Economic Press Monitor February 28 - March 6, 2021	Days:  20 27 06 13 20

economic & politics

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “KOZHORIDZE – OPEN WAR AGAINST INVESTORS IS DECLARED AND I DO NOT EXPECT THAT ANAKLIA PROJECT WILL BREATHE A SIGH IN CONDITIONS OF THIS GOVERNMENT”

March 5, 2021 - Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili declared that the process of selection of new investor for the Anaklia Port project will start in the near future.

While commenting on this statement, member of political movement Lelo Kakha Kozhoridze pointed that the authorities “speak again in generalities that [the port of] Anaklia is important, the investor should come, but no specific taken steps could be seen”.




REZONANSI: “HIDDEN WAR BROKE OUT BETWEEN EKATERINA TIKARADZE AND FATHER AND SON GAMKRELIDZES”

March 2, 2021 - Ekaterina Tikaradze, Georgia’s Minister of IDPs from Occupied Territories, Labor, Healthcare and Social Protection, denies that there is a disagreement between the Ministry and Georgian National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, connected with supply of COVID-19 vaccine, but there are serious talks about this, the newspaper points.

At that, head of Georgian Health Group (GHG) Nikoloz Gamkrelidze (son of the head of National Center for Disease Control, Amiran Gamkrelidze) sharply criticized the Minister and her department on the subject of vaccines’ supply, the newspaper notes.




REZONANSI: “WE HAVE AGREED THAT THE DIALOGUE WILL CONTINUE – IRAKLI GARIBASHVILI”

March 2, 2021 - “We have agreed that the dialogue will continue”, declared Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili after the meeting between representatives of the government and the opposition, held on March 1 in Tbilisi.

Garibashvili said that the meeting, facilitated by the President of the European Council Charles Michel, was held “in a rather constructive atmosphere”.




TABULA: “WHAT IS WRITTEN IN 6-POINT FRAMEWORK PROPOSED BY CHARLES MICHEL TO THE PARTIES”

March 2, 2021 - On March 1, residence of Georgian President hosted a meeting between Charles Michel, President of the European Council, and leaders of Georgian authorities and opposition parties. Tabula reports content of that 6-point framework, which was proposed by Michel to the meeting participants.




TABULA: “EDUCATION MINISTRY: COVID-19 CONFIRMED AMONG 0.1% OF TEACHERS AND 0.03% OF PUPILS”

March 1, 2021 - Georgian Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport reported that COVID-19 was confirmed among 0.1% of teachers and school administrative staff and 0.03% of pupils nationwide. As a result, 11 schools and 109 particular classes have transited to remote learning.

macroeconomics & budget

REZONANSI: “IN THE NEXT MONTHS, EVEN HIGHER INFLATION IS EXPECTED, WHILE BY END OF THE YEAR – A DEPLORABLE PICTURE”

March 5, 2021 - Statistician Soso Archvadze points that if the component of household utility bills’ subsidizing was not envisaged upon calculation of inflation, the rate in February would not be 3.6%, but about 5.5%.

Thus, when the program of bills’ subsidizing ends (in February), inflation will increase, at least, by that rate, by which it was reduced, Archvadze says.

energy, oil & gas

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “ANDRIA GVIDIANI: IMPORT OF ELECTRICITY FROM AZERBAIJAN IS CHEAPER THAN FROM RUSSIA”

March 5, 2021 - Analyst Andria Gvidiani states that own generation/production is not enough for Georgian market and the country has to import 12-15% of required energy.

“At this stage and, supposedly, in the visible perspective, import of electricity from Azerbaijan will be cheaper than from Russia”, Gvidiani said on air of Public Broadcaster.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “YOUNG LAWYERS AND FINANCIERS ASSOCIATION – INFORMATION PUBLISHED BY THE COMMERCIAL OPERATOR IN CONNECTION WITH TARIFFS OF IMPORTED ELECTRICITY DOES NOT REFLECT THE REAL PICTURE”

March 5, 2021 - Georgian Young Lawyers and Financiers Association considers that information, published by Georgian Electricity System Commercial Operator (ESCO), does not reflect the real picture in respect of tariffs of imported electricity.

