Economic Press Monitor May 1 - 7, 2022	Days:  23 30 07 14 21

economic & politics

TABULA: ““A NEED FOR REVISION HAS APPEARED” – JUSTICE MINISTER EXPLAINS PRICE INCREASE FOR PASSPORT AND ID CARD”

May 3, 2022 - From May 1, getting a biometric passport in Georgia will cost 150 lari instead of 100 lari, while an electronic ID card – 60 lari instead of 30 lari.

While explaining the move, Georgia’s Justice Minister Rati Bregadze noted that “fees were last set in 2011 and, naturally, a need for revision has appeared”.

macroeconomics & budget

FORBES GEORGIA: “GEORGIA RANKS 82^ND IN THE WORLD IN TERMS OF INCOME PER CAPITA”

May 6, 2022 - IMF reported that as of 2021, Georgia ranks 82^nd among 192 countries in terms of average income per capita. In 2020, the country was on the 86^th place.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, TAX BURDEN WILL BE FACILITATED FOR PERSONS ENGAGED IN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY – IN TERMS OF PROPERTY TAX”

May 3, 2022 - In 2022, tourism-related businesses in Georgia will be exempted from property tax, except for land tax, the newspaper reported.

At that, draft of respective legislative amendments does not exempt an enterprise/organization from current payments of property tax.

energy, oil & gas

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “WINNER AT THE III LICENSE BLOCK FOR USE OF OIL AND GAS RESOURCES ON THE BLACK SEA SHELF WILL BE REVEALED BY THE END OF 2022”

May 4, 2022 - Georgian Oil and Gas Agency will complete an open international tender, announced on estimation and exploration of oil and gas resources in the Georgian offshore zone, by the end of this year, the newspaper reports.

In 2020, the Agency held a tender for obtaining a general license for use of oil and gas resources on the II and III license blocks on the Black Sea shelf of Georgia.




NETGAZETI.GE: “LARGE HPPS SHOULD BE BUILT WITH THE STATE PARTICIPATION – GARIBASHVILI”

May 2, 2022 - Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili declared that the projects of large hydroelectric power plants (HPPs) – Namakhvani, Nenskra, Khudoni, should be implemented only with the state participation. Economic team of the Georgian government is developing a respective plan, he indicated.




REZONANSI: “DID COMPANIES RAISE GAS TARIFF ARBITRARILY?”

May 1, 2022 - From July 1, gas tariff for non-household consumers will increase in Tbilisi and regions, the newspaper reports.

In particular, regional distributors Telavgas, SOCAR Georgia Gas, Sakorggas and Intergas have set tariffs at 1.38 lari per cubic m (VAT inclusive).

conflict and court

TABULA: “TURKISH BUSINESSMAN GALIP OZTURK DETAINED IN BATUMI”

May 1, 2022 - Turkish businessman Galip Ozturk was detained in Batumi, Tabula reports, with reference to Ajara Public Broadcaster. The article notes that according to spread information, the detention is connected with the business activities of Ozturk.

companies

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: ““IN TBILISI, WATER SUPPLY IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM – EXISTING NETWORK OF “GWP” DOES NOT STAND UP TO CRITICISM, IS IN VERY GRAVE CONDITION””

May 5, 2022 - Water supply in Tbilisi is a serious problem, since the existing network of GWP (Tbilisi water company) is in very grave condition, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze told journalists.

The Mayor pointed that “the accidents are very frequent”.




FORBES GEORGIA: “WITH THE SUPPORT OF “SAKARTVELOS BANKI”, WORKS ON CONSTRUCTION OF “KHOBI-2” HES TUNNEL HAVE BEEN COMPLETED”

May 4, 2022 - Sakartvelos Banki (Bank of Georgia) allocated $28 million for the project of Khobi-2 hydroelectric station (HES) construction. The project with total cost of $83 million is implemented by the Georgian investment group Energy.




