North Africa and other parts of Asia. It has
400,000 employees. -0-
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress