Economic Press Monitor March 27 - April 2, 2022	Days:  19 26 02 09 16

economic & politics

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “GVENETADZE: I EXCLUDE THE USE OF GEORGIAN BANKING SECTOR FOR AVOIDING SANCTIONS”

April 1, 2022 - The use of the Georgian banking sector to avoid sanctions is absolutely excluded, assures Koba Gvenetadze, president of National Bank of Georgia (NBG). Even such an attempt will be immediately detected and the strictest response will follow, he points.




FORBES GEORGIA: “ANAKLIA PORT AND LARGE PROJECTS – FIRST TARGETS OF RUSSIA’S WAR”

March 31, 2022 - Russia has tied up Georgia’s energy sector and agriculture, while is trying now to tie up transport infrastructure, indicates opinion, published by the magazine.

The opinion’s author, Georgia’s ex-minister of transport Merab Adeishvili, points that actions of the Georgian government in respect of the project of Anaklia deep-water port were in unison with the interests of Russia.




TABULA: “COURT CHARGED KEZERASHVILI AND NINUA TO PAY €5,060,000 TO DEFENSE MINISTRY”

March 29, 2022 - Tbilisi City Court imposed on David Kezerashvili, ex-minister of defense and founder of TV company Formula, a payment of 5.06 million EUR in favor of the Georgian Defense Ministry. Together with him, payment of the amount is imposed on Alexander Ninua, who headed the Ministry’s public procurement department, when Kezerashvili was in the Minister’s office (2006-2008).




FORMULA: “OWNER OF RIKE PITCHERS IS DAVID KHIDASHELI, KEY WITNESS IN SO-CALLED CARTOGRAPHERS’ CASE”

March 28, 2022 - The so-called “Rike Pitchers” (two buildings in the historical part of Tbilisi, resembling laying pitchers) were purchased (for 10.02 million lari) by the family of David Khidasheli, key witness in the so-called cartographers’ case, TV company Formula reports.

The auction for sale of the object was won by the company Global Victory Trust, whose shareholder is the UAE-registered Global Victory Investment.

macroeconomics & budget

REZONANSI: “LARI WILL RETURN GRADUALLY TO THAT LEVEL, WHICH WAS BEFORE THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR”

March 30, 2022 - After outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, sharply strengthened lari has depreciated at lightning speed, but now it is strengthening day by day, the newspaper indicates.

The article notes that the exchange rate reached 3.44 GEL/USD on March 7, but since that, Georgian national currency started to strengthen gradually and ranges currently within 3.13 GEL/USD.

energy, oil & gas

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “ACCORDING TO EXPERTS, THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT RESERVES OF NATURAL GAS ON GEORGIA’S SHELF”

April 1, 2022 - During the next year, the Austrian-Romanian company OMW Petrom will conduct seismic prospecting works on the Black Sea shelf of Georgia. At the next stage, drilling is planned.




REZONANSI: “COUNTRIES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, FROM WHICH THE GOVERNMENT IS TRYING TO BRING CHEAP FUEL”

March 31, 2022 - In recent days, price for 1 l of petrol in Georgia has exceeded 4 lari. The government is already holding negotiations with 3-4 countries regarding supply of cheap fuel, the newspaper reports.




REZONANSI: “FUEL PRICE WILL DECREASE SOON BY 50-60 TETRI? – WAYS BECAME CLEAR IN WHICH THE GOVERNMENT WILL REDUCE OIL-PRODUCTS’ PRICE”

March 29, 2022 - Georgia’s Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili declared that in response to fuel price growth, “both the upper ceiling and the lower part of price could be insured”. “However, this does not mean making of 3-4 steps” in taxation, he indicated.

companies

FORBES GEORGIA: “WITH SUPPORT OF “SAKARTVELOS BANKI”, “BEBNISI AGRO” DEVELOPS COLD STORAGE FACILITY”

March 31, 2022 - At the expense of 1.5 million lari, allocated by Sakartvelos Banki (Bank of Georgia), company Bebnisi Agro develops cold storage facility in Kareli (Shida Kartli region).

The article specifies that the funds were directed to arrangement of irrigation system, anti-hail net and acquisition of seedlings.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “WITH THE SUPPORT OF “SAKARTVELOS BANKI”, 1.9M LARI WAS INVESTED IN “TETRI PERMA””

March 30, 2022 - With 1.9 million lari, allocated by Sakartvelos Banki (Bank of Georgia), Tetri Perma (White Farm), located in the village of Kvemo Bodbe of Signagi municipality (Kakheti region), purchased cows of a Dutch breed and arranged an irrigation system on 80 ha.

Tetri Perma, established in 2016, sells now 10 t of milk annually.




FORBES GEORGIA: ““STARTUPER” OF “TBC” – 5 YEARS IN SUPPORT OF STARTUPS”

March 30, 2022 - Program “Startuper” of TBC Bank is 5 years old, the magazine reports. During this period, the bank issued over 315 million lari to startups in form of a loan.




BATUMELEBI: ““ORBI” WILL BUILD 2 MORE TOWERS NEAR THE SPORTS SCHOOL – THE HEIGHT WILL BE 170 METERS”

March 28, 2022 - Company Orbi plans to build 2 more towers with a height of 170 m (55 floors each) on Pirosmani Street in Batumi (on the territory near a sports school). These buildings will be connected by an 8-storey building (40 m high), which will be built on the site of a sports school.

agriculture & food

REZONANSI: “SUNFLOWER OIL COULD ABRUPTLY JUMP IN PRICE – IF THE RUSSIAN MARKET CLOSES, A SHORTAGE WILL EMERGE!”

April 1, 2022 - Russia set quotas for export of sunflower oil, effective from April 15, and banned export of sunflower and rapeseed abroad from April 1.

Revaz Vashakidze, founder of the company Chirina (the largest importer of sunflower oil to Georgia), says that there is already a shortage on the market, “perhaps, the consumer does not feel it yet, but raw materials for production are a serious problem”.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “FINANCE MINISTER – THE COUNTRY HAS WHEAT RESOURCE FOR 1.5 MONTHS, CONSIDERATION OF SUBSIDIZING WILL BEGIN ONLY WHEN THE COUNTRY’S FOOD SECURITY FACES DANGER”

March 29, 2022 - Georgia’s Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili declared that the country has a wheat resource for about 1.5 months.

Consideration of subsidies will begin only when “the question arises that food security may face danger to a certain extent”, the Minister said.




REZONANSI: ““RAW MATERIALS HAVE BEEN ORDERED AND THE SHIP IS ON ITS WAY, THE ENTERPRISE IS READY FOR LAUNCH” – WHAT DOES “AGARIS SHAKARI” SAY?”

March 28, 2022 - Company Agaris Shakari (Agara Sugar), which periodically turned into conservation mode in recent years, will resume operation on April 1, and will work until December 31.

“Raw materials have been ordered and the ship is on its way, the enterprise is ready for launch”, said Nika Natbiladze, member of directors’ board at the company, on the air of Public Broadcaster.