Armenia’s investment sector has recorded unprecedented growth in recent years: assets have increased from around AMD 68 billion to more than AMD 400 billion, while the number of companies operating in the market has nearly doubled. Grigor Harutyunyan, CEO of Dimension Investments, made this statement.
According to him, before 2021–2022, there were around 13–14 investment companies, while today their number has reached 27. Over the same period, equity capital increased from approximately AMD 12 billion to around AMD 130 billion.
Harutyunyan believes this growth is not merely a balance-sheet or temporary change and generally rests on fairly healthy foundations.
However, assessing its sustainability requires distinguishing between factors that may be temporary and changes that have already transformed Armenia’s financial market environment.
The Russia-Ukraine War Changed Market Demand
The Russia-Ukraine conflict had a significant impact on the market’s rapid expansion.
Some of the capital that moved to Armenia remained in the country, while some left. As a result, commission income, equity capital and company profits increased during certain periods.
According to Harutyunyan, however, this particular component of the market’s transformation may weaken over time.
More importantly, the capital that arrived in Armenia created demand for high-quality investment services and a broader range of investment products.
“The capital that came also created very strong demand for high-quality investment services, a broader range of investment products and access to major global markets,” he said.
This demand, in turn, forced market participants to develop the necessary infrastructure.
According to Harutyunyan, it is precisely this infrastructure that represents one of the changes likely to remain even if the impact of external factors diminishes.
The Expertise of Professionals Who Came to Armenia Could Remain in the Market
Another important dimension of the transformation is professional capacity.
In recent years, experienced professionals have moved to Armenia, bringing with them knowledge, professional connections and experience in international markets.
According to Harutyunyan, even if some of the capital that moved to Armenia eventually leaves, the expertise brought by these professionals and the connections they have established could continue to benefit Armenia’s financial system.
“Qualified professionals also came, bringing their experience and their connections with the outside world and foreign markets,” he said.
In his assessment, the sector’s growth rate may slow in the coming period. However, the infrastructure created in recent years is viable, and the market has already undergone a qualitative transformation.
Companies From New Sectors Are Entering the Capital Market
Changes are also visible in the structure of the capital market.
According to Harutyunyan, participation by non-financial companies in the bond market has increased in recent years.
While non-financial companies were previously limited among new issuers, in the last two months alone Dimension Investments has brought six new companies from the non-financial sector to the capital market.
For these companies, this is their first step into the capital market.
This process shows that the capital market is gradually becoming an alternative source of financing for companies that previously did not generally consider such instruments.