Economic Press Monitor April 2 - 8, 2023	Days:  25 01 08 15 22

economic & politics

TABULA: “US ON JUDGES CLAN: THEIR ACTIONS UNDERMINED DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES”

April 7, 2023 - Principal deputy speaker for the US State Department Vedant Patel declared that actions of 4 Georgian judge, recently sanctioned by the US, “undermined the rule of law in Georgia” and “undermined Georgia’s democratic processes”. Besides, these actions “damaged the public’s faith in Georgian democratic institutions and officials”, he pointed.




NETGAZETI.GE: “THE US IMPOSED SANCTIONS AGAINST MURUSIDZE, CHINCHALADZE AND OTHER JUDGES”

April 6, 2023 - The US administration imposed sanctions against Georgian judges of the so-called clan, they and their families are banned from entering the US. Among these persons are Mikheil Chinchaladze, Levan Murusidze, Irakli Shengelia and Valerian Tsertsvadze.




TABULA: ““FORBES” ESTIMATES IVANISHVILI’S PROPERTY AT $4.9B, “BLOOMBERG” – AT $5.95B”

April 6, 2023 - Forbes estimates that property of Georgia’s former prime minister and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream Bidzina Ivanishvili totals to $4.9 billion. Ivanishvili occupies the 544^th place in the magazine’s list of the richest people in the world.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “IRAKLI PETRIASHVILI: IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE STATE TO CONTROL PRIVATE EMPLOYMENT COMPANIES, WHICH EMPLOY STUDENTS ABROAD”

April 5, 2023 - Irakli Petriashvili, chairman of Georgian Trade Unions Association, declared that it is important that the state to control private employment companies that employ students abroad.

Petriashvili brought an example of 16 students, employed in Germany.




NETGAZETI.GE: “WHEN THEY WILL PUBLISH COURT VERDICTS – “CORPORATISM DOES NOT LIKE DAYLIGHT””

April 4, 2023 - Verdicts and other court rulings in Georgia have not been publicly available since 2019. This happened after the Constitutional Court of Georgia stated that the court decisions should be public only if personal data is protected.




TABULA: “IN 2022, HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION IN A NUMBER OF AREAS HAS DETERIORATED – THE OMBUDSMAN’S REPORT”

April 4, 2023 - Office of the Public Defender submitted to the Georgian Parliament a report on protection of human rights in Georgia in 2022. The 347-page document is the latest report, compiled by the office of the former Ombudsman Nino Lomjaria.




REZONANSI: “THE PRESIDENT HIT THE GOVERNMENT, BUT LEFT IVANISHVILI OFF SIDE – DZABIRADZE ON ZURABISHVILI’S SPEECH IN THE PARLIAMENT”

April 3, 2023 - Political analyst Vakhtang Dzabiradze considers that it was a correct message that during her annual speech in Parliament (March 31), Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili spoke about backslide from achieved democracy under rule of the Georgian Dream. “It was quite moderate and balanced speech”, he says.




REZONANSI: “THE SHARPEST ANNUAL ADDRESS AND UNPRECEDENTED CRITICISM OF THE “DREAM” – WHAT ZURABISHVILI MADE THE MAIN EMPHASIS ON”

April 3, 2023 - Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili’s annual address in the Parliament (March 31) was the most acute in the history of her activities, the newspaper notes.

Zurabishvili indicated that it is impossible to protect Georgia’s national interests while staying in isolation and the European perspective has no alternative.

macroeconomics & budget

REZONANSI: “GEORGIA WILL FACE NOT ONLY STAFF PROBLEM, BUT ALSO A LABOR CRISIS”

April 4, 2023 - As in previous years, a natural decrease of Georgian population was recorded in 2022 too, while difficult demographic situation in the country is accompanied by growing outflow of migration, the newspaper says.

Statistician Soso Archvadze notes that “the demographic situation is very difficult, and among those who have left the country, exactly those people prevail, who are of economically active age”.

conflict and court

NETGAZETI.GE: ““WOLT” SUSPENDED PARTNERSHIP WITH SEVERAL STRIKING COURIERS”

April 7, 2023 - For more than two months, couriers of Wolt (food delivery company) hold an action, having 4 main demands: salary increase, health insurance, establishment of distance metering system and ensuring collective bargaining with the company.

Now, Wolt has restricted access to their mobile application to several couriers, explaining this by obstruction of execution of their duties by other couriers.




NETGAZETI.GE: “GEORGIAN TRUCK DRIVERS WENT ON STRIKE IN GERMANY – TRADE UNIONS”

April 5, 2023 - Georgian Trade Unions Association declared that Georgian truck drivers, working in Germany, are on strike demanding their salaries.

Irakli Petriashvili, chairman of the Association, said that 200 drivers, including Georgians, employed by a Polish company, could not receive their salaries.

companies

FORBES GEORGIA: “IN PARTNERSHIP WITH “SAKARTVELOS BANKI”, NEW SHOP OF “SCHIRNHOFER” WAS OPENED IN VAKE”

April 7, 2023 - A new shop of Schirnhofer, having area of 190 square m, was opened in Vake district of Tbilisi. The project cost makes up $800,000, of which Sakartvelos Banki (Bank of Georgia) allocated $645,000.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: ““BEELINE” WILL CONTINUE OPERATION UNDER THE NAME OF COMPANY “CELLFIE””

April 6, 2023 - Beeline (VEON Georgia) will continue operation in Georgia under the name Cellfie. This mobile operator serves 1.3 million clients in the country.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “IF LARI STRENGTHENS FURTHER AND PASSES THE MARK OF 2.4, WE WILL PROBABLY SUSPEND EXPORT – FOUNDER OF “CHIRINA””

April 6, 2023 - If lari strengthens further and the rate passes mark of 2.4 GEL/USD, we will probably suspend export, said Revaz Vashakidze, founder of company Chirina.

Vashakidze indicated that export is already less profitable for the company, but in case of even greater strengthening of lari, it will finally lose any sense.




REZONANSI: “PROJECT OF A MULTIFUNCTIONAL COMPLEX CONSTRUCTION ON HEROES’ SQUARE HAS BEEN REJECTED”

April 4, 2023 - The project of a multifunctional complex construction on Heroes’ Square in Tbilisi, on the territory of the former silk factory, has been rejected.

Authors of the project applied to Tbilisi City Hall with a request for rejection in order to provide additional documentation.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “WITH SUPPORT OF “BASISBANK”, “COLOSSUS DIGOMI” IS BUILDING A MULTIFUNCTIONAL RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX”

April 3, 2023 - Construction company Colossus is building a 6-storey multifunctional residential complex in the Digomi district of Tbilisi. The project cost makes up $5 million, of which $4 million was allocated by Basisbank.




FORBES GEORGIA: ““GEORGIA CAPITAL” SOLD HOTELS OF “RAMADA ENCORE” BRAND FOR $28M”

April 3, 2023 - Investment holding Georgia Capital sold 2 hotels of Ramada Encore brand and 1 vacant land plot, all located in Tbilisi, for $28 million.

One hotel, designed for 152 rooms and opened in 2018, is located on Kazbegi Avenue.

transport & communications

NETGAZETI.GE: “CITY HALL ANNOUNCED AGAIN A TENDER FOR CONSTRUCTION OF A CENTRAL GARAGE FOR 18-M BUSES”

April 5, 2023 - The municipal Tbilisi Transport Company has announced a tender for construction of a central garage for 18-meter buses. Estimated cost of the procurement makes up 62.8 million lari.

agriculture & food

REZONANSI: “EASTER CAKES HAVE GONE UP IN PRICE ABNORMALLY – BUSINESS MISUSES THE SITUATION”

April 7, 2023 - Representatives of companies say that Easter cakes have risen in price by 10-20%. However, prices on the shelves often are even doubled, the newspaper notes.




REZONANSI: “FROM APRIL 10, BREAD WILL START REDUCING IN PRICE – WHICH PRODUCT WILL BECOME CHEAPER AND BY HOW MUCH TETRI WILL THE CURRENT PRICE DECREASE?”

April 5, 2023 - “We expect that the price of bread will decrease from about April 10”, said Malkhaz Dolidze, head of Georgian Bread Producers Association. “The contracts concluded with chain markets should change”, “they have to change the price by about 10 tetri”, he pointed.