Economic Press Monitor November 26 - December 2, 2023	Days:  04 11 18 25 02

economic & politics

NETGAZETI.GE: “EKATERINA MIKABADZE AND EKATERINA GALDAVA BECAME VICE PRESIDENTS OF NBG”

December 1, 2023 - Ekaterina Mikabadze and Ekaterina Galdava became vice presidents of National Bank of Georgia (NBG). Until now, they were members of the NBG Council.




FORBES GEORGIA: “INJUSTICE MAKES US POOR”

December 1, 2023 - In Georgia, since restoration of independence and until today, the key problem is to secure independent from political power, fair and effective court, the article says.

According to global governance indicators of the World Bank (WB), quality of the rule of law in Georgia has decreased since 2016.




NETGAZETI.GE: “DECREES ON STATE PROPERTY PRIVATIZATION ARE NOT PUBLISHED, WHICH INCREASES RISK OF CORRUPTION – “TI””

November 30, 2023 - Already for the 3^rd year, the Georgian government does not publish decrees, indicates TI Georgia, Georgian branch of Transparency International.

The organization stresses that privatization of state property contains a high risk of corruption, so lack of transparency in this area is unacceptable.




FORBES GEORGIA: “IN TERMS OF OFFICIAL INTERNATIONAL RESERVES, GEORGIA IS ON 94^TH PLACE IN THE WORLD”

November 30, 2023 - In terms of official international reserves, being managed by National Bank of Georgia (NBG), Georgia ranks 94^th among 166 countries of the world. As of October 31, NBG had foreign reserve assets of $5.12 billion.




TABULA: “CURRENT SITUATION IN GEORGIAN ECONOMY: THE REALITY SEEN BEHIND GROWTH”

November 28, 2023 - In 2022, Georgia’s real GDP growth made up 10.4%. However, many economists and analysts are convinced that this indicator of economic growth is only a one-time phenomenon, being caused mainly by large influx of migrants (after outbreak of the Russia’s war in Ukraine), the article says.




REZONANSI: “INTEREST IN BLACK FRIDAY MAY SOON DISAPPEAR AT ALL”

November 28, 2023 - On Black Friday, a small flow of consumers really entered shopping facilities, but they did not see the desired discounts, the newspaper says.

In those stores, where reduced prices were more or less acceptable and a marketing campaign worked, employees faced challenges in coping with increased consumer queues, the newspaper notes.




REZONANSI: “FLIGHTS WITH EMPTY PLANES – WHAT DID RESTORATION OF DIRECT FLIGHTS WITH RUSSIA SERVE?”

November 27, 2023 - There is no demand for direct flights between Georgia and Russia, the newspaper points. The article notes that most often, Georgians travel abroad for shopping, and Turkey is on 1^st place.

companies

NETGAZETI.GE: ““ROMPETROL GEORGIA” IS LED BY NEW DIRECTOR GENERAL”

December 1, 2023 - On November 24, Kuanysh Zholbarys was appointed the new director general of RomPetrol Georgia. Until that, he held the position of commercial manager in the company.




TABULA: “LICENSE, WHICH HAD HANDED OVER RACHA FORESTS TO KHIDASHELI’S COMPANY FOR 49 YEARS, IS REVOKED”

November 29, 2023 - Georgian National Environmental Agency declared invalid the license, issued to HG Capra Caucasica for creation of hunting farming in Racha region. As the reason, failure to fulfill obligations provided by the license is named.




BATUMELEBI: “ANOTHER SKYSCRAPER NEAR STADIUM – BATUMI SAKREBULO CONSIDERS 2 NEW PROJECTS”

November 27, 2023 - LLC GTM Building plans to build a multifunctional complex (residential apartments and a hotel) in Batumi, near the central stadium.

Construction is planned on the territory of 1 ha.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “WITH SUPPORT OF “TBC”, “COLLIERS” WILL IMPLEMENT RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS IN SAGURAMO AND LISI”

November 27, 2023 - With support of TBC Bank, Colliers will implement residential projects in Saguramo (nearby to Tbilisi) and on the territory of the capital’s Lisi Lake. As a result, low-rise settlements will appear in 2 years in Tbilisi and the suburbs.

transport & communications

REZONANSI: “CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES ENTER GEORGIA’S CORRIDOR WITH FULL RESOURCES”

November 30, 2023 - Kyrgyzstan has joined the Trans-Caspian corridor, which it plans to use for road and rail transportation of goods to Europe, Georgia and Azerbaijan, the newspaper reports.

As the article notes, experts believe that parliamentary elections in Georgia in 2024 will not have a negative impact on transportation and will not stall the implementation of new projects in the Trans-Caspian corridor.

ecology & health

TABULA: “GEORGIAN DOCTORS WORKING ABROAD WILL BE ABLE TO START OPERATION IN GEORGIA IN A SIMPLIFIED WAY”

November 28, 2023 - Georgian Ministry of IDPs from Occupied Territories, Labor, Healthcare and Social Protection declared that Georgian doctors working abroad, who have a document confirming the corresponding education and permission for medical activities, will be able to carry out professional activities in Georgia by simplified rules.

According to the statement of the Ministry, after presenting a document confirming medical activities, these doctors will proactively get a state certificate for medical activities.

agriculture & food

REZONANSI: “THIS YEAR, BOTH HARVEST AND QUALITY OF CITRUSES HAVE IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY”

November 29, 2023 - Last year, we got a citrus crop of 53,000 t, while this year, we expect 65,000 t, said Tengiz Nasaridze, Georgia’s Deputy Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture.

According to Nasaridze, export of citrus is already started and amounted for the moment to 2,000 t, while the income made up $850,000.

construction

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “PROFITABILITY OF REAL ESTATE IN TBILISI AVERAGES 11.0%”

November 29, 2023 - Referring to research of Galt&Taggart, the article reports that return on investment in real estate in Tbilisi makes up 11%. Whereas, for example, yield rate of deposits, placed in the US dollars, made up 1.6% in this October.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “REDUCTION OF AVERAGE FAMILY SIZE AND GROWTH OF URBANIZATION CREATE IN TBILISI DEMAND FOR ABOUT 9,000 APARTMENTS ANNUALLY – “G&T””

November 28, 2023 - Referring to a study by Galt&Taggart (G&T), the article reports that reduction of average family size in Georgia creates in Tbilisi a demand for about 5,000 apartments annually. In turn, growth of urbanization creates in Tbilisi a demand for about 4,000 apartments, the study indicates.