Economic Press Monitor October 29 - November 4, 2017	Days:  21 28 04 11 18

economic & politics

NETGAZETI.GE: “ZOIDZE: PRACTICE, WHEN ONE DOCTOR WORKS IN SIX ESTABLISHMENTS, HAS TO BE RESTRAINED”

November 3, 2017 - Chairman of the Parliament’s Healthcare Committee Akaki Zoidze considers that practice, when one doctor works in six various places, has to be restrained.

Because of this practice, doctors “often make medical mistakes, which led to undesirable results for health of patients, we have to restrict and restrain such practice too”, Zoidze declared at plenary session of the Parliament.




TABULA: “ALL ABOUT THE PENSION REFORM, PLANNED IN GEORGIA”

November 2, 2017 - From the second half of 2018, Georgian government plans enactment of partially obligatory accumulative pension system in the country. Persons above 40 years will have right to choose, to join or not the system, while persons below 40 years will have obligation of accumulation, the article specifies.




TABULA: “GOTSIRIDZE: IN CONDITIONS OF CORRECT POLICY, WINTER AND SUMMER DO NOT AFFECT LARI EXCHANGE RATE”

November 2, 2017 - MP from United National Movement, former president of National Bank of Georgia Roman Gotsiridze points that lari devaluates again.

Last year, the devaluation began in November and “we saw that panic situation, in which there were the Parliament and the government, and which affected very hard the life of each citizen”, Gotsiridze states.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “SALARY OF SAGANELIDZE, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF UNPROFITABLE AND INEFFICIENT STATE FUND – 33,000 IN A MONTH”

November 2, 2017 - In April, IMF issued the recommendation, according to which “the government of Georgia has to limit balance of Partnership Fund and conduct monitoring over it”.

As the article notes, out of 65 companies, which are in the Partnership Fund ownership, dividends in 2015 fiscal year were paid only by Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation.




LIBERALI: “WHY LAND IN TBILISI WAS HANDED OVER TO ORGANIZATION, FOUNDED BY THE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT”

November 1, 2017 - On territory nearby to Tbilisi Sea, it is planned to build rehabilitation center for children and teenagers with disabilities, the magazine reports.

By order of the Premier, in terms of this construction, land site of 5,710 square m is handed over to Ministry of Labor, Healthcare and Social Protection.




NETGAZETI.GE: “WHAT ACCUMULATIVE PENSION SYSTEM MEANS”

November 1, 2017 - Draft bill “On Accumulative Pensions” will be submitted to the Parliament until end of this year.

According to the draft, the employee will pay 2% of remuneration to own retirement account, and per 2% will pay employer and the state each.




FORBES GEORGIA: “CHARITY RATING AND GEORGIA”

November 1, 2017 - In annual rating of Charities Aid Foundation, Georgia occupies the 135^th place among 139 countries, the magazine reports.

To compare, the rating places Armenia on the 122^nd place, Azerbaijan – on the 126^th.




REZONANSI: “BECAUSE OF THE WESTERN SANCTIONS, “ROSNEFT” IS COMPELLED TO REFUSE OIL EXTRACTION IN ABKHAZIA”

October 30, 2017 - Because of sanctions of the EU, Russian state oil company Rosneft is compelled to refuse oil extraction in the Black Sea, the newspaper reports.

The company stops the project worth $55 million for 5 years at least, because of what there is big disappointment in occupied Abkhazia, as within this project Rosneft had to begin works on the Black Sea shelf, the article specifies.




FORBES GEORGIA: “BIDZINA IVANISHVILI’S PROPERTY HAS GREW”

October 30, 2017 - Referring to Bloomberg, the magazine reports that property of billionaire ex-premier Bidzina Ivanishvili is estimated at $5.72 billion.

The article says that the ex-premier of Georgia is on the 305^th place in list of the richest people of the world, and its property has increased in a year by $275 million.




NETGAZETI.GE: “BERRY “PANNA COTTA” – TBILISI CITY HALL SPENT 59,022 LARI FOR RECEPTION”

October 30, 2017 - The City Hall of Tbilisi has spent 59,022 lari from the budget for holding a reception on the occasion of Tbilisoba (the capital city fest, October 7-8), Netgazeti.Ge reports.

On the reception, which took place in the yard of the National Museum, there were 498 people, including 43 foreign guests.

macroeconomics & budget

FORBES GEORGIA: “IMF EXPECTS ACCELERATION OF ECONOMIC GROWTH IN GEORGIA AND COUNTRIES OF THE REGION”

November 2, 2017 - IMF revised the forecast of Georgia’s economic growth for the current year, raising it to 4%, while for 2018 – to 4.2%.

In the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasian region, IMF expects economic growth of 3.6%.




FORBES GEORGIA: “IN A MONTH, LARI DEPRECIATED BY 4.4%”

November 1, 2017 - In October, lari has depreciated by 4.4% and official exchange rate has changed from 2.4767 GEL/USD to 2.5873 GEL/USD, the magazine reports.

In September, the rate changed from 2.4274 GEL/USD to 2.4767 GEL/USD, i.e. has depreciated by 2%.




REZONANSI: “IN NEXT FEW DAYS, FOOD TO RISE IN PRICE BY 5% AT LEAST”

November 1, 2017 - Iva Chkonia, founder of company Grand, assumes that in next few days, food prices will grow by 3-5%, but such growth will be only in case, if lari exchange rate stops on current mark.