As an example, the Association indicates February, when according to ESCO’s data, Georgia imported 258.85 million kWh of electricity from Russia.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “ANDRIA GVIDIANI: IT IS ANOMALOUS THAT 250,000 RESIDENTS OF DE-FACTO ABKHAZIA CONSUME THE SAME VOLUME OF ENERGY AS 1.2-MILLION TBILISI”

March 4, 2021 - Analyst Andria Gvidiani says that “in de-facto Abkhazia, there is complete chaos from the point of view of electricity consumption”, and “underground mining” of crypto-currency is flourishing there.

In particular, only 250,000 people live in the de-facto Abkhazian Republic, but they consume electricity of 2.5 billion kWh, i.e. the same volume, as 1.2 million residents of Tbilisi, Gvidiani points.




REZONANSI: “CONSTRUCTION OF “NAMOKHVANHES” CAME TO A STANDSTILL, THE GOVERNMENT IS ALREADY IN DESPAIR”

March 4, 2021 - Protests of the population, directed against construction of hydroelectric power stations, hinder the energy sector, the newspaper points. The problem is in lack of proper communication between Georgian government and public.

conflict and court

REZONANSI: ““COMMUNICATION COMMISSION MUST CONDUCT NOT A RETALIATORY ATTACK, BUT MUST ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT HAVE ARISEN IN PUBLIC””

March 1, 2021 - MP Pridon Injia, member of opposition European Socialists, said that all entities, authorized in the field of communications, pay a numeration fee, which for the last 3 years, after 2018, is directed not to the state budget, but to the budget of Georgian National Communication Commission. The matter concerns 5.45 million lari, which are spend on salaries, bonuses, etc.




REZONANSI: “UNPRECEDENTED CROWDED RALLY IN KUTAISI AND NEW ULTIMATUM TO AUTHORITIES”

March 1, 2021 - A crowded rally was held in Kutaisi, which participants have protested construction of NamakhvanHES, the newspaper reports.

The newspaper says that the participants of the action delivered an ultimatum to the authorities, threatening to gather again and to start picketing the construction site in case their requirements (termination of construction works) will not be met within 2 weeks.

companies

FORBES GEORGIA: “AMERICAN GIANT “FIDELITY” ACQUIRED 6.15% OF SHARES OF “SAKARTVELOS BANKI””

March 4, 2021 - In 2020, American asset management fund Fidelity Investments Inc acquired stake of 6.15% in Bank of Georgia PLC, the parent structure of Georgia’s second largest Sakartvelos Banki (Bank of Georgia), the magazine reports.

The article specifies that for the first time, Fidelity Investments appeared among the bank’s shareholders in the 2^nd quarter of 2020.

transport & communications

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: ““IF BUSINESSES CANNOT AGREE AMONG THEMSELVES, SHOULD REGULATING COMMISSION BEAT US ON HEAD?” – “MAGTICOM” CATEGORICALLY OPPOSES ENTRY OF VIRTUAL OPERATORS”

March 4, 2021 - Gia Jokhtaberidze, founder of Georgian telecom operator MagtiCom, categorically opposes admission of a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) to the local market, the newspaper says.

At the committee meeting in Georgian Parliament, Jokhtaberidze put a question in connection with MVNO to Irakli Butbaia, head of legal department at Georgian National Communication Commission.

agriculture & food

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “GEORGIA WILL PARTIALLY REPLACE RUSSIAN WHEAT WITH KAZAKH WHEAT”

March 2, 2021 - Levan Silagava, executive director of Georgian Wheat and Flour Producers Association, announced that Russian wheat in Georgia will be partially replaced by Kazakh wheat. The substitution could be carried out also with Ukrainian and Romanian wheat, he noted.