Daily News February 25, 2021	Days:  23 24 25 26 01

politics

BAKURIANI TO HOST WORLD CUP IN ALPINE SKIING

Georgian alpine resort Bakuriani will host freestyle world cup competitions under the auspices of the International Ski Federation (FIS), Georgian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development announced. In the competitions, to be held on February 26-28, 51 sportsmen from 9 countries will take part.




COUNCIL FOR STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES’ REFORM TO BE CREATED

Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili declared that a council will be created, which will develop strategy and specific action plan for state-owned enterprises’ reform.

The goal of the comprehensive reform is to bring management of the state-owned enterprises closer to a high standard of corporate governance, the Premier said at the government meeting today.

economics

IN 2020, GEORGIA’S REVENUES FROM TOURISM DROPPED 6 TIMES

National Bank of Georgia reported that Georgia’s revenues from tourism totaled in 2020 to $541.7 million. If compared to 2019 ($3.27 billion), the volume has decreased 6 times.




DATE OF START OF RESTORATION OF REQUIREMENTS FOR BANKS’ CAPITAL BUFFERS IS EXPECTED TO BE ANNOUNCED IN JUNE

National Bank of Georgia (NBG) announced that its Financial Stability Committee will consider at the next meeting the date of the beginning of requirement restoration for capital buffers of commercial banks, which were released in March 2020. The next meeting of the Committee will be held on June 2.




IN 2020, SHARE OF LOANS TO REAL ESTATE AND CONSTRUCTION SECTOR IN TOTAL LOANS INCREASED BY 0.6 PP, WHILE SHARE OF IDLE LOANS IN THIS SEGMENT INCREASED BY 3.1 PP

National Bank of Georgia reported that in 2020, loans to real estate and construction sector accounted for 6% of total loans of the country’s banking sector. If compared with 2019, the share has increased by 0.6 percentage points (pp).




WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF ENPARD, GRANTS OF 8.5M LARI WERE ISSUED TO GEORGIAN FARMERS IN MARCH-DECEMBER 2020

Within the framework of the European Neighborhood Program for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD), 132 grants totaling to 8.5 million lari were issued to Georgian farmers and entrepreneurs in context of the COVID-19 pandemic between March and December 2020.

While reporting this, Georgian office of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) noted that farmers in 22 municipalities received drip irrigation kits, agricultural equipment and machinery.




IN 2020, THE EU ACCOUNTED FOR 59% OF GEORGIAN HONEY EXPORT

Georgian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture reported that 21.7 t of honey was exported from Georgia in 2020 (growth in comparison with 2019 – 3.4 times).

Out of total volume, 59% was exported to the EU (12.9 t, year-on-year growth – 6.7 times).

business

GEORGIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVED DRAFT AGREEMENT WITH “OMV PETROM”

Georgian Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Natia Turnava announced today that the country’s government has approved a draft production sharing agreement (PSA) with Romanian company OMV Petrom SA (controlled by the Austrian OMV).

The Minister specified that the agreement envisages 25 years of obtaining and processing of geological and geophysical data on the Black Sea shelf (area of 5,282 square km) for the purpose of oil and gas extraction.