If the rate will “substantially cross” a mark of 2.6 GEL/USD, “we receive much higher prices”, Chkonia declares.




TABULA: “KAKAURIDZE: UNFORTUNATELY, THERE ARE EXPECTATIONS THAT LARI HAS TO DEPRECIATE IN THE END OF THE YEAR”

October 31, 2017 - Deputy Finance Minister Giorgi Kakauridze declares that “according to our today’s data, short-term depreciation of lari exchange rate is related to existence of expectations”.

“Unfortunately, expectation is created that in the country, in the end of the year, lari has to depreciate”, Kakauridze declared in program Sakmis Kursi (Business Course, Pirveli TV company).

energy, oil & gas

REZONANSI: “FIRST STEP TOWARD RISE OF ELECTRICITY IN PRICE IS DONE!”

November 2, 2017 - National Energy and Water Supply Regulating Commission decided to raise generation tariffs for series of KhramHES (two hydroelectric stations) since November 1 (by 1.58 tetri and by 1.85 tetri).

However, director general of KhramHES Devi Kandelaki points that investor company InterRAO demanded bigger raise of tariffs.

companies

TABULA: “BERA ON THE WON TENDER: I AM READY TO TRANSFER THIS EQUIPMENT TO “THE FIRST CHANNEL” AS A GIFT”

October 31, 2017 - Owner of Silk Factor Studio Bera Ivanishvili (son of billionaire ex-premier Bidzina Ivanishvili) will give as a gift to Public Broadcaster the television equipment, which the latter has rented for 346,098 lari from his tender-winner company.

As Bera Ivanishvili explains, “after GDS [TV company, belonging to him] was acquired by TV company Imedi, a certain part of equipment, which was used for filming, remained out of the purchase contract”.

transport & communications

NETGAZETI.GE: “KAKHA KALADZE: ACTIVE WORK WILL BEGIN ON SUBWAY MODERNIZATION”

November 3, 2017 - The newly elected Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze examined situation in subway of the capital and told journalists about plans of its modernization.

“The matter concerns three directions – rehabilitation of subway stations, renovation of subway cars or we could think of delivery of new modern cars, which will have a 50-year warranty”, the Mayor declared to journalists.




TABULA: “KALADZE: YELLOW BUSES SHOULD BE REPLACED URGENTLY”

November 3, 2017 - Newly elected Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze declares that municipal “yellow buses should be replaced urgently”.

“There is very big difference between new blue buses and [old] yellow buses, which are beneath criticism and in very bad condition”, Kaladze specifies.




REZONANSI: “BY TRAIN TO ISTANBUL”

November 2, 2017 - Political scientist Gia Khukhashvili considers that the project of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway bears rather political loading. Regarding economic part, he points that because of geopolitical function of Georgia, “this is mainly freight transportation nevertheless”.

ecology & health

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “RESEARCHES REVEALED THAT EXTRA CHARGE ON DRUGS WAS 102% ON AVERAGE, WHILE ON SEPARATE MEDICINES – 400-500% AND ABOVE”

November 3, 2017 - Expert on pharmaceutical market Tina Turdzeladze points that “affordability of drugs is a long-standing problem for our population”. “The main reason of this is high cost of drugs and their irrational use”, she states.




REZONANSI: “DOCTORS SPECIALLY PRESCRIBE EXPENSIVE DRUGS TO PATIENTS”

October 31, 2017 - Medication consumers constantly face prescription of expensive, so-called “ordered” drugs, which fact is confirmed also by experts, the newspaper says. Experts say that the problem will exist until clinic, pharmaceutical and insurance companies are operating in hands of one group, the article points.

finances & banking

FORBES GEORGIA: “HOW MANY DOLLARS BANKS ARE BUYING AND SELLING?”

November 3, 2017 - In 2013-2016, Georgian banks had purchased annually $13.5 billion on average, while sold $14 billion, the magazine reports with reference to National Bank of Georgia.

In January-September of this year, banks have bought $9.5 billion, while sold $10 billion.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “NEW REGULATIONS TO REDUCE NUMBER OF MICROFINANCIAL ORGANIZATIONS”

October 31, 2017 - Bill, drafted by National Bank of Georgia (NBG), envisages that minimum capital of microfinancial organizations has to make 500,000 lari after 2018, while after 2019 – 1 million lari. Current indicator makes up 250,000 lari.




KVIRIS PALITRA: “IT IS TIME FOR PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE TO GET INTERESTED IN THESE PROCESSES”

October 30, 2017 - During the last week alone, lari has depreciated against the US dollar by approximately 7 tetri, while against euro Georgian national currency reached a historical minimum, the newspaper states.

Part of experts speaks about banks’ possible speculation, aiming influence on lari exchange rate, and demands from the prosecutor’s office to become interested in this issue, the article says.

construction

FORBES GEORGIA: “REGIONS OF GEORGIA, WHERE CONSTRUCTION IS CONDUCTED MOST”

October 31, 2017 - Referring to Sakstat, the magazine reports that in 9 months, 8,070 construction permissions were issued in Georgia. From here, 3,751 permits (46.5%) were issued in Tbilisi.