NETGAZETI.GE: “ACCORDING TO “BORJOMI” EMPLOYEES, THEY RECEIVED A NEW OFFER FROM THE EMPLOYER”

May 4, 2022 - On April 29, IDS Borjomi Georgia (which controlling stake is owned by Russian Alfa Group, which founder Mikhail Fridman in his turn fell under the Western sanctions, imposed because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine) declared about “temporal” shut down of its 2 Georgia plants, bottling Borjomi mineral water.

According to the Georgian trade union of agricultural, trade and industrial workers, the employer offered new conditions to employees.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “PREMIER – PLEASANT INFORMATION ABOUT “BORJOMI” WILL BECOME KNOWN SOON”

May 2, 2022 - Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili declared that as the Russian owner of Borjomi has fallen under sanctions (because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine), “we are actively working on all these problems”.

“I don’t want to talk about the details today”, the Premier told journalists, while assured that “we will soon tell the citizens very pleasant information” about Borjomi.




FORBES GEORGIA: ““TBC” HOSTED AN EVENT – ““TBC” AND PARTNERS””

May 1, 2022 - Participants of the “TBC and Partners” event, hosted by TBC Bank, considered macroeconomic indicators and business prospects against the background of current geopolitical challenges.

Organizers specially invited Bozidar Delic, managing director of the international financial advisory company Lazard, who presented a review of the macroeconomic environment from a regional perspective, the magazine reports.




FORBES GEORGIA: ““SAKARTVELOS BANKI” ATTRACTED ADDITIONAL PRIMARY CAPITAL OF $50M”

May 1, 2022 - Sakartvelos Banki (Bank of Georgia) has attracted additional primary capital of $50 million, the magazine reports. The agreement was signed with the EBRD and Swedfund.

transport & communications

REZONANSI: “IN THE GEORGIAN CORRIDOR, TARIFF FOR TRANSPORTATION PERMITS IS DOUBLING”

May 6, 2022 - Since May, Georgian Land Transport Agency has adopted new regulations for international transportation and increased the fee for transportation permits, the newspaper reports.

The article specifies that, according to the new regulation, a one-time permit will cost 140 lari instead of 70 lari, while a permit of accelerated type – 200 lari instead of 100 lari.

ecology & health

FORBES GEORGIA: “PROBLEMS OF UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE”

May 6, 2022 - The article presents the results of a survey on the problems of universal healthcare in Georgia, conducted in October-December 2021 under the auspices of non-governmental organizations.

Within the framework of the survey, the attitude of various interested parties to tariffs and current tariffing process within the universal healthcare program had been studied.




REZONANSI: “OVER THE PAST YEAR, EARTHQUAKES HAVE BECOME VERY ACTIVE – WHAT IS THE POWER OF EARTHQUAKE SHOCKS RECORDED IN EASTERN GEORGIA?”

May 2, 2022 - On May 1, earthquake of 5.3 magnitude occurred in Georgia at 23:45 local time, which epicenter was 11 km from the village of Sameba (Samtskhe-Javakheti region). Earth tremors were also felt in Tbilisi.

finances & banking

REZONANSI: “THE MAIN THING IS TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE OF THE POLITICAL STRUCTURE OF THE DIGITAL LARI – PAPUNA LEZHAVA”

May 5, 2022 - Papuna Lezhava, vice-president of National Bank of Georgia, declared that the pilot program of the digital lari is planned to launch by the end of 2022. “However, exact format and scale of this pilot program is still in the process of consideration at this stage”, he noted.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “RULE FOR ISSUING A MORTGAGE LOAN HAS CHANGED”

May 3, 2022 - Since May 1, National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has changed the rule for issuing a mortgage loan. NBG noted major part of mortgage loans is issued with a floating rate, which is accompanied by interest risk.

tourism

REZONANSI: “DURING THE SEA SEASON, APARTMENTS WILL BECOME CATASTROPHICALLY EXPENSIVE AND THERE WILL BE A SHORTAGE OF APARTMENTS FOR RENT”

May 5, 2022 - Russia’s war in Ukraine has greatly Georgia affected – products have risen in price, inflation has increased, the newspaper says. At that, citizens from Russia and Ukraine, escaping the war, have arrived in Georgia, which increased the price of apartment rent, the article notes.