Government approves ARMO sale

In an interview for Top Channel, the Deputy Minister of Economy, Eno Bozdo, says that this company fulfills the technical and financial criteria, and inherits all obligations of Anika Enterprises, including debts to third parties and the keeping of the employees.

“We had an intensive correspondence with the company in question, which was interested to enter in this concession by exchanging its shares. We have made the technical and financial verifications, and we have the legal declaration of the company that undertakes to recognize the agreement as the only legal relation between them and the contracting authority, and to recognize all the debts of the company that have been created so far, that are being created and that will be created. Above all, it accepts to keep the employees and to pay their due salaries together with the social security payments. Absolutely every debt to third parties”, Bozdo declared.

Answering to the questions regarding the origin of the company, Mr.Bozdo says that Heaney Assets Corporation comes from Azerbaijan.

“The company is Azerbaijani and has a respectful background in this area. We hope that their presence with good technical and financial assets will resolve and improve the problems that this company has had”, Bozdo underlined.

As refers to the limitation of the intervention of the Ministry of Economy for the sale of the shares, Bozdo explains that the privatization has not crossed the five year deadline.

“Usually it is right to have it to two or three years. On this time it is to five years. If this transaction would have been done in December 2013, we would not have the right to intervene or impede the intervention of the transaction, because the deadline expires. But it is good that it happens now, because we have the possibility to check what needs to be checked”, Bozdo adds.

ARMO was sold for 125 million EUR by the end of 2008 to a consortium that was introduced as an American Company registered in Texas, United States of America.

Right after that, businessman Rezart Thaci appeared on the scene and declared that he was the person who was controlling the shares of ARMO.

But in the years to come, the company was involved in political debates for not implementing the privatization criteria, such as investments and production.

Last year the State Bank of Azerbaijan asked the seizing of the ARMO shares, claiming that they haven’t paid a 75 million EUR loan used for the privatization.

Top Channel